CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Cornell University Library LA622 .B25 1854 National education in Europe: olin 3 1924 030 561 520 The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030561520 NATIONAL , • EDUCATION IN EUROPE BEING AN ACCOUNT OfiGANIZAIION, ADMINISTRATION, IKSTEUCTEON, AND STATISTICS PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF DIFFERENT GRADES THE PRINCIPAL STATES. By liENRT BARNARD, LL. D., SnPERlNTBNDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS IN CONNECTICUT. SECOND EDITION. HARTFORD : P0BLISHBD FOR THE AUTHOK, BY CASE, TIFFANY, & CO. 1854, PREFACE. Tke fpllowifag pages were, In part, published in 1851 under the title of "Normal Schools and pther Institutions, Agencies and Means designed for the Professional Education of Teachers." They were prepared from observations made during, a tour in Europe in 1835-6, and frotn documents subsequently collected, from time to time, to assist the un- dersigned in maturing his own views and plans for the im- provement of common, schools,, and particularly in devising modfis, of operating beneficially for the aidyancement of the teachers' profession, in the States of Rhode Island and Con- necticut. /jT he author l^as availed himself of a recent visit to Europe, to extenjd his inquiries, and collect 3,dditional documents, not only respecting the training of teachers, but in every depart- partment of the educational field, and particularly respecting agricultural I schools, and jiostitutions for juvenile delinquents. The results are embodied in this new edition of his original work, the title of which is changed, so as to convey a more adequate idea of its contents. To the results of his own observations and study of docu- ments, he is able, by permission of the gentlemen named, to add freely from the elaborate and valuable reports of Prof Calvin E. Stowe, D. D., to the Legislature of Ohio, in 1837, of President Alexander Dallas Bache, LL.D., to the Trustees of the Girard College of Orphans in Philadelphia, in 1839, of Hon. Horace Mann, LL. D„ to the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1846, and of Joseph Kay, Esq., Traveling Bachelor of the University of Oxford, in 1850, on the sub- jects treated of in this volume. Without claiming any PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE. thing for his own labors, the undersigned feels authorized in saying that the present edition contains more reliable statistics and fuller information respecting the whole subject of public education in Europe, than can be found in any one volume in the English language, or in any number of volumes easily accessible to any large number of American teachers and educators. It embodies informatiqn which can be made available in organizing new, and improving existing systems of public instruction, and particularly institutions and agenciies, de- signed for , the education of teachers in every state of the Union. Its value does iiot consist in conveying the spec- ulations and limited experience of the author, but the matured views and varied experience of wise statesmen, educators, and teachers, in perfecting the organization and administration of educational systems and institutions, through a succession of years, under the most diverse circumstances of government, Society, and religion. The experience and views of the undersigned, as to the organization and administration of a system of public educa- tion adapted to the peculiar circumstances and wants of our own country, will be presented to the public in the course of another year, under the title of " National Education ; or. Contributions to the History and Improvement of Common Schools, and other means of Popular Education in the United States." HENRY BARNARD CONTENTS EDUCATION IN EUROPE. BT HEKRT BARNARD. GERMANY. Page. History of Educntion, 17 Parochial Schools, 18 Publife Schools 39 Martin Luther, 19 Auglistus Herrman Frnnke, 21 Orphan-House at Halle, 21 Basedow, 25 Pestalozzi, 35 Zeller 29 . Centennial Btrth-day ofPestalozzi 30 Progress ofNormil Schools, : 31 General features of the School Systems 32 Table. NormalSchooJs in Germany in 1848, 34 Results of the Normal School System, 35 Testimony of Professor Stowe, 35 " President Bache, 39 " Mr.Mann 39 " Rev. Dr. Ryerson 45 -" Professor Stephens, 46 '" Course of Instruction in Primary Schools,..., 49 For children between Ages of six and eight, 60 Conversation— Lesson on Objects,. ...... 51 Elements of Readifig, . , . . ; 51 " Writing, . . ; 52 " Numbers— Arithmetic, 52 For children between ages of eight and ten, 52 Exeroises in Reading, 52 Exercises in Writing, 53 Moral and Religious Instruction, 53 Language or Grammar, 54 Number or Arithmetic 56 Doctrine of Space and Form, 55 Singing by Note, ., 55 For children from ten to twelve, 55 Exercises in Reading and Elocution,.... 55 Writing introductor,y to Drawing, 55 Bible History, .......:.. 55 Language and Grammar, 55 Knawledge of Nature, ... . ., i 56 Arithmetic,. 57 Greometry— Doctrine of Magnitudes, .... 57 Singing and Science of Vocal Music, ; . . . 57 Cbilfken- from twelve to fourteen, ....*.... 57 Religious Instruction,.... ; 58 Knowledge of Nature and Mankind,, . . . 58 Language or Exercises in Composition,.. 59 Application of Arithmetic to Business,. . . 5? Elements of Drawing, 59 Exercises in Singing an.d science of Music, 60 Extracts from Report of Hon. H. Mann, 60 Claawfieation ; . . . . j .^ . .*; , 60 Methods of 'teaching young children, 60 Arithmetic and Mathematics, 63 Grammar and Composition,. , ; , 64 Writing and Drawing, 66 fieograjihy, , 68 Exercises in Thinking, .;.. .i 70 Knowledge of Nature, , ; ,i . . . . 71 ' Knowledge of the World, and Soiiiety,.,.. 72 Bible History and Bible Knowledge, . i, 73 Music, .;..;..; .' 74 Teattinony of Joseph Kay, Efiq.,as tothe prac- ' HoalworkingofthePrfm. Sch. of Germany, 74 ] PRUSSIA. Page. History of Primary Instructioo, 81 Outline of System 86 - Statistics of Primary Education jn 1848, 88 Remarks on Progress of Primary Schools,. , . . 89 Subjects and Methods of Instruction, 91 Elementary Schools, 91 Bnr»her Schools 92 Higher Town Schools 92 Text-books, ' 93 School Examioations 93 Results in practical working of System ac- cording to Mr. Kay, . , 94 Education of young children, universal,.... 94 .-School Attendance, 95 Children employed in factories, 96 Voluntary System prior to 1819, 97 Schools where the people are of one faith, . . 98 " " " different do. 98 Mixed School 99 Duties of School Committee, 99 Schools in large towns and cities, .' . . . 101 Advantages of large schools 102 School-houses, 103 Superior Primary, Schools, 105 Real Schools, Gym'nasia, Endowed Schools, 105 Large landed Proprietors, 106 Lancnsterian Method, 106 Paid Monitors or Assistants, 107 Text-books, .'. 109 Suggestive Character of the Methods, 110 Interest of Children in their Studies, HI Specimens of Schools of different grades, from Dr. Bache's Report 112 Burgher School at Halle J. 112 Military Orphan-House at Annaburg, 115 Public Schools of Berlin, 118 Elementary Schools 1 18 Burgher Schools,., : 123 PoTothean Higher City Schbbl of Berlin,. . 124 Model School of Teachers' Seminary, 12? Seminary School at Weissenfels, 133 Higher Burgher School of Potsdam, 135 Secondary Instruction in Prussia,.. 139 Admission of pupils, ' 139 Subjects of Instruction, 140 Distribution of Teachers 141 Number of hours of Recitation, 141 Plan of Studies -. 142 Study out of School Hours, 143 Duration of courses, 143 Examination for University, 144 Supposed defects of Teachers, 144 Physical Education, • 144 Religious Education, 1^ Discipline, 145 Motives to Study, J >. ■■< 145 Regulations for Final Examination, ....... 146 Frederick William Gymnasium of Berlin,... 148 Royal Real School,. ..^ * 152 City Trade School, 155 Institute of Arts, 159 Legal Provision respecting Teachers, 165 Testimony of Mr. Kay, 169 PUBtIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE- pBge. Soeiiil Condition, 170 tfducational Adviintoge 173 Scliools Preparatory to Normal Schools,... 171 Examination on entering, ..,(*.. 173 " fot Diploma as Teachers,.!.. 173 Teachers are Public Officers, 174 (Salaries fixedv dtid payment certain, 176 Femole Teachers, 178 Teachers' Conferences i . . i 179 Pensions to old and invalid tei^chbrs, ...... 181 Widows and Orphans of deceased teachers, 182 Educational I^eriodicals, < . . . . 183 Teachers' Seminary, or Normal Colleges, .. 183 (Conditions and Examinations for entering,. 185 Intellectual Training of a Seminary 186 'Industrial Training, '.i'. 187 Diploma, 188 Location and Numb^t' of Normal Schools in 1846,...iw*,.i*.; i 190 Small Nornliil Schools of Ldstadie, 191 Sriiall Nof mal School of Pyritz 194 Nbrmal School oi^ Potsdam,, ji 197 Nbrmal Schools at Bruhl.j-. . , 307 Nbrmat Seminary in Eisleben.i 318 SIgminary for Teachers at WeiSsenfeU 219 Seminary for Teochers of City* at Beiflin 233 Nbrmal Schools for Female Teachers, n 235 Seminary at Marienweider i.i .... 336 Diaconissen Anstalt at Kaisersworlh, . ,..>... 336 Prussian Schools, a few years ago, ^1 School Counselor Dinter, 343 Jdurnal of an Institute, or Conference of Teachers, j i , » : . ^ 343 Sdhool Counselor Bernhardt, 343 Bernard OveTbdrg, 245 C. B. Zeller— the Influence of Example, 353 Self- exam ination--by tietikcdndorfi . i . ; . . ^ ; . 254 SAXONY. System of Primary Instruction, .. i n ..>.,. . 257 Instiiution for Superannuated Teachers, .... 359 Statistics of Schools, 260 Royal Seminary for Teachers at Dresden,. . . . 361 ilxanif nation for Tea.cher3' Diplomas, 363 Prottsction of Teachers' Rights, ^65 bompillsory Attendance at School) 266 School Buildings, » . ; i ; . ; . * 267 Primary Schools of Dresden, . . . ;, 268 Saxon Sunday Schools, . . i . , . . k . . i 268 Plan of Sunday School at Dresden , . . 269 Public flxamination of the School 371 Fletcher Normal Seminary at Dresden, 273 burgher School at Leipsic, i 373 Plan of Instruction, i ,. 275 Public Schools of Leipsic dnft Dresden, 278 Secondary Education in Saxony, i .,. . . 279 Blochmann-Vitzhum Gymnasium at Dresden, 280 School of Mines at Freyberg, ..... i 289 BADEN. School AutJiorities, n, i . . ; . i . .. . 4 293 System of Primary Schools, t 293 Ektucational Statistics of Buden, i 293 " School Attendance,, t . . t 299 " Internal Organization, ....;.... i . 299 '* Plan ofTustruction,i...i...;... .i 292 Evening Classes, , > * ; . i . . . ; . j i . : ^ . 292 Sunday CInsses, .;...:.. i . i ..; ; m.. 297 Industrial Instruction, t i 297 Fiducation of Children employed in Factories, 297 Teachers* Conferences, i . . . , 298 Normal Seminary at tjarlsiruhe} i . i . t . . > . . i . 299 wirteMbe^g. Educational Statistic t ^ ; 301 System of Primary Schools, 301 Denzet'a Introduction to, the Art of Teaching, 303 Nbrmal Seminary at Esalingen, 310 Normal Seminary at Nurtingen, 306 Subject of Instruction Itl the Notmal Schooli, 303 Institute of Agriculture at Hohenheim, 307 HESSE CA8SEI> AND NASSAU. tidufcadonal Statistics, 312 Normal Seminaty at SchluChtern, ^^ BAVARIA. System of Primary Sdhools, 3l3 Normal Seminary at Bomburg, ; ^14 Plan of Seminary by Jacobi, ;....*. 314 Educational Statistics, ■ * 31j Mr. Kay's Estimate of Public Schools 316 Dr. Grazer's System ,of Instruction, 319 Common School at Bayreuth, .J 330 AUSTRIA. System of Publib Instruction, ^^ " Popular Schools, 325 •' Upper Schools, 32G " Commercial Academies, 326 " High Schools for Gii-ls 326 " Gyrtmaaia, i. 326 System of Inspection, i 329 Regulations respecting Teachers; » . 331 System of Normal Schools i .... i . 333 Polytechnic Institute at Vienna 335 Statisticsof Elementary Schools, 338 " Secondary Schools, i.. .... 339 " Superior , 339 " Academies of Science, 340 SWITZERLAND. Outline of Educational Institutions, 341 Reconcilement of DiflTerence of Relig. Belief, 34L School Attendance made Compulsory, 342 Education of Teachers, 344 Manual Labor in Normal Schools 344 VehrliS Opinions on the Habits of Teachers, 345 Course of Instruction in Primary Schools,. . . 346 Religious Exercises, . t . . j 347 Local Inspection of Schools, 347 Results of thp Education of the People 348 Education of Gitls in Catholic Seminaries,.. 348 Condition of the Peasantry, . . i 349 Pauperism and Ignorance, ...... i 350 EHucational Establishment at Hofwyl 351 Ehianuel Fellenberg 351 Ffellenbetg's Principles of Education, 354 " Subjects of Study,. 354 " ,, Moral Education, 355 '' Intellectual Education, 355 " Physical Education, 356 Normal Course for Teachers at Hofywl, .... 357 Berne Cantonal Society fpr Teachers, 364 Normal School at Kruitzlingen-Thurgova, ,. 367 Educational Views of VehrR, 369 Programme — Course of Study, 372 Normal School at Kussnacht, Zurich, 373 Programme of Studies, , 376 iNorm. Stjhool at Lausanne — Cant. ofVaud., 378 ?Normal School at Lucerne, i . . . i . , 380 FtlANCE. History of Popular Education, 381 Ordinances of National Convention, 381 Decrees of Napoleon, 381 Law of the Government of Louis Phillippe,. 362 Report of Victor Cousin, 389 Speech of M. Guizol, 3^7 Degrees ot triraafy Instruction,.... ^7 Local and State Inspection, » . . . ^ 388 Professional Education of Teachers, 369 Mission of the Teacher, ^ 389 Society of Elementary Instruction, 390 Outlineof system of Publiclnstruct la 1650, 391 Univbrsity of France, * . . . . 391 PIIBLIC EDUCATION IN EpROPE. Page. Council pf Fublifi iDstructioa, . . . . ' 391 Acadeiniea ! J , . . 391 Ro^ol Colleges \.,.,, 393 Syatem of Pub. Competion for Pfofessor^hip, 39S System of Primary Instruction, ...,....,,.,, 393 Scbool Attendance, ^ ....... i 393 Local Management, 393 Examination of Teachers, ,..,.... 393 Departmental Inspection, , 394' Education of Teacbera, ., 4,., . , . 394 Course' of Instruction, ,..,.,, 395 Teachers' Associatipns, .,,... i ...,,. . 395 f!und for Relief of Aged Teachers, 395 GovernnieAtBl FFjzes to Ma8t9r^, .i,.. 395 Expenditures for School-houses,. ..'., 3^5 Schools embi-aced in tbe University of France, 396 Primary Education in the Communiaa,, 397 Number of Primary Sch. belong, to each Sect, 397 Attendance in Primary Schools, . . . . , 398 Classes for Adults, and Apprentices, , 899 Statistics of Nnrmal- Schools, ..,,..,. 399 State of Secondary Education, ,..'.,,, , 400 Primary Education in department of Tarn,.. 401 Institutions fur Special instruction, , , 405 Industrial Instructibn,, ,..,,...,.... 406 History of Normal Schools in France, 413 Abbe de Lasalle in 1681 413 ' Normal Schoolof Paris, 1794,,.., ,. 413 Normal 'Onss of Strasbourg' in 1811, , 414 Report of Cousin in 1832,. , . 415 Planframedby Guizotin ]833,.„ ,., 421 Number of schools in 1849, ,,., 424 Conferences of Teachers,; ,:, ,.,, 425 ' Libraries of Teachers,', ...,.,.,,, 427 Pecuniary condition of Teachers, 430 Institute of Christian Brothers, . . . . , 435 Life of John Baptist de Lasalle, , . . 435 Regulations of Institute, ,.,..,.... 442 Primary Normal School at Versaillea, , 447 u u « « Dijon, 449 I Secondary- Normal School of Paris, , 451 .Polytechnic School of France, 457 School of Engineers,!... ; ,_ 462 School of Roads and Bridges,... i&i School of Mines,.: 462 Central School of Arts and Manufactures, , . . 453 Agricultural Education in France, 467 Model Farm Schools , 468 Regional Schools of Agriculture, 469 National Agrononjic Institute, . . . . ^ / 470 Veterinary Schools, 471 Reform Farm Schpol .,,.,..,., 474 Agricultural School at Grignon '. 475 " " " Grand Jouan,...,... 485 Farm Schools for Juvenile Delihqueats, r***- ^37 " ' "' in Switzerland, '..,,...^. 487 " " Wirtemberg, ....,,,..;.... 489 " " Hamburgh, ,'. 490 » » France, , , , 492 ' " " Belgium, 496 " " England '., 497 Conference respecting Refbrm schools 4^7 Eerattfks of D. M. Hill .,... 498 Rev. W. E. Osborn, Bath Prison... 502 Rev. S. Turner, Red Hill Farm 3*011001,. 504 Rev. John Clay, House of^Conection,.., 505 Rev. T. Carter, Liverpool Jail, ......... 508 Rev. F. Bishop; Liverpool Domestic Mis- irioil,.;.'.'.... 510 W.'Ldcke, Ragged School Union....... 511 A. ThoiUfjBoQ, Aberdeen' Indust, Schools, 512 Rev. H. T. Powell, Warwick Asylum, 515 Redemption Institute at Hamburgh, 517 Visit to, by Prof. Stowe, 527 '* " Mr. Mann 528 Agricultural Reform School at Mettraj, 533 Horticultural Reform School at Petit-Bourg, . . 549 Prison of La Roquette ii^ Paris 553 Reform School at Kuysselede in Belgium, .... 557 Philanthropic Soc. Farm School at Red Hill, . . 578 BELGIUM. History of Public Instruction, , . . 583 Outline of System adopted, in 1843, 585 Primary Schools, . .|_ , 586 Secondary, ....,, 587 Superior,^ , „ . , , 588 Special and Industrial, '. 588 Industrial Education,.* .,.,. 588 Normal Instruction, ,,', 591 Teachers' Conferences, ,...., , , . . 592 Normal School, ».,,... 594 Reform School at Ruysselede, . . , r r • r r ^^ HOLLAND, History of Primary Instruction,, , ,,,,,.,,,. 595 Outline of System, Schopt Inspection, 595 Regulation^ as to exaniination of teachers,. . . 601 ** " school inspectors, 603 " ■ ", general order of Primary Schools, 605 Regulations respecting Religious Instruction, 606 Table. Primary Education in 1846 608 Primary School at the Hague 619 " Normal School at Harlaem, ....,.., 617 HAMBURGH. Rauen-Hause,, or Redemption Institute at Hcirn,, . . . , ,". ,,,..,...,. 517 DENMARK. OutUne of System of.Public Education, 619 SWEDEN. Outlme of Sys^m of Public Education, 631 NORWAY. Outline of System of Public Education,, . . , , 623 , , , RUSSIA. History of .Public Instruction,.. ,.,.... 635 Statistics .of schools in 1850, . ^ , , , 637 ^* GREECE. Outline of System, and Statistics in 1853,... 633 ITALY. Outline of System in Lombardy and Venice, 635 *' '* '* "Sardinia 640 " " '* " Tuscany 643 " " f' " Rome 644 " " " " Naples, ,^., ^ SPAIN. Regulatiotu respecting Normal SchooU, ...... 647 PORTUGAI^ Outline and Statistics of Public Bducatlqi),., 646 SCOTLAND. History of Parochial Schools,.., 651 Normal School of the Ghurcb ofSeotland,*.. 661 " School of Free Church, 671 ICELAND, History of Notional Education, 677 Legislation of Henry VIH., 685 Protestant Charter Schools, , 677 Kildare Place Society 669 Commissioners of English Parliament, ; 678 " National Education 766 Reiulto of the System, ,. 670 1. Attendance of Cath. and Prot. children, 679 3. Teachers 680 3. Different grades of schools, 685 4. School-houses, j 689 5. School-books, 689 8 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE. Page. 6. System of Inipeotion, 689 7. Appropriations, , 690 8. Influence on England, 691 Training Department and Model Schools, ... 693 Agricultural Education 699 Frofeiaorahins in Queen's Colleges, 699 Agricultural Department in National System, 700 Model Farm ot Glasrievin, 703 List of Lectures at Glaanevin, 707 National School at Larne, 707 Dunmanway Model. School, 709 "Workhouse Agricultural School, 710 Operations of similar Schools in England,. 710 Queen's Colleges and University, 711 ENGLAND. History of Public Elementary Schools, 721 -QlpiBterand Cathedral Schools, 721 ■{ .Benefit of Clergy to those who could read, 722 . .Grxammar and Free Schools,..,, 723 :■ Amount of Educational endow^ientsj 724 Voluntary Aaaociations to promote schools, 725 : , ,Bunday Schools, ; . .■ 726 Monitorial System 727 Joseph Lancaster..' , , 738 Andrew Bell, 727 , .British and Foreign School Society, 728 National Society, .....'. 729 Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, 729 Religions Tract Sbciety, 729 iSchool for Adults;, . . . ; .' ; : , *.'■,:..,. 729 Evening Schools, 729 Infant Schools, ...t,...' 730 jMechanics Institution^ ...,....^., 730 Society for Diifusion of Useful Knowledge, 731 Central Society of Education, 731 Ragged School Union,.. , 731 Philanthropic Society's Reform School 732 Schools for Pauper Children,. 733 Education of Childrtn in Factories 746 Schools of Industry,. ; .:;... .!. .:■;' 733 Schools of Desig;n, 734 Lancaahire Public School Society, 734 National Public School Association, 734 Parliamentary action in behalf of Schools, . . 735 "Bill of Mr. Whitbread in 1807, 735 Education Committee in 1816, 736 Bill of Mr. Brougham 1830, 736 Educational Olitirities, , 736 Education Inquiry of, 1833, 736 Educational grant in 1833, 736 Report of Select Comraitteeof 1834, 736 E^rts of Lord Brougham in 1835 and 1837, 737 Committee of Council in i839, 739 Action of Committee of Council on Education, 740 Appointment of-James P. Kayt as Secretary, 741 Aid towards School Buildingsi 741 " Normal School Buildings, .... 741 ", Normal, PupilB„„„,,.^... ....... ^41 " " Salaries of Teachers, ... ^ 741 " Apprentice Teachers, 741 ■■ School-books and Apparatus,. 742 " Inspection of Schools, 742 Nummary of results up to 1853, . ; 745 Remarks of T. B. Madauley, 747 » Thonjas Cerlyle, 750 History and Condition of Normal Schools or Training Culleges,'.....; ■-. 751 Examination Papers. oABfihool Management andAttofTuchiDg....... 7CT Pag8. Normal School of British and Foreign School Society, JJJ Normal Department for Young Men, 7»* Course of Conversational Reading, 775 Questions to test a School, J^ Model School .-■•• ™ FemaleDepartment of Normal School, >pW Hints to Candidates for Admission 7»4 Normal and Model Schools of the Home and Infant School Society, 4°J aualifications of Cand idates, 787 Couwe of Instruction for Teachers 789 Graduated Course in the Mode) School,,... 795 Syllabus of Lectures on Education, ow St. Mark's College, or Training Establishment for Masters for National Schools, ^ General Plan, by Rev. Derwent Coleridge,. 806 Musical Instruction, 812 Industrial Occupations, 814 Schools of Practice, '. 816 Oral Teaching 820 Battersea Normal School, .823 Condition of the Laboring Poor, 824 Training of Pauper Childreo, 824 Visit to Normal Schools of Switzerland, . , . 826 External Training of the Pupib, 826 Gymnastic Exercises, .' 830 Excursions into the Couijtry, 831 Household Life, .71 832 Intellectual Training 836 Phonic Method of Teaching Beading, 837 Arithmetic, 838 Elements of Mechanics, 839 Geography, 839 Drawing, 840 Vocal Music... 842 Lectures on Pedagogics , 843 Motives and Habits, 844 Training of Teachers for Large Towns,. . . 844 Formation of Character, 846 Religious Life 849 Theory and Practice of Teaching, 851 Results of the Experiment, 8^ Chester Diocesan Training College, 855 Commercial and Agricmtural School, 856 Model Sc'hool , , 862 Statistics of the Diocese, 863 Industrial Training, 867 Regularity of Attendance, 872 Normal Schools for Female Teachers, 875 Whiteland Institution 875 Salisbury Diocesan Institute 876 Lectures on the Principles of Education,.... 877 " Practice of Education, 8TO Eneller Hall Training School for Teadiers of Pauper Children, 879 Number of Pauper Children, 879 " Juvenile Criminals, 879 Condition of, as to Education, 879 Parish Apprenticeship, 880 Pauperism Hereditory, 880 '•Workhouse Schools, 881 , Industriol Instruction, 8R2 District Pauper Schools, 884 Troining School for Teachers, 885 Industrial Department of, ... , 888 Dail^ Routine, 886 Discipline, 888 Order of Lessons, •■........ 889 Hodfll pauper Sohool| geo INDEX. Aberdeen, industrial schools, 512, 731. *^ Adults, schonts and classei for, 269, 399, 729. Adventure schools in Scotland, 669. Agriculture, schools of, in France, 467. " " Ireland, 699. " " Wirteinbere, 307. " " Belgium, 589. " " Russia, 626. ' Agricultural education, 467. " colonies, 487, 557. Agronomic institute at Versailles, 470. Alfort, veterinary school at, 472. Alphabet, how taught, 51. Amusement, taste and habit of, cultivated, 494. Annaburg, military orphan school at, 115. Annuaire des deux mondes, extracts from, 406. Anthropology, 361. Apparatus, for primary schools, 267. . " " polytechnic, 103, 336. " agricultural, 467, 473, 336. " " veterinary, 472. Apprentices, house or family for, 410, 412. " schools, 590. ' Architecture, study of, 164 486. Arithmetic, how taught, 60, 63, 130, 137, 617. -.,1 Arts, schools of, in Prussia, 155, 159. " " " " Berlin, 159. " '* " Vienna, 335. " " " " France, 406. " " '* » England, 734. Ashley, Lord,, 511. Association of teachers, 179, 298, 364, 425, 592. '^ Attendance, law respecting, in Prussia, 95, 121. " " " Baden, 294. " " " Saxony, 266. " " " Bavaria, 313. " " " Switzerland, 342. ^ Atcbam union workhouse school, 711. Athensum in Belgium, 587. y Austria, 325. System of public instruction, 325. " popular schools, 325. " upper schools, 326. " commercial academies, 326. " high schools for girls, 336, i " gymnasia, 326. " lyceum, 326. " university, 326. " inspection, 329. Regulations respecting teachers, 331. System of norma) schools, 333. Polytechnic institute at Vienna, 335. — Statistics of elementary schools, 338.*^ " secondary schools, 339. *' superior, 339. " academies of science, 340. Bache, A. D,, Report on Education in Europe, 3. " " " extracts from, 81, 85, 117, 139, 122, 273, 457, 599. Baden, 293, School authorities, 293. System of primary schools, 293. Educational statistics of Baden, 293. '* school attendance, 294. " internal organization, 294. " plan of instruction, 296. Evening classes, 297. Sunday classes, 297. Industrial instruction, 297. Education of children in factories, 297. Teachers' conferences, 298. Normal seminary at Carlsruhe, 300. Bamberg, normal school at, 314. Basedow, 25. Battersea, training college at, 823. Bavaria, 314. System of primary schools, 313. Normal seminary at Bamburg, 314, Plan of seminary by Jacobi,,314. Educational statistics, 315. Mr. Kay's estimate of public schools. 316. Dr. Grazer's system of instruction, 319. Common school at Bayreuth, 320. Bayt'euth, Dr. Grazer's method at, 319. Beckendorf on self-education, 254, Bklgium, 583. History of public instruction, 583, Outline of system adopted in 1842, 585. Primary schools, 586. Secondary, 587. Superior, 588. Special and industrial, 588. Industrial education, 588. Normal instruction, 591. Teachers' conferences, 592. Normal school, 593 Reform school at Ruysselede, 555. Bell, Andrew, system of schools, 727. Benedt of clergy, 722. Berlin, schools of, 118, 124, 127, 142, 148, 233. Berne, association of teachers of, 364. Bernhardt, teachers' conference by, 243. Bible in Prussian schools, 53, 73. Black-book, 135. Blockman college at Dresden, 280. Boarding round, 168. Books, 93, 110, 689, 403. Borough Road normal school, 761. Brevet de cajjacitfi, 423. British and Foreign School Society, 761. ^ Brougham, Henry (Lord,) educational services, 735. " " extracts from, 754, 737., Brothers, institute of, at Horn, 491, 501, 524. " of the Christian doctrine, 436. Briihl, normal school at, 207. Burgh school in'Seotland, 669. Burgher school, definition of, 92. " " in Berlin, 133. " " " Halle, 112. 10 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE. Burgher Bchool in Leipeic, 373. Bursary or gratuity to teachers, 421, 618. Cnmpe, 25. Ciirlsrulie, normal echodl at, 300. Ciirter, Rev. T,, remnrks on young criminals, 508. Curved wood work, school for, 410. Cathedral schools, 721. Catholic church iind schools, 17, 75, 183, 206. " cantons in Switzerland, 343. Central society oi'educution, 731. Central school of arts in Paris, 408, 463. Certificate to pupils leaving school, 03. " " teachers in Prussia, 166, 188. " " " Saxony, 2R3. " " ** France, 423. " " " England, 753. • Chalmers, Dr., on parochial schools of Scotland, 658 Chemistry, 459, 460, Chester, training college at, 855. Children, personal appearance, 75, 105, 109. " rich and poor in same school. 105, 109, " catholics and protestants, 343, 428. Christian Brothers. 435, 420. *' knowledge society, 729. Christmas at a reform school, 522. City Trade School at Berlin, 155. Classical instruction, 156, 281, 383. ■■Classification in schools, 60, 103, 107. Clay, Rev. J., on crime, &c., 515. Cloister schools, 19, 279. Coleman, H., extracts fVora, 475, 548. Coleridge, Derwent, 806. Collective teaching, 775. College in French system, 383, 400. " training, ^ee Training College^ Comenius, 20. Commercial school, 337. Committee. See School Committee. Committee of council on education, 739. Common as applied to school, 401. Composition, how taught, 56. Compulsory school attendance, 21, 95, 121, 342. Concours, nature of, 392. Conference of teachers in Prussia, 167, 169, 243. " " " " Baden, 298. " " " " France, 425. " " " " Belgium, 592. " respecting reformatory schools, 497. Conversation, exercises in, 50, 60, 66. Conservatory of arts in Paris, 467, 407. Correction, house of, 492. Courses of study, 49, 92, 115, 119, 126, 127, 140, 152, 156. Courteilles, Viscount, Inhors at Mettray, 534. Cousin, extracts from, 382, 414, 598, " on Prussian schools, 3^. " Holland, 597. *' " normal schools, 414. Cramming system discarded, 270. Crime, juvenile, 732. Cuvier on schools of Holland, 597. Deraetz, founder of Mettray reform school, 493. Denmark, 619. Outline of system, 620. Iceland, 620. Denzel, teachers^ manual by, 303. Diaconissen Anstalt at Kaiscrswerth, 236. Dick*s bequest, 663. Didactic, or art of teaching, 222, 843, 851. Diesterweg, Dr., 127. Dijon, normal school at, 447. Diocesan schools in England, 655, 870. Diploma to teachers, 173, 18Q, 263. Discipline in polytechnic sphools, 461. " normal schools, 449, 455. Dismission of a teacher, 265. ' Pomergue on primary schools, 401. Dorothean Higher City School in Berlin, 124. Drawing, how taught, 59, 66, 51, 154, 320, 460. Dresden, schools in, 261, 268, 272, 278. Dublin, normal schools at, 693. • Ducpetiaux, E ; report on reform sfhools, 4JU " extracfs from. 517, 532 549 557. Dunmanwny. model afrrirultural school, 7(m. Dupin, Charles, educational map of Frnnce, 4Ui. Dwelling-house for teacher, J 67, 259, 652, dlW. 'Ecclesiastical authority na to schools, 183, 327. Edinburgh, normal schools at, C61, 671. Eislehen, normal seminary of, 218. Elberfeld, schools in, 97. _, Elementary schools, 92.* ^^ Employment of young children, 97, 226,297. Encouragements to pupils, 1J2. Endowed schools, 10.5, 279, 668, 723, 736. England, 721. History of public elementary schools, 721. Cloister and cathedral schools, 721. Benefit of clergy to those who could read, 722. Grammar and free schools, 723. Amdunt of educational endowments, 724, Voluntary associations to promote schooli, /25. Sunday schools, 726. Monitorial system, 727, Joseph Lancaster. 728. Andrew Bell, 727, British and Foreign School Society, 7^. National society, 729. __^ Society for promoting Christian knowledge, 729- Religions tract society, 729. School for adults, 729. Evening schools, 729. Infant schools, 730. Mechanics' institution, 730. Society for diffusion of useful knowledge, 731. Central society of education, 731. Ragged school union, 731. Philanthropic society's reform school, 732, Schools for pauper children, 733. Education of children in factories, 746. Schools of industry, 733. Schools of design, 734. Lancashire public schocri society, 734. - National public school association, 734. Parliamentury action in behalf of schools, 735. Action of Committee of Privy Council, 740. Remarks of T. B. Macaulav, 747, " Thomas Carlyle, 750. History and condition of normal schools, 751. Exammation papers on school management and art of teaching, 757. Normal school of British and Foreign School So- ciety, 761, Normal department for young men, 763. Course of conversational reading, 775. Questions to test a school, 777. Model school, 779. Female department of normal school, 780. Hints to candidates for admission, 784. Normal and model schools of the Home and In- fant School Society, 787. Syllabus of lectures on education, 800. St, Mark's college, or training school, 805. Battersea normal school, ?03. Chester diocesan training college, 855. Normal schools for female teacners, 875. Lectures on the principles of education, 877. " " practice of education, 878. Kneller Hall training school, 879. Conference respecting reform schools, 497. Philanthropic soc. farm school at Red Hill, 578. Engineers, schools for, 461, 568. English language, 837. " literature, 837, Esslingen, nnrmnl school at, 310. Evening schools, 297, 685, 729. Examination, public, '^71, " oral, 460. " by written questions, 231. " ot teachers in Prussia, 230, PUBLIC BDHC ATION IN EUROPE. 11 Examination of teachers in Saxony, 264, 270. ," '* France, 433. " Holland. 601. " for universities, 143, l45. Example, influence of, in teachers, 253. Exhibition for poor scholars, 422. Factory children in Prussia, 96. " " " Baden, 297. " ■ " V England, 746. Family arrangement at reform schools, 545. Farm schools for young criminals, 487, Febiiiger, 31. Fees, or tuition, 176, 596, 599, 658, 746. Felbiger, 35. Fellenberg's institute at Hofwyl, 351. " principles of education, 354. " nofmal course, 357. Female teachers, 179, 235, 240. " " normal schools for, 235, 2^0, 404, 767. Fleidner, institute at Kaiserswetth, 23d. Fletcher normal seminary, 272. Foreman in reform schools, how trained, 491, 535, 554, 562. Forestry, schools of, 307. Formal instruction, 203. "^ -^France, 381. — 'History of popular education, 381- Ordinances of national convention, 381. Decrees of Napoleon, 381. Law of the government of Louis Phillippe, 382. Report of Victor Cousin, 383. Speech, of M. Guizot, 387. Degrees of primary instruction, 387. Local and state inspection, 388. .Professional education of teachers, 389. Mission of the teacher, 389. Society of elementary instruction, 390. Outlineof system- in 1850, 391. University of France, 391. Council of public instruction, 391, Academies, 391. Royal colleges, 392. System of competion for professorship, 392. . System of primary instruction, 393. — School attendnnce, 393. — Local management, 393. Examination of Teachers, 393. I Departmental inspection, 394. i Education of teachers, 394. Course bf instruction, 395. Teachers' associations, 395. Fund for relief of aged teachers, 395. Governmental prizes to masters, 395. Expenditures for school-houses, 395, Schools embraced in rfniversity of France, 396 ;~^riniary education in the communes, 397. Number of primary sch. belong, to each sect, 397 ' Attendance in primary schools, 398. Classes for adults, and apprentices, 899. Statfstics of normal schools, 399. State of secondary education, 400. Primary education in department of Tarn, 401. Institutions for special instruction, 405. " '* industrial instruction, 406.^ History of normal schools in France, 413. Conferences of teachers, 425. Libraries of teachers, 427 I Pecuniary condition of teachers, 430. ' Institute of Christian Brothers, 435. . Primary normal school at Versailles, 447. " " " " Dijon, 449. Secondary normal school of Paris, 451. Polytechnic school of France, 457. '* " engineers, 462. " " roads and bridges, 462- " " mines, 462. Central school of [irts and manufactures, 453. Agricultural education in France, 467. Model farm schools, 468. Regional schools of agriculture, 469. Nat'onal agronomic institute, 470. Vete-innrv schools, 471. Reform farm schools, 474. Agricultural school at Grignon, 475. '* " " Griind Jouan, 485. Farm schools for juvenile delinquents, 487. Agricultural refirm school at JVIettrny, 533. Horticultural reform school at Petit-Bourg, 549. Prison of Ija Roqnette in Paris, 553. Franks, educational labors of, 21. " ' teachers* class, 24. " orphan-house, 21, 113. Frederick William Gymnasium, Berlin, 148, Free church of Scotland, 669. " schools, 325. French language, how taught, 137, 142, 154. Fr&res Chretiens, 441. Freyberg, school of mines at, 289., Funds, must not diminish school rate or tax, 167. Gallery lesson, 720i, 801. Garden for teacher, 167. Gardening, art of, acquired by teachers, 303,431,815. Geography, how taught, 68, 114, J31, 138, 613. Geometry, how taught, 131, 137. Germany, 17. I History of education, 17. ^ Parochial schools, 18. Public schopls, 19. Martin Luther, 19. Augustus Herrman Frankfi, 21. Orplmii-house at Halle, 21. Bfisedow, 25. Festalozzi, 25. Zeller, 29. Centennial birth-day of Pestalozii, 30. Progress of normal schools, 31. General features of the school systems, 32. Table. Normal schools in Germany in 1848, 34. Results of the normal school system, 35. Course of ihsttuction in primnry schools, 49. For children between ages of six and eight, 50. Fjr children from ten to twelve, 55. Children from twelve to fourteen, 57. Extracts from report of Hon. H. Mann, 60^ Testimony of Joseph Kay, Esq., as to the practi- cal working of the Prim. Sen. of G,ermany, 74. Glasnevin, agricultural school at, 683. .Government, educational duty of, 76, 387,747,750. Graded schools, 103, Grammar, how taught, 54, 56, 59, 65. Grand Jouan, agricultural school at, 485. Grazer, system of instruction of, 319. Grekce, 633. Outline of system, and statistics in 1853, 633. Greek church, 628. Grignon, agricultural school at, 475. Guizot, plan of schools for France, 387. " extracts from, 387. Gymnasium, in Prussia, 105, 139. " " Saxony, 379. " " " Austria, 336. Gymnastics, 830. Hague, primary school at, 609., Halle, orphan-house at, 31, 113. " burgher school at, 112. Hamburgh, reform school at, 517. Hamilton, Sir William, extract from, 91, 382- Hatnisch, method of tenching reading, 114. " plan of studies, 115. Hebrew schools, 311, 631 Hecker, 24, 31. Hermann, seminary for classic teachers, 259. Resse Cassel, 311. Hickson, \V. E. German nationality, 7. " " schools in Holland, 24, 597. FfigUer burgher school, 124, 127, 135. Hill, M. D., on juvenile crime, 498. Hitchcock, £., Report on agricultural schools, 703. <' extracts from, 469, 703. 12 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE. Hofwyl, Pellent)erg'*B eatabliflhrnent at, 351. Hohenheim, agricultural iuBtitute at, 307. Holland, 595. History of primary instruction, 595. Outline of ayatem. Scliool inspertion, 595. EegulatioDB aa to eTiaminntion of teachera, 601. " " school inspectors, 003. " ' " primary schools, 605. Regulations respecting religious instruction, 606. Table. Primary education in 1846, 608, Primary school at the Hague, 609. " normal achool at Harlaem, 617. Home and colonial infant acjiool aociety, 721, 746. Horn, reform school at, 517. Horology, practical school of, 410. Iceland, fafnily instruction, 620. \ Iferten. See Yverdvn. ' Ignorance and crime, 749. Indigent children, 487. Induction, methods of, 117, 128. Industry, school of, 733. Industrial instruction, in normal schools, 187, 367. *' " primary schools, 297, 687. " '* pauper schools, 882, " " refotm schools, 487. " " Special schools, 406» Infant schools, 730. Inspection of schoolsin Austria, 327, 329. " » " Baden, 293. " " " England, 742. " " " France, 388, 394. " •' " Holland, 596, 603. •' " " Ireland, 689. " " " SuJcony, 258. " " " Spain, 649. " '* " Switzerland, 347. " » " Wirtemberg, 302. Institute of arts at Berlin, 159. *' " agriculture at Hohenheim, 307. Instruction, methods of, 43, 50, 60, 91, 110, 113, 128. Intellectual education, 836. Ionian Islands, schools in, 634. IrklanD, 675. <* History of national education, 675* Legislation of Henry VIII., 676. Froteatant charter schools, 676. Kildare-place society, 677. Goromissionera of English Parliament, 677. " Nationol Education, 6'77. Results of the system, 678. Training department and model schools, 693. Agricultural education, 699. Professorships in Queen^s Colleges, 699. Agricultural department in national Bystem, 700. Model farm at Glasnevin, 703. List of lectures at Glasnevin, 707. — National school at Lame, 707. Dunmanway model school, 709. Workhouse agricultural school, 710. Operations of similar schools in England, 710. Queen's Colleges and University, 711. Irregular attendance, 266. Italy, 635. System in Lombardy and Venice, 635. " Sardinia, 640. " " Tuscany, 643. " '* Rome, 644. " " Naples, 645. Itinerant schoola m Norway, 623. Jftcobi, plan of normal school by, 314. Julius, Dr., Prussian schools as they werd, 241. Journals of education, 46, 182, 390. Journal of Education, London, extract from, 401. Jury of examination, 460. Juvenile crime, origin of, 493. ' " *' cost of, 501, 503: " criminals, school for ih Belgium, 406, 557. " " '* " France, 492. " " " " Wirtemberg, 489. Juvenile criminals, school for, in Hamburgh, 490. .. .. .< " England. 497. (1 II K " Switzerland, 487. " " conference respecting, 497. Kaiserowerth, school for nurses, governesses, 236 Ka^, Joseph, on education of I'^ople^. " '* extracts from, 74, 94, 222, 226, 261, 305. 315, 341, 367, 441. Kay, James Phillips. See SAuttleworth. Kneller Hall, P79. Kindermann, 31. Kirk session, nature and power of, 655. Kirkpatrick, Dr., on agricultural schools, 700. Knighton, W,, lectures on teaching by, 877. Koenigsberg, seminary for teachers at, 83. Kribben, or nursery schools, 730. Kruitzlingen, normal school at, 367. Kussnacht, normal school at, 373. Lalor, author of prize essay, 731. Lamartine, on duty of educated men, 404- Lancashire public school association, 734. Lancaster, Joseph, 727. Lancasterian system, in England, 728. Denmark, 620. " " Holland, 595, 610. • " " Prussia, 106. " *' Spain, 647. Landed proprietors, duties to poor children, 106. Lap-bag, for needlework. 780. La Roquette. prison of, 555. Larne, agricultural school at, 707. Lasulle, Abbe de, educational labors of, 435. Lastadie, normal school at, 192, Lateran, council of, 18. Latin, how taught, 137, 285 813. Lausanne, normal school at, 378. Learned societies, 405. Liberty of instruction, .'584. Libraries for teachers, 427. Lierre, normal sphoo! at, 593. Liepsic, burgher school in, 273. real school, 273. " seminary for classic teachers, 259. Locke, John, 25. Lombardy, schools in, 635. Lucerne, normal school nt, 380. Luther, Martin, educational labors of, 19. " letter to elector of Saxony, 19. " address in behalf of Christian schools, 19. Lyceum, in Austria, 326. France, 383. Macauley, T B. on public schools, 747. Madras system, of Dr. Bell, 727. Malthus, on state of schools in England, 726. Manufactures, schools of, 406, Management clauses, 744. Manners of school children, 305. 77. Mann, Horace, report on schools of Europe 4 " extracts from, 39, 60, 528. Manufacturing districts, 96, 266, 297, 325. Marienweider, normal school for females at, 236. Material instruction, 203. Map-drawing, 69, 615. Maynooth, 713. Mc Neil, Sir John, on agricultural schools, 701. Mechanics, science of, 866.. Mechanics' Institutions, 730. Mecklenberg, dughy of, 311. Mental arithmetic, 64. Method ictc, 206. Mercantile and commercial schools, 335, 856. Methods of teaching left with teacher, 93, 110. Mettray, reform school at, 533. Middle schools, 91. Milne's Free School, 668. Mines, schools of, 289, 462, 410. Minutes of committee of council oti education, 739 Military schoola, 590, 631. PUBLIC EDUCATION IN EUROPE. 13 Military orphan schools, 115, 532. Mixed schools, 79, 98, 401. M odel farm school, 468, 932. ** schools, annexed to normal schools, 165. Moilels for drawing, 163. Monasteries, schools in, 279, 721. Monitorial system, 106, 401, 610. Monitors, 106, 175, 343. Moral Education, 355. More, Sir Thomas, extract from, 725. Mother school of Christian Brothers, 352. Motives to study, 145. Mulhauser's system of writing, 838. Munich, 317. Music, 74; 126, 131, 211, 228, 842. Mutual instruction, 107, 610, 729. Nassau, duchy of, 311. National society, in England, 729. Natural history, how taught, 131, 866. Nature, knowledge of, 70, 137. Naval schools, 405, 625., Navigation, 589, 625. Needle work in school, 780, 590. " " taught by teachers* wives, 432. Neufchatel, 343, 349. New Lanark, infant school at, 730. Nichols, G., extracts from, 598. Non-attendance at school, 403. Normal schools, de6nition of, 31, 333. *' " remarks on hy C. E. Stowe, 35. " - " " A. D. Bache, 39. " " " H. Mann, 39. " " " E. Ryerson, 45. " " " L., Stephens, 46. " " " Joseph Kay, 183, 232. " " " ■ Shuttieworth, 826. " " " V. Cousin, 414. " " M. Guizot, 388. " " " Lord Brougham, 751. " " history of, 20, 30, 413, 661, 751. '* '* number and condition of, — " * " in Prussia, 165, 172, 185, 189, 190. " " Saxony, 259, 26). " " Wirtemberg, 310, 305. " " Austria, 333. " " Switzerland, 343, 357, 366, 373, " " Bavaria, 313. " " Baden, 300. " " Hesse Cassel, 312. " " France, 399, 421, 431, 447, 451. " " Spain, 647. " " Portugal, 646. " " Russia. 627. " " Belgium, 591. " Holland, 617, 844. " " Denmark, 620. " " Greece, 634. " England. 751. " " Ireland, 693. " " Scotland, 661, 67L " " Germany, 34. " " diiferent grades of, 189. 415. " " for female teachers, 235, 404, 594, 875. " " catholic teacbers, 207. " " protestant teachers, 317, 197. " " teachers of primary schools, 191. " " " secondary schools, 451. 259, 264. " " " pauper children, 879. " " " reform schools, 490. 524, 535. " " " agricultural do., 700. " " " city schools, 446, 233. " " " ruraldistricts,415, 445 '* " "description of particular, — " " in Prussia. Lostadie, 192. " " " " Pyritz, 194. " " " " Potsdam, 197. " " " " Bruhl, 207. " " " " Eislobon, 318. ■ Normal schools in Prussia, Weissenfels, 219. " " " " Berlin, 233. " " " " Kaiserswerth, 236. " " " Saxony. Leipsic, 2.59. " " " " Dresden, 261. " " " Boden. Carlsruhe, 300. " " '* Wirtemberg. Esslingen, 310. " " " Hease Cassel. Sohluchtern, 312. " " " Bavaria. Bamberg, 314. " " " " Schwabach, 314. " " " Austria. Vienna, 333. " " " Switzerland. Hofwyl, 357. " " " " Kruitzlingen. 367. " " " " Zurich, 372.' " " " Switzerland. Kussnacht, 373. " " " Lausanne, 378. " " " Lucerne, 380. ** *' France. Paris, 451. " " " Versailles, 447. " " " Dijon, 449. " " Belgium. Lierre, 593. " Holland. Harlaem, 617. " " Scotland. Edinburgh, 661, 671. " " Ireland. Dublin, 693. " " England. Boroughroad,Lon.761. " " " Chester, 855. " " " Chelsea, 805. " " " Batterseo, 833. Whiteland, 875, Kneller Hall, 879. " " administration and instruction of, — " " direction of, 197, 219, 233, 262, 373, 617. " " buildings and fixtures, 197, 207, 367. " " domestic arrangements, 225, 227, 233, 262, 367, 202, 421, 447, 449. " " director, or principal of, 416. " " discipline of, 449, 455, 618. " " plan of study, 416. " " expenses, &c., 197, 229, 424, 421. " " number of teachers, 198, 217, 261, 305. of pupils, J98, 208, 261. " " age of admission, 422, 810. " '* conditions of admission, 165, 185, 199, 219, 226, 232, 261, 303, 617, 694. " " pledge to teach, 422. " " course and subjects of study, 186, 192, • 218, 272, 300, 306, 312, 372, 376, 378. " "length of course, 166, 184, 220, 225, 260, 261, 333, 617. " " physical, 209, 225. " " intellectual, 186, 201, 213. " " moral and religious, 196, 211, 220, 225, 234. " " industrial, 187, 814, 861, 888. " " science of teaching, 229, 232, 234, 617. " " art of teaching, 204, 216, 234, 262, 617. *' " musical education, 228, 280. " " examination for diploma, 166, 188, 204, 230, 262, 423. " " privileges of graduates, 189. " " general results of, 35, 39, 755. NOKWAT, 623. Outline of system of public education, 623. """^ Norwood, industrial school for paiipers, 733: Novitiate of the Christian Brothers, 444. Nursery schools, 730. Nurses, training of, 236. Oberlin, J. J., author of infant schools, 730. Observation, how cultivated, 50, 206. Oral instruction, 761, 612. Order of exercises in school. See Time Table. Organization of public schools. See Prussia, France, SrC. Orphans, number of, increased by war, 487. " of teachers provided for, 181. " house for at Halle. 21, 112. '• " " " Annaburg, 115. Osborn, Rev. W. C, on cost of crime, 502. Outline maps, 69, 613. Overberg, Bernard, labors of, 347. 14 PUBLIC EDtJOATION IN EUROPE. Overseers of achools in Austria, 330. J^: -- Parents, duties of, to schoola, in Prussio, 74, 75. " *' " " " Bavaria, 313. " " " Saxony, 266. " " " " " France, 393. " " " " " Switzerland, 342. Paris, polytechnic school, 457. ** normal school at, 451. " school of arts, 463. Parish or parochial schools, 346, 651. Parkhurat, prison for juvenile criminala, 732. Patronage society, for discharged criminals, 555. Pauperism and education, 350, 870. Pauper children, number of, 733, 879. " " schools for, 733. " ' *' teachers for, 885. Pedagogy, 183, 222. Pecuniary .condition of teacher, 430, Pennmanship, see Writinff. Pensions for disabled teacnfii's, 181,402. Periodicals, educational, 46, 183, 390. -T*^ Pestalo22i, educational principles of, 25. '' system of in Prussia, 83. " orphan-house at Neuhof, 487. " contrasted with Basedow, 26. Petit-Bourg, reform school at, 549. Philanthopinum of Basedow, 25. Philanthopic society, 578, " " reform school of, 5*8 Phonic method, 25, 613, 836. Physical education, 138, 144. Physiology, 830, 361. Pietists, 25. Piety of teachers, how sho\Vn, 194. Play-ground, 106, 274. Polytechnic school at Berlin, 159. " " Vienna, 335. " " " Paris, 457. Poor schools, in Holland, 609. PoRTUftAL, 646. Potsdam, higher burgher school at, 135. " not mal school, 197. " orphan-house, 532. Pounds, John, author of rag^ged schools, 731> Practical instruction. 203. Practice, or model schools, 165, 204, 216. Preparatory notmal school, 226. Prevention, in school government, 211. Preventive schools, conference respecting, 4684 Primary school irl Snxpny, 269. ,^ Primary schools. See Prussia, France, Src. " " gradation of, 91, 387, 609. " *' courseof instruction in Germany, 49. "' " " " " " Holland, 609. " '* " " " " Austria, 327. " *' " " " " Bavaria, 3J3. " " " " " " France, 401. " " " " " " Saxony, 258, " *' " " " " Baden, 296. " " inspection of. See Ijutpection. " " teachers of. See I'eachers. Prince schools, 279. Princen's reading boafd, 612. Private schools, 103. Pro-seminaries, 226. j( Prussia, description of primary Instructiorl, 81. " History of primary .instruction, 81. Outline of System, 85. Statistics of primary education in 1848, 88. Remarks on progress of primary Schools, 89. Subjects and methods ot instruction, 91. Results, according to Mr. Kay, 94. " " Mr Blann, 39. " " Mr. Stephens, 46. ' Education of young children, universal, 94. School attendance, 95. Children employed in factories, 96. •Voluntary system prior to 1819, 97. Schools where the people are of one faith, 98. " " " " " different do. 98. RUSSIA, Mixed schools, 99. Duties of school committee, 99. Schools in large Uiwiin and cities, JOI- Advantages of large schools, 103. School-houaes, 103. Superior primary Schools, 105. ,,,,01 Real schools, gymnasia, endowed schools, 1V3. Large landed proprietors, 106. Lancasterian method, 106. Paid monitors or assistants, 107. Text-books, 109. Suggestive character of the methods, 110. Interest of children in their studies, 111. Burgher school at Halle, 112. Military orphan-house at Annaburg, 115. Public schools of Berlin, 118. Elementary schools. 118. Burgher schools, 123, Dorothean higher city school of Berlin. 124. Model school of teachers* seminary, 127. Seminary school at Weissenfets, 123. Higher burgher school of Pot'idam. 135. Secondary Instruction in Prussia, 139. Frederick William Gymnasium of Berlin, 149- Royal feal school, 152. City trade school, 1.55. Institute of Arts, 159. Legal provision respecting teachers, 165. Testimony of Mr. Kay, 169. Social condition, 170. Educational advantages, 172. Schools preparatory to normal schools, 41, 171. Examination on entering, 172. Teachers are public officers 174. Salaries fixed, and payment certain, 176. Female teachers, 178. Teachers' conferences, 179. Pensions to old and invalid teachers. 181. Widows and orphans of deceased teachers, IKZ. Educational periodicals, 182. Teachers seminarv, of normal colleges, 183. Conditions and examinations for entering, 41,185. Intellectual training ofaseminary, 186. Industrial training, 187. Diploma, 173, 188. Location of normal schools in 1846, 190. Small normal schools of Lastadie. 191. Small normal school of Pyritz, 194, Normal school of Ps of the plan, and that we faould not hope to educate in such a mode, a truly Cliristian community. The personal character of Pestalozzi also influenced his views and methods of education on religious subjects. He was remarkably the creature of power- ful impulses, which were usually of the most mild and benevolent kind ; and he preserved a child-like character in this respect even to old age. It was probably this temperament, which led him to estimate at a low rate the import- ance of positive religious truth in the education of children, and to maintain that the mere habit of faith and love, if cultivated toward earthly friends and benefactors, would, of course, be transferred to our Heavenly Father, whenever his character should be exhiliited to the mind of the child. The fundamental error of this view was established by the unhappy experience of his own insti- tution. His own example afforded the most striking evidence that the noblest impulses, not directed by established principles, may lead to imprudence .and ruin, and thus defeat their own ends. As an illustration of this, it may be men- tioned that, on one of those occasions, frequently occurring, on which he was reduced to extremity for want of the means of .supplying his large family, he borrowed four hundred dollars from a friend for the purpose. In going home, he met a peasant, wringing his hands in despair for the loss of his cow. Pes- talozzi put the entire bag of money into his hands, and ran off to escape his thanks. These circumstances, combined with the want of tact in reference to the affairs of common life, materially impaired his powers of usefulness as a practical instructor of youth. The rapid progress of his ideas rarely allowed him to execute his own plans; and, in a.ccordance with his own system, too much time was employed in the profound development of principles, to admit of much attention to their practical application. But, as one of his admirers observed, it was his province to educate ideas and not children. He combated, with unshrinking boldness and untiring perse- verance, through a long life, the prejudices and abuses of the age in reference to education, both by his example and by his numerous publications. He attacked with great vigor and no small degree of success, that favorite maxim of bigotry and tyranny, that obedience and devotion are the legitimate offspring of igno- rance. He denounced that degrading system, which considers it enough to enable man to procure a subsistence for himself and his offspring — and in this manner, merely to place him on a level with the beast of the forest; and which deems every thing lost whose value can not be estimated in money. He urged upon the consciences of parents and rulers, with an energy approaching that of the ancient prophets, the solemn duties which Divine Providence had imposed upon th^, in committing to, their charge the present and future destinies of their fellow-beings. In this way, he produced an impulse, which pervaded the continent of Europe, and which, by means of his popular and theoretical works, reached the cottages of the poor and the palaces of the great. His institution at Yverdun was crowded with men of every nation; not merely those who were led by the same impulse which inspired him, but by the agents of kings and noblemen, and public institutions, who came to make themselves ac- quainted with his principles, in order to become his fellow-laborers in other countries." When the Prussian Government, in 1809, undertook systematically the work of improving the elementary schools, as a means of creating and difTusing a patriotic spirit among the people, the fame of Pestalozzi was at its height. To him and to his school, to his method and to his disci- ples, the attention of the best teachers in the kingdom was turned for guidance and aid. Several enthusiastic young teachers were sent to his institution at Yverdun, (Iferten,) to study his methods and imbibe his spirit of devotion to the children of the poor. One of his favorite pupils, G. B. Zeller, of Wirtemberg, and who shared with him in certain weak- 30 HISTORY OF PRIMARY EDDCATION IN GERMANY. uesses of character, which prevented his attaining the highest success as a practical educator in carrying out the details of an extensive plan, was invited to organize a Normal School at Konigsberg, in the orphan- house (orphanotrophy) established by Frederick III., on the 13th of January, 1701, the day on which he declared his dukedom a kingdom, and caused himself to be crowned king, under the name of Frederick the First. To this seminary, during the first year of its existence, upward of one hundred clergymen, and eighty teachers, resorted, at the expense of the government, to acquire the principles and methods of the Pestaloz- zian system. Through them, and the teachers who went directly to Pes- talozzi, these principles and' methods were transplanted not only into various parts of Prussia, but also into the schools and seminaries of other states in Germany. Not even in Switzerland is the name of this philan- thropist and educator so warmly cherished as in Prussia. His centennial birthday was celebrate.d throughout Germany, and par- ticularly in Prussia, on the 12th of January, 1846, 'with an enthusiasm usually awarded only to the successful soldier. In more than one hundred cities and villages, in upward of one thousand schools, by more than fifty thousand teachers, it is estimated in a German school journal, was the anniversary marked by some public demonstration. The following notice of the appropriate manner in which it was celebrated in Leipsic, by- founding a charity for the orphans of teachers, and for poor and neglected children generally, is ■abridged from an extended notice in Reden's School Gazette. " At the first school hour, the elder pupils of the city school at Leipsic, were informed by a public address of the eminent merits of Pestalozzi as an eminent teacher, and a program.'with his portrait, handed to tbem ; this program contained an address to the citizens of Leipsic, by the Rev. Dr. Naumann ; the plan of a public charity, to be called the Pestalozzi Foundation, (Hiftung,) by Director Vogel ; and a biographical sketch, by Professor Plato. At ten o'clock, the elder pupils of the burgher school, and delegates from all the schools, with their teacners, and the friends of education, assembled in the great hall of one of the public schools ; on the walls were portraits of Pestalozzi, adorned with garlands. Addresses were made by the Rev. Dr. Naumann, who had visited Pestalozzi in Iferten, and by other gentlemen, while the intervals were enliv- ened by songs and music composed for the occasion. In the evening a general association of all the teachers in Leipsic was formed, for the purpose of estab- lishing ' the Pestalozzi foundation,' designed for the education of poor and neglected children." In Dresden a similar charity was commenced for the benefit of all ol-phans <}f teachers from any part of Saxony. The same thing was done in nearly all the large cities of Germany. In Berlin a Pestalozzi foundation was com- menced for an orphan-house, to which contributions had been made from all provinces of Prussia, and from other states of Germany ; to the direction of this institution Dr. Diesterweg has been appointed. The schools of most of the teaohere and educators, whose names have been introduced, were in reality Teachers' Seminaries, although not so designated by themselves or others. Their establishments were not simply schools for children, but were conducted to test and exemplify HISTORY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN GERMANY. 3 J principles and methods of education, and these were perpetuated and disseminated by means of books in which tliey were embodied, or of pupils and disciples who transplanted them into other places. As has been already stated, on the authority of Franke's biographer, and of Schwartz, Raumer, and other writers on the history of education in Germany, the first regularly-jorganized Teachers' Seminary, or Normal School, (not normal in the sense in which the word was originally used, as a school of children so conducted as to be a model or pattern for teach- ers to imitate, but a school of young men, who had already passe4 through an elementary, or even a superior school, a.nd who were preparing to be teachers, by making additional attainments, and acquiring a knowledge of the human mind,, and the principles of education as a science, and of its methods as an art,) was established in Halle, in a part of Hanover, prior to 1704. About the same period, Steinmetz opened a class for teachers in the Abbey of Klosterberge, near Magdeburg, and which was continued by Resewitz, by whom the spirit and method of Franke and the pietists were transplanted into the north of Germany. In 1730, lectures on philology and the best methods of teaching the Latin, Greek and German languages, were connnon in the principal universities and higher'schools. The first regularly-organized seminary for this purpose, was established at Gottingen, in 1738, and by its success led to the institution of a similar course of study and practice in Jena, Helle, Helmstadt, Heidelberg, Ber- lin, Munich, &o. In 1735, the first seminary for primary school teachers was established in Prussia, at Stettin, in Pomerania. In 1748, Hecker, apupil of Franke, and the founder of burgher, or what we should call high schools, estab- lished an institution for teachers of elementary schools, in Berlin, in which the king testified an interest, and enjoined, by an ordinance in 1752, that the country schools on the crown lands in New Mark and Pomerania should be supplied by pupil teachers from this institution who had learned the culfore of silk and mulberries in Hecker's institution, with a view of carrying forward industrial instruction into that section of his kingdom. In 1757, Baron von Fiirstenberg established a seminary for teachers at Munster, in Hanover. In 1767, the Canan von Rochow opened a school on his estate in Rekane, in Bradenburg, where, by lectures and practice, he prepared schoolmasters for country schools on his own and neighboring properties. To these schools teachers were sent from all parts of Ger- many, to be irainefl in the principles and practice of primary instruction. In 1770, Bishop Febinger, organized a Normal {model) School in Vienna, with a course of lectures and practice for teachers, extending through four months ; and about the same time the deacon Ferdinand Kinder- mann, or von Schulstein, as he was called by Maria Theresa, converted a school in Kaplitz, in Bohemia, into a Normal Institution. Between 1770 and 1800, as will be seen by the following Table-, teachers' semina- ries were introduced into nearly every German state, which, in all but three instances, were supported in whole or in part by the government. 32 HISTORY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN GERMANY As the demand for good teachers exceeded the supply furnished by these seminaries, private institutions have sprung up, some of which have at- tained a popularity equal to the public institutions. But in no state have such private schools been able to -sustain themselves, until the gov- ernment sem^inaries and the public school system had created a demand for well-qualified teachers. And in no state in Europe has the experi- ment of making seminaries for primary school teachers an appendage to a university, or a gymnasium, or any other school of an academic char- acter, proved successful for any considerable period of time, or on an ex- tensive scale. At the beginning of the present century, there were about thirty teachers' seminaries in operation. The wars growing out of the French Revolution suspended for a time the movements in behalf of popular ed- ucation, until the success of the new organization of schools in Prussia, commencing in 1809, arrested the attention of governments and individ- uals all over the continent, and has led, within the' last quarter of a century, not only to the establishment of seminaries nearly sufficient to supply the annual demand for teachers, but to the more perfect organiza- tion of the whole system of public instruction. The cardinal principles of the system of Primary Public Instruction as now organized in tiie German states, are. First. The recognition on the part of the government of the right, duty and interest of every community, not only to co-operate with parents in the education of children, but to provide, as far as practicable, by efficient inducement and penalties, against the neglect of this first of parental obligations, in a single instance. The school obligation, — the duty of pa- rents to send their children to school, or provide for their instruction at home, — was enforced by law in Saxe-Gotha, in 1643 ; in Saxony and Wirtemberg, in 1659 ; in Hildesheim in 1663 ; in Calemberg, in 1681 ; in Celle, in 1689 ; in Prussia, in 1717 ; and in every state of Germany, before the beginning of the present century. But it is only within the last tliirty years, that government enactments have been made truly efficient by en- listing the habits and good will of the people on the side of duty. We must look to the generation of men now coming into active life for the fruits of this principle, universally recognized, and in most cases wisely enforced in every state, large and small, Catholic and Protestant, and havingjmore or less of constitutional guaranties and forms. Second. The establishment of a sufficient number of permanent schools of different grades, according to the population, in every neighborhood, with a suitable outfit of buildings, furniture, appendages and apparatus. Third. Tbe specific preparation of teachers, as far as practicable, for the particular grade of schools for which they are destined, with oppor- tunities for professional employment and promotion through life. Fourth. Provision on the part of the government to make the schools accessible to the poorest, not, except in comparatively a few instances, HISTORY OP PRIMARY BDnCATION IN GERMANY. 33 and those in the most despotic governments, by making them free to the poor, but cheap to all. ',Ptfih.'A system of inspection, variously organized, but constant, gen- eral, and responsible — reaching every locality, evei^y school,, every, teacher, and pervading the whole state from the central government to the remotest district. The success of the school systems of Germany is universally attributed .by, her own educators to the above features of her school law — especially those which relate to the teacher. These provisions jespecting teachers may be summed up as follows : — 1. The recognition of the true dignity and importance of the offices of teacher in a system of public instruction. ' 2. The establishment of a sufficient number of Teachers' Seminaries, or Normal Schools, to educate, in a special course of instruction and practice, all persons who apply or propose to teach in any public primary school, with aids to self and professional irfiprovement through life. 3. A system of examination and inspection, by which incompetent per- sons are prevented from obtaining situations as teachers, or are excluded and degraded from the ranks of the profession, by unworthy or criminal conduct. 4. A system of promotion, by which faithful teachers can rise in a scale of lucrative and desirable situations. 5. Permanent employment through the year, and for life, with a social position and a compensation which compare favorably with the wages paid to educated labor in other departments of business. 6. Preparatory schools, in which those who wish eventually to become teachers, may test their natural qualities and adaptation for school teach- ing before applying for admission to a Normal "School. 7. Frequent conferences and associations for mutual improvement, by an ioter-change of opinion and sharing the benefit of eia^h others' experience. 8. Exemption from military service in time of peace, and recognition, in social and civil life, as public functionaries. 9. A pecuniary allowance when sick, and provision for years of infirmity and old age, and for their families in case of death. 10. Books and periodicals, by which the obscure' teacher is made par- taker in all the improvements of the most experienced and distinguished members of the profession in his own and other countries. , With this brjpf and rapid survey of the history and condition of Popu- lar Education in Germany, we will now pass to a more particular descrip- tion. of primary schools in several states, with special reference to the or- ganization and course of instruction of Normal Seininaries, and other means and agencies for the .professional training of teachers. Before doing this, we publish a table, prepared from a variety of school docu- ments, exhibiting the number and location of Normal Schools in Germany, Ti^th the testimony of some of our best educators as to the result, of this Normal School system. 3 34 NORMAL SCHOOLS IN GERMANY. TABLE. ' KUUBBR ANS LOCATION OP NORMAL SEMINARIES IN THE DIPPBRENT STATES OP OBBHAMT. , The following Table has been compiled from recent official documents and school journals, and without being complete, is accurate as far as it goes. Calinich, in an article in Reden's Magazine, estimates the whole number of public and private seminaries in Germany, at one hundred and fifty-six, and the preparatory schools at two hundred and six. PRUSSIA 45 HANOVER, 7 Alfeld, f. 1750; Hanover, Hildes- SUFERIOR SEMINARIES. Stettin, founded 1735 ; Potsdam, foun. 1748 ; Breslou, foun. 1765 ; Hal- beritadt, f. 1778; J\Iagdeburg, f. 1790 ; Weissenfels, f. 1794 ; Kara- lene, f. 1811; Braunsberg, f. 1810; Marienburg, f. 1814 ; Graudenz, f. 1816; Neuzelle, f. 1817; Berlin, f. 1830; Coslin, f. 1806; Bunzlaiu, f. 1816; Eromberg, f. 1819 ; Paradies, f. 1838; Erfurt, f. 1820; Biiren, f. 1825 ; Meurs, f. 1820 ; Neuwied, f. 1816; Bruhl, f. 1823; Kempen, f. 1840 ; Konigsberg, re-organized, 1809; Ober-Giogau, re-or., 1815; Posen, f. 1804; Soest,f.l818; Low- en, f. 1849. SMALL, OR SECONDARY SEMINARIES. Angerburg, f. 1829; Miihlhausen, Greifswald, f. 1791 ; Kammin, f. 1840 , Pyritz, f. 1827 ; Trzemesseo, f. 1^9 ; Gardelegen.f. 1821 ; Eisleben, f. 1836; Eetershagen, f. 1831 ; Lan- fenhor.st, f. 1830; Heiligenstadt, lylau, Alt-Dobern, Stralsund. FOE FEMALE TEACHERS. Munster ; Paderbora ; private semi- naries in Berlin, (Bormann) ; Ma- rienwerder, (Alberti ;) Kaisers- wertb, (Fleidner.) AUSTRIA, : 11 Vienna, f. 1771 ; Prague, Trieste, Salz burg, Ins{)rlick, Graz, Gorz, Klag- enfurt, Laibach, Linz, Brunn. SAXONYv 10 Dresden, f. 1785 ; Fletcher's seminary f. 1825; Freiberg, f. 1797; Zittau, Budissin, Plauen, Grimma, Anna- berg, Pima, Waldenburg. BAVARIA 9 Bamberg, f. 1777; Elchstadt, Speyer, Kaiserslautern, Lauingen, Altdorf, Schwabach. WIRTEMBERG, £ Esslingen, Oehtingen, Gmund, Niir- tingen, Stuttgart,, Weingarten, Tu- bingen. heim, Osnabriiclc, Siade; one for Jewish teachers in Hanover. BADEN, 4 Carlsruhe, f 1768; Ettlingen, Meers- burg, MuUheim. Hesse-Cassf.l, 3 Fulda, Homberg, Scblichtem. Hesse-Darmstadt, 2 Friedbeig, Bensheim. Anhalt, 3 Bemburg, Cothen, Dessau. Rehss 3 Greiz, Gera, Schleiz. Sax^ Coburg-Gotha, 3 Coburg;Gotha, f. 1779. Saxe Meiningen, 1 Hildburghausen. Saxe Weimar, 3 Weimar, Eisenach. Oldenburg, 2 Oldenburg, Birkenfeld. HOLSTEIN, Segeberg, f. 1780. Saxe-Altenbhro, ...... Altenburg. Nassau •.,.., Idstein. Brunswick , , Wolfenbattel. Luxemburg , Luxemburg. LiPPE, Detmold. Mecklenburg Schwehin, . . , , Ludwigslust. Mecklenburg Stbeutz, . . . Mirow. SCHWARZBURG Rudolstadt. LUBECK Bremen, , Hamburg, Frankfort . .- RESULTS OP THE NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN GERMANY. The following testimony as to Ihe results of the system of training teach, crs in institution's organized and conducted with special reference to com> municating a knowledge of the science and art of education, is gathered from American documents. Rev. Calvin E. Stowe, D. D., Professor of Biblical Literature in Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, in a " Report on Elementary, Public Instruction in Europe," submitted to the General Assembly of Ohio, December, 1839, after describing the course of instruction pursued in the common schools of Prussia and Wirtemberg, thus sums up the character of the system in refer, ence particularly to the wants of Ohio : " The striking features of this system, even in the hasty and imperfect sketch which my limits allow me to give, are obvious even to superficial observation. No one can fail to observe its great completeness, both as to the number and kind of subjects embraced in it, and as to its adaptedness to develop every power of every kind, and give it a useful direction. What topic, in all that is necessary for a sound business education, is here omitted ? I can think of noth- ing, unless it be one or two of the modern languages, and these are" introduced whei'ever it is necessary. I have not taken the course precisely as it exists in any one school, but have combined, from an investigation of many institutions, the features which I suppose would most fairly represent the whole system. In the Rhenish provinces of Prussia, in a considerable part of Bavaria, Baden, and Wirtemberg, French is ^auglit as well as German ; and in the schools of Prussian Poland, German and Polish are taught. Two languages can be taught in a school quite as easily as one, provided the teacher be perfectly familiar with both, as any one may see by visiting Mr. Solomon's school in Cincinnati; where all the instruction is given both in German and English. What faculty of mind is there that is not developed in the scheme of instruc- tion sketched above ? I know of none. The perceptive and reflective faculties, the memory and the judgment, the imagination and the taste, the moral and re- ligious faculty, and even the various kinds of physical and manual dexterity, all have opportunity for development and exercise. Indeed, I think the system, in its great outlines, as nearly complete as human ingenuity and skill can make it ; though undoubtedly some of its arrangements and details admit of improvement ; and some changes will of course be necessary in adapting it to the circumstances of different countries. The enthely practical character of the system is obvious throughout. It views every subject on the practical side, and in reference to its adaptedness to use. The dry, technical, abstract parts of science are not those first presented ; but tlie system proceeds, in the only way which nature ever pointed out, from practice to theory, from facts to demonstrations. It has often been a complaint m respect to some systems of education, that the more a man studied, the less he knew of the actual business of life. Such a complaint cannot be made in refer- ence to this system, for, being intended to ediicate for the actual business of Ufe, this object is never for a moment lost sight of . ■ Another striking feature of the system is its moral and reUgious character. Its moraUty is pure and elevated, its religion entirely removed from the narrow- ness of sectarian bigotry. What parent is there, loving-his children, and wishing to have them resBficted and happy, who would not desire that they should be 36 RESULTS OF NOKMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. educated under such a kind of moral and religious influence as has been described ♦ AV^hether a believer in revelation or not, does he not know that without sound morale there can be no happincaa, and that there is no morality like the morauty of the New Testament ? Does he not know that without religion the human heart can never be at rest, and that there is. no religion hke the religion of the Bible ? Every well-informed man knoys that, as a general fact, it is impossible to impress the obligations of morality with any efficiency on the heart of a chil4 or even on that of an adult, without an appeal to some code which is sustained by the authority of God ; and for what code will it be possible to claim this aiithority, if not for the code of the Bible ? ■'■ But perhaps some will be ready to say, ' The scheme is indeed an excellent .one, provided only it were practicable ; but the idea of introducing so extensive and complete a course of study into our common schools is entirely visionary, and can never be realized.' I answer, that it is no theory which I have been exhib- iting, but a matter of fact, a copy of actual practice. The above system is no yisionary scheme, emanating from the closet of a recluse, but a sketch of the course of instruction now actually pursued by thousands of schoolmasters, in the best district schools that have ever been organized. It can be done ; for it has been done — it is now done : and it ought to be done. If it can be done in Europe, I believe it can be done in the United States : if it can be done in Prus- sia, I know it can be done in Ohio. The people have but to say the word and Erovide the means, and the thing is accomplished ; for the word of the people ere is- even more powerful than the word of the king there ; and the means of the people here are altogether more abundant for such an object than the means of the 8Qvereigq,there. Shall this object, then, so desirable m itself, so entirely practicable, so easily within our reach, fail of accomplishment ? For the honor and welfare of our state, for the safety of our whole nation, I triist it will not fail ; but that we shall soon witness, in this common^^ealth, the introduction of a system of common-school instruction, fully adequate to all the wants of our pop- ulation. But the question occurs. How can this be done ! I will give a few brief hints as to some things which I suppose to be essential to the attainment of so desira- ble an end. ■ ,j1. Teachers must be skillful, and trained to their business. It will at once be perceived, that the plan above sketched out proceeds on the supposition that the teacher has fully and distinctly in his mind the whole course of instruction, not only as it respects the matters to be taught, but also as to all the best modes of ' teaching, that he may be able readily and decidedly to vary his method accord- ing to the peculiarities of each individual mind which may come under his care. This is the only true secret of successful teaching. The old mechanical method, in which the teacher. relies entirely on his text-book, and drags every mind along through the same dull routine,^f creeping recitation, is utterly insUfBcient to meet the wants of our people. It may do in Asiatic Turkey, where the whole .object of the school is to learn to pronounce the words of the Koran in one duU, monotonous series of sounds ; or it may do in Chinsi, where men must never speak or think out of the old beaten track of Chinese imbecility ; but it will never do in ,the United States, where the object of education ought to be to make imme- diately available, for the highest and best purposes, every particle of real talen^ that exists in the nation. To effect such a purpose, the teacher must possess a strong and independent mind, well disciplined, and well stored with every thing pertaining to his profession, and ready to adapt his instructions to every degree of intellectual capacity, and every kind of acquired habit. But how can we ^xpect to find such teachers, unless they are trained to their business ) A very few of extraordinary powera may occur, as we sometimes find able mechanics, and great mathematicians, who had no early training in their favorite pursuits ; but these few exceptions to a general rule will never multiply fast enough to supply our sdiools with able teachers. The management of the human mind particularly youthful mind, is the most delicate task ever committed to the hand of man ; and shall it be left to mere instinct, or shall our schoolmasters have at leftst as ca*efiil a traijiing as om- lawyers and physicians ? 2. Teachers, then, must have the means of acquu-ing the necessary qualifica- tions ; m other words, there must be institutions in which the business of teaching RESULTS OF NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. gtj 18 made a systematic object of attention. I am not an advocate for multiplying our institutions. We already haTe more in number than we support, and it would be wise to give power and efficiency to those we now possess before we project new ones. But the science and art of teaching ought to be a regular branch of study in some of our academies and high schools, that those who are looking forward to this profession may have an opportunity of studying its prin- ciples. In addition to this, in our populous towns, where there is opportunity for it, there should be large model schools, under the care of the most able and experienced teachers that can be obtained ; and the candidates for the profession who have already completed the theoretic course of the academy, should be em- ployed in this school as monitors, or assistants — ^thus testing all their theories by practice, and acquiring skill and dexterity under the guidance of their head master. Thus, while learning, they would be teaching, and no time or effort would be lost. To give efficiency to the whole system, to present a general standard and a prominent point 'Of union, there should be at least one model teachers' seminary, at some central point — as at Columbus — which shall be amply provided with all the means of study and instruction, and have connected with it schools of every grade, for the practice of the students, under the immediate superintendence of their teachers. S. The teachers must be competently supported, and devoted to their busi- ness. Few men attain, any great degree of excellence in a profession unless they love it, and place all their hopes in life upon it. A man cannot, consistently with his duty to himself, engage in a business which does not afford him a com- petent support^ unless he has other means of living, which is not the case with many who engage in teaching. In this country especially, where there are such vast fields of profitable employment open to every enterprising man, it is not possible that the best of teachers can be obtained, to any considerable extent, for our district schools, at the present rate of wages. We have already seen what encouragement is held out to teachers in Russia, Prussia, and other European nations, and what pledges are given of competent support to their families, not only while engaged in the work, but when, having been worn out in the public service, they are no longer able to labor. In those countries, where every pro- fession and walk of hfe is crowded, and where one of the most common and oppressive evils is want of employment, men of high talents and qualifications are often glad to become teachers even of district schools ; men who in this coun- try would aspire to the highest places in our colleges, or even our halls of legis lation and courts of justice. How much more necessary, then, here, that the profession of teaching should afford a competent support ! Indeed, such is the state of things in this country, that we cannot expect to find male teachers for all our schools. The business of educating, especially young children, must fall, to a great extent, on female teachers. There is not the same variety of tempting employment for females as for men ; they can be supported cheaper, and the Creator has given them peculiar qualifications for the education of the young. Females, then, ought to be employed extensively in all our elementary schools, and they should be encouraged and aided in ob- taining the qualifications necessary for this work. There is no country in the world where woman holds so high a rank, or exerts so great an influence, as here ; wherefore, her responsibilities are the gi'eater, and she is imder obligar tions to render herself the more actively useful. 4. The children must be made comfortable in their school ; they must bo punctual, and attend the whole course. There can be no profitable study with- out personal comfort ; and^ the inconvenience and miserable arrangements of some of our school-houses are enough to annihilate all that can be done by the best of teachers. No instructor can teach unless the pupils are present to be iaught, andiuo plan of systematic instruction can be carried steadily through unless the pupils attend punctually and through the whole course. 5. The children must be given up implicitly to the discipline of the school Nothing can be done unless the teacher has the enthe control of his pupils in school-hours, 3,nd out of school too, so far as the rales of the school are concerned. If the parent in any way interferes with, or overrules, the arrangements of the teacher, he may attribute it to himself if the school is not successful. No teacher ever ought to be employed to whom the entire management of the children can- 38 RESULTS OP NORMAL SCHOOL BYSTEM. not be safely intrusted ; and better at any time dismiss the teacher than coun- teract his discipline. Let parents but take the pains and spend the money necessary to provide a cbmfortable school-house and a competent teacher for their children, and they never need apprehend that the discipline of the school trill be unreasonably severe. No inconsiderable part of the corporal punishment that has been inflicted in schools, has been made necessary by the discomfort of echooHioUses and the unsltillfulness of teachers. A lively, sensitive boy is stuck upon a bench full of knot-holes and sharp ridges, without a support for his feet or his back, with a scorching fire on one side of him and a freezing wind on the oth^r ; and a stiff Orbilius of a master, with wooden brains and iron hands, orders tim to sit perfectly still, with nothing to employ his mind or his body, till it is his turn to read. Thus Confined for hours, what can the poor little fellow do but begin to wriggle like a fish out of water, or an eel in a frying-pan ? For this irrepressible effbrt at relief he receives a box on the ear ; this provokes and ren- ders him still more uneasy, and next comes the merciless ferule ; and the poor child is finally burnt and frozen, cuffed and beaten, into hardened roguery or incurable stupidity, just because the avarice of his parents denied him a comfort- able school-house and a competent teacher. 6. ' A beginning must be made at certain points, and the advance toward completeness must be gradual. Every thing cannot be done at once, and such a system as is needed cannot be generally introduced till its benefits are first de- monstrated by actual experiment. Certain great points, then, where the people a,re ready to co-operate, and to make the most liberal advances, in proportion to their means, to maintain the schools, should be selected, and no pains or expense spared, till the full benefits of the best system are realized ; and as the good effects are seen, other places will very readily follow the example. All experi- ence has shown that governmental patronage is most profitably employed, not to do the entire work, but simply as an incitement to the people to help themselves. To follow up this great object, the Legislature has wisely made choice of a Superintendent, whose untiring labors and disinterested zeal are worthy of all praise. But no great plan can be carried through in a single year ; and if the Superintendent is to have opportunity to do what is necessary, and to preserve that independence and energy of official character which are requisite to the successful discharge of his duties, he should hold his office for the same term, and on the same conditions, as the Judges of the Supreme Court. Every officer engaged in this, or in any other public work, should receive a suitable compensation for his services. This, justice requires ; and it is the only way to secure fidelity and efficiency. There is one class of our population for whom some special provision seems necessary, The children of foreign emigrants are now very numerous among us, and it is essential that they receive a gpod English education. But they are not prepared to avail themselves of the advantages of our common English schools, their imperfect acquaintance with the language being an insuperable bar to their entering on the course of study. It is necessary, therefore, that there be some preparatory schools, in which instruction shall be communicated both in English and their native tongue. The English is, and must be, the language of this country, and the highest interests of our state demaud it of the Legislature to require that the English language be thoroughly taught in every school which they patronize. Still, the exigencies of the case make it necessaiy that there should be some schools expressly fitted to the condition of our foreign emigrants, to introduce them to a knowledge of our language and institutions. A school of this kind has been established in Cincinnati, by benevolent individuals. It has been in operation about a year, and ah'eady neai-ly three hundred children have received its advantages. Mr. Solomon, the head teacher, was educated for his profession in one of the best institutions of Prussia, and in this school he has demonstrated the excellences of the system. The instructions are all given both in German and English, and this use of two languages does not at all interrupt the progress of the children in their respective studies. I cannot but recommend tliis philanthropic institution to the notice and patronage of the Legislature.* In neighborhoods where there is a mixed population, it is desirable. If possible, * German schools now form a part of the system of public schools in Cinoumati, RESULTS OF NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. 39 to employ teachei;s "who understand both languages, and that the exercises of the school be conducted in both, with the rule, however, that all the reviews and examinations be in English only." Alexander Dallas Bache, LL. D., Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, in a " Report on Education in Europe," to the Trustees of the Girard College of Orphans, Philadelphia, in 1838, remarks as follows : " When education is-to be rapidly advanced) Seminaries for Teachers offer the means of securing this result. An eminent teacher is selected as Director of the Seminary ; and by the aid of competent assistants, and While benefiting the com- munity by the instruction given in the schools attached to the Seminary, trains, yearly, from thirty to forty youths in the enlightened practice of his methods ; these, in their turn, become teachers of schools, which they are fit at once to conduct, without the failures and mistakes usual with novices ; for though begin- ners in name, they have acquired, in the course of the two or.three years spent at the Seminary, an experience eciuivalent to many years of unguided efforts. This result has been fully reahzed m the success of the attempts to spread the meth- ods of^ Pestalozzi and others through Prussia; The plan has been adopted, and is yielding its appropriate fruits in Holland, Switzerland, France, and Saxony ; while m Austria, where the method of preparing teachers by their attendance on the primary schools is still adhered to, the schools are stationary, and behind those of Northern and Middle Germany. These Seminaries produce a strong esprit de corps among teachers, which tends powerfully to interest them in their profession, to attach them to it, to ele- vate it in their eyes, and to stimulate them to improve constantly upon the at- tainments with which tliey may have commenced its exercise. By their aid a standard of exainination in the theory and practice of instruction is furnished, which may be fairly exacted of candidates who have chosen a different way to obtain access to the profession." Hon. Horace Mann, in his " Seventh Annual Report as Secretary of the Board of Education in Massachusetts," in which he gives an account of an educational tour through the principal countries of Europe in the summer of 1843, says : " Among the nations of Europe, Prussia has long enjoyed the most distin- guished reputation for the excellence of its schools. In reviews, in speeches, in tracts, and even in graver works devoted to the cause of education, its' schools have been exhibited as models for the imitation of the rest of Christendom. For many years, scarce a suspicion was breathed that the general plan of education in that kingdom was not sound in theory and most beneficial in practice. Re- cently, however, grave charges have been preferred against it by high authority. The popular traveler, Laing, has devoted several chapters of his large work on Prussia to the disparagement of its scliool system. An octavo volume, entitled 'The Age of Great Cities,' has recently appeared in England, in which that sys- tem is strongly condemned ; and during the pendency of the famous ' Factories' Bill' before the British House of Commons, in 1843, numerous tracts were issued from the English press, not merely calling in question, but strongly denouncing, the whole plan of education in Prussia, as being not only designed to produce, but as actually producing, a spirit of blind acquiescence to arbitrary power, in things spiritual as well as temporal — as being, in fine, a system of education adapted to enslave, and not to enfranchise, the human mind. And even in some parts of the United States — the very nature and essence of whose institutions cpnsist in the idea that the people are wise enough to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong — even here, some have been illiberal enough to con- demn, in advance, every thing that savors of the Prussian system, because that system is sustained by arbitrary power. * »■«• * * * # * * But allowing all these charges against the Prussian system to be true, then were still t-^o reasons why I was not deterred from examining it. In the first place, the evils imputed to it -were easily and naturally separable 40 RESULTS OP NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. from the good which it was not denied to possess. If the Prussian schoolniaster has better methods of teaching reading,. writing, grammar, geography, arithme- tic, &c., so that, in half the time, he produces greater and better results, surely we majr copy his modes of teaching these elements without adopting his notions of passive obedience to gorernment, or of blind adherence to the articles of a church. By the ordinance of nature, the human faculties are substantially the same all over the world, and hence the best means' for their development and growth in one place, must be substantially the best for their development and growth everywhere. The spirit which shall control the action of these faculties when matured, which shall train them to self-reliance or to abject submission, which shall lead them to refer all questions to the standard of reason or to that of authority, — this spirit is wholly distinct and distinguishable from the manner in which the faculties tliemselves ought to be trained; and'we may avail our- selves of all improved methods in the earlier processes, without being contami- nated by the abuses which may be made to follow them. The best style of teaching arithmetic or spelling has no necessary or natural connection with the doctrine of hereditary right ; and an accomplished lesson in geography or gram- mar commits the human intellect to no particular dogma in religion. In the second place, if Prussia can pervert the benign influences of education to the support of arbitrary power, we surely can employ them for the support and perpetuation of repubUcan institutions. A national spirit of hberty can be cultivated more easily than a natiotial spirit of bondage ; and if it may be made one of the great prerogatives of education to perform the unnatural and unholy work of making slaves, then surely it must be one of the noblest instrumentali- ties for rearing a nation of freemen. If a moral power over the understandings and affections of the people may be turned to evil, may it not also be employed for the highest good ? Besides, a generous and impartial mind does not ask whence a thing comes, but what it is. Jhose who, at the present day, would reject an improvement because of the place of its origin, belong to the same school of bigotry with those who inquhed if any good could come out of Nazareth ; and what infinite ble.'is- ings would the -world have lost had that party been punished by success ! Throughout. my whole tour, no one principle has been more frequently exempli- fied than this,— that wherever I have found the best institutions, — educational, reformatory, charitable, penal, or otherwise, — there I have always found the greatest desire to know how similar institutions were administered among our- selves ; and where I have found the worst, there I have found most of the spirit of self-complacency, and even an offensive disinclination to hear of better methods. All the subjects I have enumerated were taught in all the schools I visited, whether in city or country, for the rich or for the poor. In the lowest school in the smallest and obscurest village, or for the poorest class in overcrowded cities ; in the schools connected with pauper estabhshments, with houses of correction, or with prisons, — in all these, there was a teacher of mature age, of simple, unaf- fected, and decorous manners, benevolent in his expression, kind and genial in his intercourse with the young, and of such attainments and resources as qualified hun not only to lay down the abstract principles of the above range of studies, but, by familiar illustration and apposite example, to commend them to the at- tention of the children. I speak of the teachers whom I saw, and with whom I had more or less of personal intercourse ; and, after some opportunity for the 'observation of public assemblies or bodies of men, I do not hesitate to say, that if those teachers were brought tpgether, in one body, I believe they would form as dignified, intelligent, benevolent-looking a company of men as could be collected from the same amount of population in any country. They were alike free from arrogant pretension and from the affectation of humility. It has been often remarked, both m Eng- land and in this country, that the nature of a school-teacher's occupation exposes him, in some degree, to overbearing manners, and to dogmatism in the statement of his opinions. A(^ustomed to the exercise of supreme authority, moving among those who are so much his inferiors in pomt of attainment, perhaps it is proof of a very well-balanced mind, if he keeps himself free from assumption RESULTS OF NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. 4 J in opinion and haughtiness of demeanor. Especially are such faults or vices apt to spring up in weak or ill-furnished minds. A teacher who cannot rule by love, must do so by fear. A teacher who cannot supply material for the activity of his pupils' minds by his talent, must put down' that activity by force. A teacher who cannot answer aU the questions and solve all the doubts of a scholar as they arise, must assume an awful and mysterious air, and must expound in oracles, which themselves need more explanation than the original difficulty. When a teacher knows much, and is master of his whole subject, he can afford to be mod- est and unpretending. Eut when the head is the only text-book, and the teacher has not been previously prepared, he must, of course, have a small library. Among all the Prussian and Saxon teachers whom I saw, there were not ba]/ a dozen instances to remind one of those unpleasant characteristics,^-what Lord Bacon would call thff ' idol of the tribe,' or profession,^which sometimes de- grade the name and disparage the sacred calling of a teacher. Generally speak- ing, there seemed to be a strong love for the employment, always a devotion to duty, and a profound conviction of the importance and sacredness of the office they filled. The only striking instance of disingenuousness or attempt at decep- tion, which I saw, was that of a teacher who looked over the manuscript books of a large class of his' scholars, selected the best, and, bringing it to me, said, ' In seeing one you see all. Whence came this beneficent order of men, scattered over the whole coun- try, molding the character of its people, and carrying them forward in a career of civilization more rapidly than any other people in the world are now advanc- ing ! This , is a question which can be answcred«only by giving an accoimt of the Seminaries for Teachers. From the year 1820 to 1830 or 1836, it was customary, in all accounts of Prussian education, to mention the number of these Seminaries for Teachers. This item of information has now become unimportant, as there are seminaries suflicient to supply the wants of the whole country. The stated term of resi- dence at these seminaries is three years. Lately, and in a few places, a class of prehminary institutions has sprung up, — institutions where pupils are received in order to determine whether they are fit to become candidates to be candi- dates. As a pupil of the seminary is liable to be set aside for incompetency, even after a three years' course of study ; so the pupils of these preliminary in- stitutions, after having gone through with a shorter course, are liable to be set aside for incompetency to become competent. Let us look for a moment at the guards and securities which, in that country, environ this sacred calling. In the first place, the teacher's profession holds sudx a high rank in public estimation, that none who have failed in other employments or departments of business, are encouraged to look upon school-keeping as an ultimate resource. Those, too, who, from any cause, despair of success in other departments of business or walks of life, have very slender prospects in looking forward to this. These considerations exclude at once all that inferior order of men who, in some countries, constitute the main body of the teachers. Then come, — tliough only in some parts of Prussia, — these preliminary schools, where those who wish eventually to become teachers, go, in order to Have their natural qualities and adaptation for school-keeping tested ; for it must be borne in mind that a man may have the most unexceptionable character, may be capable of mastering all , the branches of study, may even be able to make most brilliant recitations from day to day ; and yet, from some coldness or repulsiveness of manner, from harshness of voice, from some natural defect in his person or in one of his senses, he may be adjudged an unsuitable model or archetype for children to be conformed to, or to grow by ; and hence he may be dismissed at the end of his probationary term of six months. At one of these preparatory schools, which I visited, the list of subjects at the examination,— a part of which I saw, — was divided into two classes, as follows : — 1. Readiness in thinking, German language, including orthography and composition, history, description of the earth, kno>fl- edge of nature, thorough bass, calligraphy, drawing. 2, Religion, knowledge of the Bible, knowledge of nature, mental arithmetic, singing, violin-playing, and readiness or facility in speaking. The examination in all the branches of the first dass .was conducted in writing. To test a pupU's readiness in thinking, for in- stance, several topics for compoEiition are given out, and, after the lapse of a cer- 42 RESULTS OF NORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. tain number of minutes, whatever has been written must be handed in to the examiners. So questions in arithmetic are given, and the time occupied by the pupils in solving tliem, is a test of their quickness of thought, or power of com- manding their own resources. This facility, or faculty, is considered of great im- portance in a teacher.* In the second class of subjects the pupils were exam- med orally. Two entire days were occupied in examining a class of thirty pupils, and only twenty-one were admitted to the seminary school ; — that is, only about two-thirds were considered to be eligible to become eligible, as teachers, after three years' further study. Thus, in this first process, the chaff is winnowed out, and not a few of the lighter grains of the wheat. It is to be understood that those who enter the semmary directly, and with- out this preliminary trial, have already studied, under able^masters in the Com- mon Schools, at least all the branches I have above described. The first two of the three years, they expend mainly in reviewing and expanding their element- ary knowledge. The German language is studied in its rektions to rhetoric and logic, and as JEsthetic literature ; arithmetic is carried out into algebra and mixed mathematics; geography into commerce and manufactures, and into a knowledge of the various botanical and zoological productions of the different quarters of the globe ; linear drawings into perspective and machine drawing, and the drawing from models of all kinds, and from objects in nature, &c. The theory and practice, not only of vocal, but of instrumental music, occupy much time. Every pupil must play on the violin ; most of them play on the organ, and some on other instruments. I recoUecJ seeing a Normal class engaged in learning the principles of Harmony. The teacher first explained the principles on which they were to proceed. He then wrote a bar of music upon the black- board, and called upon a pupil to write such notes for another part or accompa- niment, as would make harmony with the first. So he would write a bar with certain intervals, and then require a pupil to write another, with such intervals as, according to the principles of musical science, would correspond with the first. A thorough course of reading on the subject of education is undertaken, as well as a more general course. Bible history is almost committed to memory. ' Con- nected with all the seminaries for teachers are large Model or Experimental Schools. During the last part of the course much of the students' time is spent in these schools. At first they go in and look on in silence, while an accom- plished teacher is instructing a class. Then they themselves commence teaching under the eye of such a teacher. At last they teach a class alone, being respon- sible for its proficiency, and for its condition as to order, ^u,^^o o ■sreioqog c^oo>ft-*i^t-05coif5w:jeDiATiHi.ct-T«cscot-oo©aw30i--.-« 0-.4 1^ «o .-( SO ca OO 00 -*< .-1 -^ ■^ -* Tfl 1-1 rH r-( ?i.-<0001 !:■- o t>"o t-^oa Tfefi J^^•--^o"t^^o^c^^£^lfi~^-^o^cf i--<"o"i-rr-r>n"cr-»ir o-*«TH«>(NrH«oeo-dlrH'CO-HIr-COlGlrM-C!lIr-i-H(MrHaot_OOaOCOiO r-J~r-r r-Ti-T rH"r-ri-rr-r r-Tr-ri-Tr-rr-r in" o =1 .^1 oocoos"tH"^i-(a3i->o^-coo>»ftoiosQOcooaooa»-(.-ia3ao-^co osQ6eO-*oseso-*tc>t-(Ni:,e»coco«>K^co£.nSSSSc§ lO O^CO O^r-J^W ^ '^„'^„^^'= «> ^„o> co^o c^o S S S S S o^oo o Name of file District. 1. KomgBterg., 2. G-umbinnea. . 8. Danzig 4. Mari^nwerdei 5. Posen 6. Bromberff . . . t. Huri Berlin... 8. Potsdam 9. Frankfurt . . . 10. Stettin n. Onslin 12. Stralsund 13. Breslau 14. Oppeln 15. Lugnitz 16. Magdeburg .. 17. Merseberg . . . 18. Erfurt 19. Munster 20. Minden 21. Amsberg .... 22. Coin 23. Dusseldorf. . . 24. Coblentz 9.^. Triftr a •3 1 STATISTICS OF EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA. 89 In 1848, the population of Prussia was about 16,000,000. According to this foregoing table, there were 24,030 elementary schools, with 2,433,333 children, between the ages of 6 and 14, in average daily- attendance ; 1,202 middle or burgher schools with 91,888 pupils, and 100 higher, or ttfwn schools, with 15,624 pupils, making an aggregate of 25,332 public primary schools,' and 2,540,775 pupils. To these schools should be 'added 117 gymnasia for classical education, with 29,474 pupils, and 1,664 professors ; 7 universities with 4,000 students and 471 professors, and libraries with over 1,000,000 volumes ; 382 institutions, in the nature of infant schools, with 25,000 children, and a large number of schools for special instruptipn, as for the blind, deaf mutes, commerce, trades, arts, &c.; and Prussia can present an array of institutions, teach- ers, professors, and educational facilities, for all classes of her population, not surpassed by any other country. If to the number of children at school, public or private, we add those who are receiving instruction at home, or who have Idft school after obtaining the certificate of school attendance up to the age of twelve years, and of their being able to read, write, and cipher, and those who are detained from school temporarily by sickness, we can easily acquiesce in the claim of the director of the Statistical Bureau, by whom the annual school returns are collected, and published every three years, that every child under fourteen years of age has already attended school public or private, or has acquired that degree of instruction which makes self-education in almost any direction practicable. From an investigation made by the government in 1845, there were, in the whole of Prussia, only two young men in every one hundred between the ages of twenty and twenty-two, who could not read, write, and cipher, and had not a knowledge of Scripture history. According to the foregoing table, there were 34,030 primary school teachers employed in, viz. ; Elementary sphools. Head teachers, .... 25,914 « " Assistants, . . ... '2,749 " " Schoolmistresses, .... I,i856 Middle or Burgher schools for'boys. Head teachers, . . 898 " « " •' Assistants, . . 197 « , " " girls; Head teachers, . . 1,094 " " « ■' Schoolmistresses, . 640 Higher Burgher. Head teachers 505 " " Assistants, 197 Total, . . . 34,030 These thirty-four thousand teachers had all been thoroughly edu- cated in the studies they were called on to teach, and the best methods of teaching the same in seminaries established for this purpose, of which there were forty-six, supported by the government, in 1848. By means of educational periodicals, and frequent meetings for professional im- 90 STATIBTICa OF EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA. provement, these teachers are bound together into a great association, stimulating each other to higher attainments, and marching forward a noble army for the improvement, and not the destruction of the people. The following statistics will show how steadily the primary schools have advanced in numbers, attendance, and teachers, since 1819: 1. In 1819, the number of schools in Prussia was In 1825, « « " " In 1831, " « « " In 1843, " " " " In 1846, « « " " 20,085 21,625 22,612 23,646 25,332 21,895 22,965 27,749 29,631 32,316 2. In 1819, the number of teachers in Prussia was . In 1825, " " " " In 1831, " " " " . In 1843, " " " " In 1846, " " " " • 3. In 1825, the number of children between seven and four- teen years of age, was . .... 1,923,200 And the number of these who were attending the schools, was . 1,664.218 In 1831, the number of children between seven and four- teen years of age, was 2,043,030 And the number of these who were attending the schools, was 2,021,421 In 1843, the number of children between seven and four- teen years of age, was 2,992,124 And the number of these who were attending the schools, was 2,328,146 In 1846, the number of children in public schools, . 2,540,775 These great results have been obtained by the united efforts of the government and the people; but even these statistics can not show the improvement which has been made in school-houses, school instruction, and the whole internal economy of the school-room. SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTEUCTION THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF PRUSSIA. Bepohe presenting an outline of the course of instruction pursued in the common schools of Prussia, gathered from the observations of distin- guished educators in their visits to a large numberof schools of different grades, as well as from piiblished accounts. of the organization and studies of particular schools, we will introduce a brief view* of the gen- eral objects and different degrees of primary education, and of the man- ner in which the schools are established and conducted. Two degreesof primary instruction are distinguished by the law; the ' elementary schools and the burgher schools. The elementary schools propose the development of the human faculties, through an instruction in those common branches of knowledge which. are indispensable to every person, both of town and country. The burgher schools (Beur- gerschulen Stadischulem\) carry on the child until he is capable of man- ifesting his inclina.tion for a classical education, or for this or that par- ticular profession. The' gymnasia continue this education until the youth is prepared, either to commence his practical studies in common life, or his higher and special scientific studies in the university. These different gradations coincide in forming, 'so to speak, a great establishment of national education, one in system, and of which the parts, though each accomplishing a special end, are all mutually cor- relative. The primary education of which we. speak, though divided into two degrees, has its peculiar unity and general laws ; it admits of accommodation, howe^t'er, to the sex, language, religion, and future des- tination of the pupils. 1. Separate establishments for girls should be fnrmed, wherever possible, corresponding to the elementary and larger s^chools for boys. 2. In those provinces of the monarchy (as the Polish) where a foreign language Is spoken, besides lessons in the native idiom, the children shall receive complete instruction in German, which is also lo be employed as the ordinary language of the school. 3. Difference of religion in Christian schools necessarily determines differences in religious instruction. This instruction shall always be accommodated to the spirit and doctrines of the persuasion to which the school belongs. But, as in every school of a christian state, the dominant spirit (common to all creeds) should be piety, and a profound reverence of the Deity, every Christian school may receive the children of every sect. The * Mainly In the language of the law and ordinance, ae translated and condensed by Sir William Hamilton, in an article in the Edinburgh Review. t Called likewise ilf77/e/ffcAMten, middle schools, and RecH^chuUn.Te&X schools; the last, Jiecause they are less occupied with the ttiudy of !a iigpage ( Verhalia) than with the knowledge of things, (Realia^t 92 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRnCTION IN PRUSSIA. masters and superintendents ought to avoid, with scrupulous care, every shadow of religious constraint or annoyance. No schools should be abused to ! Any purposes of proselytisin ; and the children of a worship different from that of the school, shall not be obliged, contrary to the wish of their parents or their own, to attend its religious instruction and exercises. Special mastery of their own persuasion shall have the care of their religious education ; and should it be impossible to have as many masters as confessions, the parents should endeavor, with so much the greater solicitude, to discharge this duty themselves, if disinclined to allow their children to attend the religious lessons of the school. The primitive destination of every school, says the law, is so to train youth that, with a knowledge of the relatione of man to God. it may foster in them the desire of ruling their life by the spirit and principles of Chris- tianity. The school shall, therefore, betimes second and complete the first domestic training of the child to piety. Prayer and edifying reflec- tions shall commence and terminate the day ; and the master must be- ware that this moral exercise do never degenerate into a matter of rotttine. Obedience to the laws, loyalty, and patriotism, to be inculca- ted. No humiliating or indecent castigation allowed ; and corporal pun- ishment, in general, to be applied only in cases of necessity. Scholars found wholly incorrigible, in order to obviate bad example, to be at length dismissed. The pupils, as they advance in age, to be employed in the maintenance of good order in the school, and thus betimes habit- uated to regard themselves as active and useful' members of society. The primary education has for its scope the development of the dif- ferent faculties, intellectual and moral, mental and bodily. Every com- flete elementary school necessarily embraces the nine following branches : 1. Religion — morality established on the positive truths of Christianity ; 2. The German tongue, and in the Polish provinces, the vernacular language; 3. The elements of geometry and general principles of draw- ing; 4. Calculation and applied arithmetic; 5. The elements of physics, of general history, and of the history of Prussia ; 6. Singing; 7. Writing; 8. Gymnastic exercises ; 9. The more simple manual labors, and some instruction in the relative country occupations. Every hurglier school must teach the ten following branches: 1. Religion and morals. 2. The German language, and the vernacular idiom of the province, reading, composition, exercises of style, exercises of talent, and the study of the national classics In tlie countries of the German tongue, the modern foreign languages are the objects of an ac- cessory study. 3. Latin to a certain extent. (This, we believe, is not universally enforced.) 4. The elements of mathematics, and in partic- ular a thorough knowledge of practical arithmetic 5. Physics, and natural history to explain the more important phenomena of nature. 6. Geography, and general history combined ; Prussia, its history, laws, and constitution, form the object of a particular study. 7. The princi- ples of design; to be taught with the instruction given in physics, nat- ural history, and geometry. 8. The penmanship should be watched. SCBJECTS AND MKTIIODi:! Oi'' INriTHUCTION' IN PRUSSIA. gg and the hand exercised to write with neatness and ease. 9. Singing, in order to develop the voice, to afford a knowledge of the art, and to enable the scholars to assist in the solemnities of the church. 10. Gym- nastic exercises accommodated to the age and strength of the scholar. Such is the minimum of education to be afforded by a burgher school. If its means enable it "to attempt a higher instruction, so as to prepare the scholar, destined to a learned profession, for an immediate entrance into the gymnasia, the school then takes the name of Higher Town School. Every pupil, on leaving school, should receive from his masters and the committee of superintendence, a certificate of hie capacity, and of his moral and religious dispositions. These certificates to be always pro- duced on approaching the communion, and on entering into apprentice- ship or service. They are given only at the period of departure ; and in the burgher schools, as in the gymnasia, they form the occasion of a great solemnity. Every half year pupils are admitted; promoted from class to class; and absolved at the conclusion of theij; studies. Books of study to be careRiUy chosen by the committees, with con- currence of the superior authorities, the ecclesiastical being specially consulted in regard to those of a religious nature. For the Catholic schools, the bishops, in concert with the provincial consistories, to select , the devotional books ; and, in case of any difference of opinion, the Min- ister of Public Instruction shall decide. Schoolmasters are to adopt the methods best accommodated to the natural development of the human mind; methods which keep the intel- lectual powers in constant, general, and spontaneous exercise, and are not limited to the infusion of a mechanical knowledge. The committees are to watch over the 'methods of the master, and to aid hira by their council; never to tolerate a vicious method, and to report to the higher authorities should their admonition be neglected. ■ Parents and guardians have a right to scrutinize the system of education by which their chil- dren are taught ; and to address their complaints to the higher author- ities, who are bound to have them carefully investigated. On the other hand, they are bound to cooperate with their private influence in aid of the public discipline; nor is it permitted them to withdraw a scholar from any branch of education taught in the school as necessary. As a national establishment, every school should court the greatest publicity. In those for boys, besides the special half yearly examina- rions, for the promotion from one class to another, there shall annually take place public examinations, in order to exhibit the spirit of the in- struction, and the proficiency of the scholars. On this solemnity, the director, or one of the masters, in an official programme, is to render an account of the condition and progress of the school. In fine, from time to time, there shall be published a general report of the state of educa- tion in each province. In schools for females, the examinations take 94 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. place in presence of the parents and masters, without any general invitation. Bui if the public instructors are bound to a faithful performance of their duties, they have a right, in return, to the gratitude and respect due to the zealous laborer in the sacred work of education. The school is entitled to claim universal countenance and aid, even from those who do not confide to it their children. AH public authorities, each in its sphere, are enjoined to promote the public schools and to lend support to the masters in the exercise of their office, as to any other functiona- ries of the state. In all the communes of the monarchy, the clergy of all Christians persuasions, whether in the church, in their school visita- tion, or in their sermons on the opening of the classes, shall omit no opportunity of recalling to the schools their high mission, and to the people their duties to these establishments. The civil authorities, the clergy, and the masters, shall every where cooperate in tightening the bonds of respect and attachment bet,ween the people and the school ; so that the nation may be more habituated to consider education as a primary condition of civil existence, and daily take a deeper interest in Its advancement. The following extracts from Kay's " Social Condition and Educa- tion of the People" will show how these provisions of the law, and governmental instructions are carried into practice. The three great results, which the Prussian government has labored to ensure by this system of education are — 1. To interest the different parishes and towns in the progress of the education of the people, by committing the management of the parochial schools to them, under certain very simple restrictions. 2. To assist the pai*ochial school committees in each county willi the advice of the most able inhabitants of the county ; and — 3. To gain the cordial oooperadon of the ministers of religion. These results the government has gained, to the entire and perfect satisfaction of all parties. The provincial and county councils act as advisers of the parochial committees. These latter are the actual directors of parochial education ; and the clergy not only occupy places in these parochial committees, but are also the ex- offi'Cio inspectors of all the schools. The system is liberally devised ; and I am persuaded that it is solely owing to its impartial, popular, and religious character, that it has enlisted so strongly on its side the feelings of the Prussian people. I know there are many in our land who say, '' But why have any system at all ? Is it not better to leave the education of the people to the exertions of public charity and private benevolence ?■' Let the contrast between the state of the edu- cation and social condition of the poor in England and Germany be the answer. In England it is well known that not one half of the country is properly supplied with good schools, and that many of those, which do exist, are under the di- rection of very ine^cient and sometimes of actually immoral teachers. In Germany and Switzerland, every parish is supplied with its school buildings, and each school is directed by a teacher of high principles, and superior education and intelligence. Such a splendid social institution has not existed without effecting magnificent results, and the Germans and Swiss may now proudly pomt to the character and condition of their peasantry. So great have been the results of this system, that it is now a well known fact, that, except in coses of sickness, every child between the ages of six and ten in the whole of Prussia, ia receiving instruction from highly educated teaohero, under SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INs^TKUCTION l.\ P!HJ.S;'ilA. ? 95 the surveillance of the parochial ministers. And, if I except the manufacturing districts, I may go still farther, and say, that every child in Prussia, between the ages of six and fourteen, is receiving daily instruction in its parochial school. But even this assertion does not give any adequate idea of the vastness of the educational machinery, which is at work ; for the Prussian government is encouraging all the towns throughout the countiy to establish infant schools for the children of parents who are forced, from the peculiar nature of their labor, to absent themselves from home during the greater part of the day, and who would be otherwise obliged to leave their infants without proper superintendence; and, as all the children iu the manufacturing districts, who are engaged in the weaving- rooms, are also obliged to attend evening classes to the age of fourteen years. J may say. with great truth, that nearly all the Prussian children between the ages of four and. fourteen are under the influence of a religious education. And let it not be supposed that an arbitrary government has forced this result from an unwilling people. On the contrary, as I have said before, the peasants themselves have always been at least as anxious to obtain this education for their children, as the government has been desirous of granting it. A .proof of the satisfaction, with which the Prussian people regard the educa- tional regulations, is the undeniable fact, that all the materials and machinery for instruction are being so constantly and so rapidly improved over the whole coun- try, and by the people themselves. Wherever I traveled, I was astonished to see the great improvement in all these several matters that was going on. Every where I found new an,d handsome school-houses springing up, old ones being re- paired, a most liberal supply of teachers and of apparatus for the schools provided by the municipal authorities, the greatest cleanhness, lofty and spacious school- rooms, and excellent houses for the teachers ; all showing, that the importance of the work is fully appreciated hy the people^ and that there is every desire on their part to aid the government in carrying out this vast undertaking. The children generally remain in school, until the oompletiun of their fourteenth year ; and a law has been issued, for one or two of the provinces, appointing this as the time, after which the parents may remove their children. But if the pa- rents are very poor, and their children have learnt the doctrines of their religion, as well as to read, write, and ci])her, their religious minister can, in conjunction with the teacher, permit them to discontinue their attendance at the completion of their twelfth year. "No child, without the permission both of the civil magistrate of the town or village of which its parents are inhabitants, and also of their religious minister, can be kept from school beyond the completion of its fifth year, or afterward discon- tinue its attendance on the school classes for any length of time." If a parent neither provides at home for the education pf his children, nor sends them to the school, the teacher is bound to inform the religious minister of the parent; the minister then remonstrates with him; and if he still neglects to send his children, the minister is bound by law to report him to^he village committee, which has power to punish him by a fine, of from one halfpenny to sixpence a day, for neglecting the first and greatest duty of every parent. If the village committee can not induce him to educate his children, he is reported to the union magistrates, who are empowered to punish him with imprisonment. But it is hardly ever necessary to resort to such harsh measures, for the parents are even more aaxious to send their children to ^ese admirably conducted schools, than the civil magistrate to obtain their attendance. In order, however, to ensure such a regular attendance, and as an assistance to the parents themselves, each teacher is furnished by the local magistrate, every year, with a list of all the chil- dren of his district, who have attained the age, at which they ought to attend his classes. This list is called over every morning and every afternoon, and all absen- tees are marked down, so that the school committees, magistrates, and inspectors may instantly discover if the attendance of any child has been irregular. If a child requires leave of absence for more than a week, the parent must apply to the civil magistrate for it ; but the clergyman can grant it, if it be only for six or seven days, and the teacher alone can aUow it, if for only one or two days. At the German revolutions of 1848, one of the great popular cries was for gratuitoiis education. The governments of Germany were obliged to yield to this 96 SUBJECTS AND MliTllODri OF INSTRUCllON IN PKUSSIA. ory, and to make it the law of nearly the whoje of Germany, that all parents should be able to get their children educated at the primary schools without hav- ing to pay any thing for this education. _, , There are now, therefore, no school fees in the greatest part of Germany. Edu- cation is perfectly gratuitous. The poorest man can send his child free of all ex- pense to the best of the public schools of his district. And, besides this, the au- thorities of the parish or town, in which a parent lives, who is too poor to clothe his children decently enough for school attendance, are obliged to clothe them for him, and to provide them with books, pencils, pens, and every thing necessary for school attendance, so that a poor man, instead of being obliged to pay somcthmg out of his small earnings for the education of his children, is, on the contrary, ac- tually paid for sending them to school. This latter is an old regulation, and is one which has aided very greatly to make the educational regulations very popular among the poor of Germany. I made very cai'eful inquiries about the education of children in the principal manufacturing district of Prussia. I remained several days in Elbeifeld, their largest manufacturing town, on purpose to visit the factory schools. I put myself there, as elsewhere, in direct communication with the teachers, from whom I ob- tained a great deal of information ; and I also had several interviews on the sub- ject with the educational councillors at Berlin, who put into my hand the latest regulations on this subject issued by the government. The laws relating to the factory children date only from 1839. They are as follow.s : — " No child may be employed in any manufactory, or in any mining or building operations, before it has attained the age of nine years. " Nci child, which has not received three years' regular instruction in a school, and has not obtained the certificate of a school committee, that it can read its mother tongue fluently, and also write it tolerably well, may be employed in any of the above-mentioned ways, before it has completed its sixteenth year. " An exception to this latter rule is only allowed in those cases, where the man- ufacturers provide for the education of the factory children, by erecting and main- taining factory schools." If a manufacturer will establish a school in connection with his manufectory, and engage a properly educated teacher, he is then allowed to employ any children of nine years of age, whether they have obtained a certificate or not, on condition, however, that these children attend the school four evenings in every week, as well as two hours every Sunday morning, until they have obtained a certificate of pro-' ficiency in their studies. The " schulrath," or educational minister in the county court, decides whether the factory school is so satisfactorily" managed, as to entitle the manufacturer to this privilege. This minister also regulates the hours which must be devoted Weekly to the instruction of the factory children. " Young people, under sixteen years of age, may not be employed in manu&c- turing establishments more than ten hours a day." * The civil magistrates are, however, empowered, in some eases, to allow young people to work eleven hours a day, when an accident has happened, which obliges . tho manufacturer to make up for lost time, in order to accomplish a certain quan- tity of work before a given day. But these licenses can not be granted for more, at the most^ than four weeks at a time. After the hours of labor have been regulated by the " schulrath" and fhe man- ufacturer, the latter is obliged by law to take care tliat the factoiy children have, both in the mornings and in the afternoons, a quarter of an hour's exercise in the open air, and that at noon, they always have a good hour's relaxation from labor. " No young person, under sixteen years of age, may, in any case, or in any emergency, work more than eleven hours a day." TTxe children of Chris- tian parents, who have not been confirmed, may not work in the mills during the hours set apart by the religious minister, for the religious instruction which ho wishes to give them preparatory to their confirmation. ' The manufacturers, who employ children in the mills, are obliged to lay before the magistrate a list, containing the names of all the children they employ their respective ages, their places of abode, and the names of their parents. If any in- SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. gy speotor or teacher reports to the civil magistrate, that any child iinder the legal age is being employed in the mills instead of being sent to school, or if the police report the infringement of any other of the above-mentioned regulations, the magistrate is empowered and obliged to punish the manufacturer by fmes, which are increased in amount on every repetition of the offense. I examined the actual state of things in Elberfeld, one of the most important of the manufacturing districts "of Prussia, and I found these regulations most satisfac- torily put in force. No children were allowed to work in the mills, before they had attained the age of nine years, and after this time, they were required to attend classes four evenings every week, conducted by the teachers of the day- sohools ; or, if their work was of such a nature as to prevent such attendance, then they were obliged to attend classes every Sunday morning for two hours ; and this attendance was required to be continued, until the children ooiild obtain a certifi- cate from their teacher and religious minister, that they could read and write well, that they were well versed in Scripture history, and that they knew arithmetic sufficiently well to perform all the ordinary calculations, which would be required of them. , As a check upon the parents and matfufacturers, no child was allowed to labor in the mills, without having obtained a certificate, signed by its religious minister and its teacher, that it was attending one of these classes regularly. If the attend- ance was irregular, this certificate was immediately withdrawn, and the child was no longer allowed to continue working in the mills. But, from all I saw of these schools, and from what the teachers told me, I should say, they had no difficulty in enforcing attendance ; and, so far from it being evident, that the parents were anxious to send their children into the mills, as soon as possible, I was astonished to find even the daily schools filled to overflowing, and that with children, many of whom were thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen years of age. I It is very easy for the traveler, who is merely passing thrbugh the manufactur- ing towns of the Rhine Provinces, to prove to himself, how anxious both the peo- ple and the government are to carry all these regulations into efiect. Let him only take the trouble of wandering into the streets of such a town, at a quarter to eight in the morning, or at a quarter to one in the afternoon, and he will find them alive with children of remarkably courteous and geptle appearance, all very neatly and cleanly dressed, each carrying a little bag containing a slate and school books, and all hurrying along to school. Let him visit the same streets at any time during the school hours, and he will find an absence of young children, which, accustomed as he is to the alleys of our towns, swarming vrith poor little creatures growing up in filth, and coarseness, and immorality, will be even more astonishing and delightful. Before Prussia began in good earnest to promote the education of the people, it was thought there, as it is in England at the present day, that private charity and voluntary exertions would suffice, tp supply the country with all the materials of education. In the early part of the eighteenth century the government enunciated, in formal edicts, that it was the first duty of a parish to educate its young. For nearly one hundred years, it trusted to the voluntary principle, and left the work in the hands of generous individuals ; the result was what might have been ex- pected, and what may be observed in England : the supply of the materials of education did not keep pace with the growth of the population. Prussia was Uttle or no better provided with schools in 1815, than it had been in 1715 ; as to the teachers, they were poor, neglected, ignorant persons. Educated persons would not become teachers of the poor ; and the poor were neither able nor willing to pay for the education of teachers for their children. A sufficient number of benevolent individuals oould not be found to bear the whole expense of educating the nation ; and even in ' those parishes, in which the benevolent part of the richer classes had managed to collect funds, sufficient for carrying on such a work for a year or two, it was found, that they were unable or unwilling, for any length of time, to bear alone such a great and ever-increasing burden. After a long trial of this unfair voluntary system, which taxed charitable indi- viduals in order to make up for the defeult of the selfish or careless, it was found, in 1815, as in England at the present day, that great numbers of parishes had no schools at all ; that of the schools which were built, scarcely any were properly supplied with the necessary books and apparatus ; that there were no good teach- 7 93 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. era in the country, and no means of educating any ; and that the science of peda- gogy had been totally neglected, and was universally misunderstood. Wthen, the people were to be educated, — and the French revolution of 1789 had taught the Prussian government the necessity of enlightening the poor and of improving their social condition, it became but too evident, that 'the govern- ment must act as well as preach. In a word, the experience of one hundred years taught tlie Prussians, that it was necessary to compel the ignorant, slothful, and selfish members of the political body to assist the benevolent and patriotic, or diat sufficient funds would never be found for educating the whole of the laboring classes. The following regulations, therefore, were put into and are still in force throughout Prussia. The inhabitants of each parish are obliged, either alone, or in company with one or more neighboring parishes, to provide sufficient school-room, a sufficient number of teachers, and all the necessary school apparatus for the instruction of all their children, who are between the ages of six and fourteen. I shall show by what parochial organization this is effected. I. Where all the inhahitants of a village are members of the same religious demmination. In these cases, whenever more school-room, or a greater number of teachers, or more apparatus, or any repairs of the existing school-buildings is required, the village magistrate, having been informed of these deficiencies by the district school- inspector, immediately summons a committee of the villagers, called the " Schul- vorstand." This Schulvorstand consists — 1. Of the religious minister of the parish. He is the president of the commit- tee or Schulvorstand. In some parts of Prussia, however, there are still some few remnants of the old aristocracy, who possess great estates ; and where the village is situated on one' of these estates, there the landlord is the president of the school committee. This, however, is so rare an exception, that it is not necessary further to notice it. 2. Of the village magistrate, who is selected by the county magistrates, from the most intelligent men in the parish. 3. Of from two to four of the heads of families in the parish. These members of the committee are elected by the parishioners, and their election is confirmed or annulled by the union magistrates. If the union magistrate annuls the election, because of the unfitness of the persons chosen, the parish can proceed to a second election ^ but, if they again select men, who are not fit to be entrusted with the duties of the school committee, the election is again annulled, and the union mag- istrate himself selects two or four of the parishioners, to act as members of the committee. When the village is situate on the estate of a great landed proprietor, he also can annul the choice of the parishioners ; but these cases, as I have before said, are very rare, and are confined almost entirely to the eastern provinces of Prussia, where the Polish nobles still retain some of their former possessions ; for in the other provinces of Prussia, the land is now almost as much subdivided as in France, and is generally the property of the peasants. The members of these committees are chosen for six years, at the end of which time a new election takes place. If several parishes join in supporting one school, each of them must he repre- sented in the school committee, by at least one head of a family. The county court, however, has the power of preventing this union of parishes, for the sup- port of one joint school, — 1. When the number of children is so great, as to make it difficult to instruct them all in two classes. 2. When the parishes are separated too far apart, or when the roads between them are bad, dangerous, or at times impassable. In such oases there must be separate schools j or else the great law of the land, that " all the children must be educated," would often be infringed. n. Where ike inhabitants of a village are members of d^erent religious denominations. Sometimes it happens, that a parish contains persons of different reli^ous opin- ions; and then arises the question, which has been a stumbling-block to the SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTBUCTIOiN IN PRUSSIA. 99 progress of primary education in England, " how shall the rival claims of these parties be satisfied, so that the great law of Germany, that ' all the children must be educated,' may be carried into effect 1" In these cases, the governments of Germany leave the parishes at perfect liberty to Select their own course of proceeding, an#to establish separate or mixed schools, according as they judge best for themselves. The only thing the government requires is, that schools of one kind or another shall be established. If the inhabitants of such =» parish in Prussia determine on having separate schools, then separate school committees are elected by the different sects. The committee of each sect consist of, the village magistrate, the minister, and two or three heads of families, of the religious party for which the committee is con- stituted. • If the inhabitants; however, decide on having one mixed school for all the re- ligious parties, the committee consists of, the village magistrate, the religious min- istere oi the di6Ferent parties, and several of the parishioners, elected from among the members of the different sects, for which the school is intended. In these eases, the teacher is ehosrai from the most numerous religious party ; or, if the school is large enough to require two teachers, the head one is elected from the members of the most numerous party, and the second from those of the next largest party. If there is only one teacher, children of those parents who do not belong to the same religious sect as the teacher, are always allowed to absent themselves during the hour in which the teacher gives the religious lessons, on condition that the children receive religious instruction from their own religious ministers. One of the educational councillors at Berlin informed me, that the government did not encourage the establishment of mixed schools, as they think, that in such cases, the religious education of both parties, or at least of one of them, often suf- fers ; but, he continued, " of course we think a mixed school' infinitely better than none at all ; and, when a district is too poor to support separate schools, we gladly see mixed ones established." The gentleman who said this was a Boman Catholic. In the towns, there are not often mixed schools containing Romanists and Protestants, as there gener^illy are sutficient numbers of each of these sects in every town, to enable the citizens to establish separate schools. The children of Jews, however, are often to be found, even in the towns, in the schools of the other sects ; but, owing to the entire and uncontrolled liberty of decision that the people themselves possess on this point, there seems to be little difficulty in ar- ranging matters, and no jealousy whatever exists between the different parties. If a mixed school is established in any parish, and the teacher is chosen from the most numerous sect, and if the minor party becomes discontented or suspicious of the education given in the school, it is always at libe^ to establish another school for itself ; and it is this liberty of action, which preserves the parishes where the mixed schools exist, from all intestine troubles and religious quarrels, which are ever the most ungodly of disputes. In leaving the settlement of this matter to the parishes, the government appears to have acted most wisely; for, in these religious questions, any interference from without is sure to create alarm, sus- picion, and jealousy, and cause the different parties to fly asunder, instead of co- alescing. All that tile government does, is to say, " Tou must provide sufficient school-room, and a sufficient number of good teachers, but decide yoursdves how yon will do this." The consequence is, that the people say, " We can try a mixed school first ; and, if we see reason to fear its effects, we wiU then amicably decide on erecting another separate one." So that the great difficulty arismg from re- ligions difference has been easily overcome. The duties of the school committees, when once formed, are : — 1st. To take care that the parish is supplied with sufficient school-room for all the children, who are between the ages of five and fourteen. 2d. To supply the school-room with all the books, writing materials, slates, blackboards, maps, and apparatus necessary for instruction. 3d. To provide the teachers wiSb. comfortable houses for themselves and &milie8. 4th. To keep all the school-buildings, and the houses of the teachers, in good repair, often whitewashed, and well warmed. 200 SBBJECTS AND METIIODS OP IN'STBUCTIOK IN PRUSSIA. 5th. To take care that the salary of the teachers is paid to them regolarly. 6th. To assist those pai'ente who are too poor to prorlde their children with clothes sufficiently decent for their school attendance. 7th. To assist, protect, and encourage the teachers. . 8th. To be present at all the pubU* examinations of the school, at the induc- tion of the teachers, which is a public ceremony performed in church before all the parishioners, and at all the school fete days. If the school is not endowed, the committee is empowered to impose a tax on the householders for its support, and for the payment of the schoolmaster ; and it is held responsible by the higher authorities for his regular payment, according to the agi^eement, which was made with him on his introduction. The school cwn- mittee,-however, can not discharge the teacher, it can only report him to the higher authorities ; for in Prussia none of the local authorities, who are in immediate contact with the teacher, and who might, consequently, imbibe personal prejudices against him, are allowed to exercise the power of dismissing him. This is re- served for those, who are never brought into personal connection with him, and who are not, therefore, so likely to imbibe such prejudices. Neither can the committee interfere with the interior discipline of the school ; it can only inspect the condition of the school, and report to the county authorities. When the com- mittee has once elected the teacher, he is entirely free to follow his own plans of instruction, unfettered by the interference of local authorities, as he is presumed to understand his own business, better than any of those about him. If the school-committee neglects its duties, or refuses to furnish the teacher with the necessary apparatus, or to keep the school-house in proper repair, or to pay the teacher regularly, he has always the power of appealing to the inspectors, or to the county courts, who instantly compel the local authorities to perform their appointed duties. When a new school is required, the school committee selects the site and plan of the buildings, and sends them for confirmation to the county magistrate. If this magistrate sees any objection to the plans, he returns them to the committee, with his suggestions ; the plans are then reconsidered by the committee, and re- turned with the necessary emendations to the magistrate, who then gives his sanction to them. Before this sanction has been obtained, the plans can not be finally adopted by the committee. It is already very evident, by what I have said, how very much liberty of action is left to the people themselves. True it is, that in the election of members of the committees, as well as in the choice of plans and sites for school-houses, and in the determination of the amount of the school-rate; the connty magistrates have a negative ; but this is only a necessary precaution against the possibility of a really vicious selection of members, or of unhealthy or otherwise unsuitable sites for the school-houses, or of a niggardly and insufficient provision for the support of the school. Such a limited interference is always necessary, where the interests of the acting parties might otherwise tempt them to disregard the spirit of the law, and to sacrifice some great public good to the selfishness or ignorance of private individuals. Every landed proprietor is obliged by law, to provide for the education of the children of all laborers living on his estates, who are too poor themselves to do so. Every such proprietor is also obliged by law, to keep the schools situated upon his estates in perfect repair, and in a perfect state of cleanliness j to conform to all the regulations, of which I shall speak hereafter, and which relate to the election and support of the teachers ; and to furnish all the wood necessary for the re- pairs and warming of the school-buildings, and all the apparatus, books, &o!, necessary for instruction. This is what ought to be done in England. If it is right, that the law should grant to the proprietors such full powers over their property even after death, and should enable them to tie up their land in their own family for so long a time, and thus prevent the land dividing and getting into the hands of the poor, as it does abroad, it is but just, that the landlord? should be compelled by law to do, at least, as much for their tenants in this country, as they are compelled to do in countries where the poor are much more favored than they are here, and where the interests of landlords are much less protected by law, than they are with us. SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. IQl It sometimes happens, that a parish is so poor, as not to be able to build the new school-house, of which it stands in need. In these oases, in order that the great law of the land " that every phild must be educated'^ should be carried into exe- cution, it is neeessary that the poor parish should receive assistance from without. This is provided for by a law, which requires that each county court shall assist, within its district, every parish, which is not able to provide alone for the expenses of the education of its children. If a county court should, from the number of calls upon its ti'easury, find itself unable to supply enough to assist all the parishes of the county which need assistance, the government at Berlin grants assistance to the county court ; for, whatever else is neglected for want of funds, great care is taken that all neeessary means for the education of the people shall be every where provided. , ' The school organization of the Prussian towns differs somewhat from that of the Prussian villages. I have already mentioned, that the superior milage magistrates are appointed by the state, and that in each village there is one of these civil magistrates, who is a member <^ the village school committee, and is held respons- ible, if sufficient means are not provided for the education of the people of his dis- trict. But, in the towns, the magistrates are elected by the citizens ; and, strange as it may seem, the municipal corporations have long been, on the whole, liberally constituted. The privilege of citizenship in any town is acquired, by good character and honest repute. 'Pie magistrates, who have been themselves elected by the citizens, can admit such inhabitants of the town, as they think worthy of the position, to the rank of citizens. But all citizens, who possess any ground of the value, in small towns, of 502., or in large towns, of about 3502. in Prussian money, and all citizens who,, without possessing any ground, have incomes of at least 352. per annum, in Prussian money, are by law entitled to a vote in the election of the town magistrates. The citizens, who are entitied to a vote, elect, every three years, a number of representatives, or, as they are called, town councillors. No person can be elected to the office of town councillor, unless he possess land of the value, in small towns, of at least 1502., and in large towns of at least 2002., or whose income does not amount to at least 352. per annum. The number of these councillors depends on the size of the towns ; iio town ckn elect fewer than nine, or more than sixty. The manner in which they are elected, differs in different towns, but I believe the ordinary custom is, for each division of a town to elect one or more to represent it in the general council. These councillors, when elected, proceed to the election of a certain number of magistrates, whose offices last from six to twelve years, and these magistrates appoint from among themselves a mayor, who is chosen also for twelve years. The county court, under which the town finds itself ranged, has the power of annulling the election of the mayor, and of any of the magistrates, whom it may judge unfit for their office ; and, in such a case, the magistrates or the town councillors, as the ease may be, are obliged to proceed to another election. Such is a bare outline of the Prussian municip^ system. With the various civic and political duties of the different authorities, I have no concern here, further than they relate to the education of the people. In each town a committee is chosen, which is called the " tchuldeputation,'' or, as I shall translate it, the school committee. It consists of from one to three, but of never more than three, of the town magistrates, of an equal number of deputies from the town councillors, an equal number of citizens, having the repu- tation of being interested and skilled in school matters, (these are commonly se- lected from among the religious ministers,) and also of the several representatives of those privately endowed schools in the town, which are not supported by the town, but yet fall under the surveillance and direction of ite municipal authorities. The number of these representatives varies, according to the size of the town. With the exception of the representatives of the private schools, the members of this committee are chosen by the magistrates, who are themselves, as I have be- fore said, elected by the citizens ; but the representatives of the private schools, which are not supported by the town ftinds, are nominated by the county coiirts. To these members, thus elected, is joined one member from each of the com- mittees, which are teleoted from the magistrates and town councillors for the differ- ent mniiicipal afiairs, if the former election should not have admitted any such 102 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. members into the school committee. The first ecclesiastical authority of the town is alsoj ex~off.cio, a member of the committee ; and if the town contans both Romanists and Protestants, the committee most be composed of equal proportion of members of the difFerent pai-ties. The county courts have the power of annu^ ling the election of any member, if they see reason to deem him unfit for the ^/^^ else of the duties of his oiEoe, and in such a case, the town authorities are obbged to proceed to make a new election. The duties of the town school committees are to proyide sufficient school-room for all the children in the town ; to elect a suflneient number of teadiers ; to pay them their salaries regularly; to- provide all needful apparatus for the schools ; to keep the class-rooms and the teachers' houses in good repair, well whitewashed, and well warmed; to take care that all the children of the town attend school regularly; to inspect the schools at stated intervals ; to provide each schaol with a play-gxovmd ; and to take care that the teachers exereise the children there every morning and afternoon. The funds required for (he maintenance of the town schools, are provided from the treasui'y of the corporation. The town councillors are responsible to the county magistrate and to the eentrd government for the due performance of these several duties. If they neglect any of them, the teachers and inspectors complain to the higher authorities, who oblige tfiem to conform immediately to the genersd law of the land. Besides these municipal authorities, for the superintendence of the education of the whAle town, it often happens, that eaeh school in the town has its peenliar schulvorstand, cOTresponding to the village comniHtees, which I have alrea^ described. These committees, where they do exist in the towns, elect their own teachers, and collect, in their several districts, the necessary school funds from the heads of families dwelling there ; but if any one of the district school committees is not able to provide for the expenditure required to supply the wants of its dis- trict, the town school committee is oljliged to come forward and assist it, from the general town funds. The latter committee is the general superintendent and assistant, but the former little district societies, where they exist, are the actual laborers. Difference of religion creates no greater difficulty in the towns than in the country parishes, since the Bomanists, Protestants, and Jews can, if they prefer, manage their own schools separately, by means of the little school socie- ties, and are never forced into any sort of connection, unless, where it is agree- able to themselves. The Prussian government seems to have considered the education of the elut- dren of the towns, of even higher importance, than that of the children of the vif- feges ; and to have required the formation of these superior committees in the towns, as a sort of additi(»ial security, that all the districts of a town should be amply provided with eveiy thing neeessary for the careftd education of their children. These committees assemble every fortnight, and oftener when necessary, at the town halls ; they h2iv& the power of inviting any number of the clergy and teachers of the towns to assist at their conferences, and to aid them wifli their experience and counsels. In many parts of Prussia these central town" committees are superseding the smaller district school societies, so that the funds of aH the town schools, and the choice and induction of all tlie teachers rest entirely with the one central town school comnyttee ; and in the case of tovms containing different religious sects, as far as I could gather from what I heard in Berlin — for on this point I could find no express regulation — the Protestant ^members of the town committee appoint the teachers of the Protestant schools, and the Romanist members the teachers of the Romanist schools. But in every town every religious party is at liberty, if it pleases, to separate itself from the central town committee, and to form its own separate school com- mittee, for the management of its own educational affiiirs. And where ever the union of the different reKgious parties occasions any strife and disputes, the small district committees are sure to be formed. "Where these smaller committees do exist, they elect the teachers for the schools under their management Great advantages are, howfver, insured, when the management of all the schools in any town can be put under the direction of one committee, instead af SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSU. JO3 each being placed under the direction of its separate committee ; or when all the Romanist schools can be put under the direction of one committee, and all the I^otestant schools under the direction of another. For, in these cases, instead of creating a gi'eat number of STnall schools in different parts of the town, each con- taining only one or two classes, in which children of very different ages and very different degrees of proficiency must be necessarily mingled and taught together, to the manifest retarding of the progress of the more forward as well as of the more backward, several schools are generally combined, so as to form one large one, containing five boys' classes and five girls' classes. In these classes, the teachers are able to classify the children in such a manner, that one teacher may take the youngest and most deficient, another the more advanced, and so on. In this manner, as each teacher has a class of children, who have made about the same progress in their studies, he is enabled to concentrate his whole energies upon the instruction and education of all his scholars at the same time, and for the whole time they are in school, instead of being obliged to neglect one part of his class whilst he attends to another, which is necessarily the ease, where children of different degrees of proficiency are assembled in one class-room, and which is always necessarily the cause of considerable noise and confusion, tending to dis- tract the attention of both teachers and children. But, besides the good classification, a further advantage, which results from this combination of schools, is the greater economy of the plan. When each school contains only two class-rooms, four times as many schools are required, as when each school contains eight rooms. And it is by no means true, that a school- building containing eight class-rooms costs as ranch as four school-buildings, each of which contains two class-rooms. Not only is a great expenditure saved, in the mere erection of the exterior walls and roofs of the buildings themselves, but a still gi'eater saving is effected, in the purchase of land, as, instead of increasing the area on which the school is erected, it is always possible to increase its height. Nothing can be more liberal, than the manner in which the Prussian towns have provided for their educational wants. ' The buildings are excellent, and are kept in most admirable order. The town authorities are held responsible for all this ; and, wherever I went, I found large, commodious, and beautifully clean school-rooms, fm-nished with all that the teachers could possibly require. Along the length of the rooms, parallel desks are ranged, facing the teacher's desk, which is raised on a small platform, so that he may see all his scholars. On either side of him are large blackboards, on which he illustrates the subjects of his lessons. On his right hand, there is generally a cabinet, for the reception of all the books and objects of instructioji which belongs to the school ; and all around, on the walls of the room, hang maps of different countries, and, generally, several of Germany, delineating, in a strong and clear manner, all the physical features of the different provinces and kingdoms which compose the " Fatherland." The school-rooms are continually whitewashed ; and should there be any neglect on the part of the town or village authorities to keep the school -buildings in proper order, or to provide all the necessary apparatus, the teachers have always the power of complaining to the inspectors, or to the country magistrates, who immediately compel the authorities to attend to these important duties. Besides the schools, which are managed by school committees in the villages and towns, and which might be denominated public schools, there is another class, which would fall ipore properly under the designation of private schools. If a private individual is desirous of establishing a school, as a means of earn- ing his livelihood, or from a desire to offer to the poor of his neighborhood a better education, than they could obtain in the public schools, he is at hberty to do so, on the following conditions : — 1st, That the school be opened to public inspection, on the ground, that as the nation is directly interested in the moral education of its citizens, so it ought to be assured, that none of the children are subjected to immoral and corrupting influences, during the time when their minds are most susceptible of impressions of any kind, and most tenacious of them when received. 2dly, That no person be employed as teacher in such school, who has not ob- 104 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. lained a teacher's diploma, certifying his character and attainments to be such, as to fit him for the office of teacher. , 3dly, That the school be supplied with a play-gronnd, and that the children be allowed to lake exercise there in the middle of the morning and afternoon school hours. 4thly, That at least a certain fixed amount of instruction in reading, wntmg, arithmetic, geography, history, singing, and science be given in the school. Sthly, That a sufficient number of teachers be provided for the children ; and, 6thly, That the room^ are kept clean, well warmed, lighted and ventilated. The profuse expenditure on all the material of education in the Prussian towns astonished me greatly, accustomed as I had been to the dame schools of Eng- land, and to the empty and repulsive interiors of many of our national school- rooms, with their bare floors and uncovered walls. I took the greatest pains not to be deceived on this point ; and hearing that, owing to some municipal disputes, education had made less progress in Berlin than elsewhere, I requested Professor Hintze of Berlin, to direct me to the worst school in the city, and, having visited several of the more perfect ones, I started one morning to see what was considered a poor school in Prussia. It was managed by a teacher, who had established a school for the poor at his own expense, as a private speculation, and unconnected with the town committees. I found a good house containing/oar class-rooms, each of which was fitted up with parallel desks, and was under the direction of a teacher, who had been care- fully educated, and had obtained his diploma. I found a good, dry, and roomy play-ground attached to the school, a very agreeable and seemingly intelligent head master, who was owner of the school, and manager of one of the classes ; and the only cause of complaint I could dis- cover, were, that the rooms were lower than the generality of school-rooms in Prussia, not measuring more than nine feet in height ; that there was a paucity of maps, blackboards, &c. ; that the desks were placed too closely together ; and that the walls were not so white and clean as in the town schools. But I could not help thinking, while walking through the rooms of this building, if these people could only see some of our dame, and some of our dirty and unfumished national schools, what a palace would they not consider this to be ! The regulations which I have been describing, by means of wMch the enormous expenses of such a vast educational scheme are divided between all the different districts of the kingdom, and by means of which each parish is held responsible for the education of its children, have been followed by this splendid result — that, notwithstanding that most of their town schools contain five or six times as many class-rooms as those of our countiy, the Prussian people have established 23,646 schools, which, in 1844. were attended daily by 2,328,146 children, and were directed by 29,639 highly educated teachers, of whom neai'ly 28,000 were young professors, who had obtained diplomas and certificates of character at the normal colleges ! Now, could this magnificent result have been attained if the people, the clergy, and the government had not been at unity on this great question ? Could it have been attained, if there had been no organization of the parishes and towns, by which the duties of the different educational authorities were clearly and distinctly defined ? Could the government alone have borne the enormous expenses of establishing such a system 1 Could the government have even afforded to carry it on ? And, above all, could private charity alone ha,ve effected so vast and splendid a result ? These are questions for my readers to answer for them- selves. The central committees of each town are required by law to establish, in addi- tion to the primary institutions, which I have described, one or more superior pri- mary schools, the numbei- of which varies according to the population of the town. The education given in them is superior to that given m the primary schools themselves, but is inferior to that given in the gymnasia . It is of a more prac- tical character than the latter, and is quite as good as the education of the chil- dren of our middle classes. These superior primary institutions are intended for all those children, who have passed through the primary schools, and whose parents vrish them to receive a better education than that given in the latter SUBJECTS AND METHODS OP INSTRtCTION IN PRUSSIA. 105 establishments, without their having to go through the. classical course of the gymnasia. The education given in these superior schools, as in all the public schools of Prussia, is gratuitous, and open to all classes of society. AH the children of the small shopkeepers and artizans, many of the boys, who afterward enter the teachers' colleges, as well as many others, whose parents are to be found in the very humblest walks of life, and even children of the nobles, and of the richest Glares of society, are to be found pursuing their studies there together, in the same class-rooms, and on the same benches. 1 have myself seen sons of counts, physicians, clergymen, merchants, shopkeepers, and poor laborers work- ing together in one of these classes in Berlin. Above these superior schools are the real schools and gymnasia, or colleges, where a classical and very superior course of education is pursued, and where . the children of the more wealthy classes are instructed. They are under an entirely dilFerent direction ; and all I have to do with them here, is to mention, that even these institutions are open gratuitously to all, who wish to avail them- selves of the education which they offer. Even in these classical colleges chil- dren of poor laborers are sometimes to be found studying on the same benches on which sit the sons of the rich. It is very instructive to observe, that in Prussia, where one would imagine, according to the doctrines preached in England, that the government should, until the late revolution, have feared to advance the intelligence of the people, no one has seemed to have an idea, that too much I instruction could be imparted to the children of the poor, ©n the contrary, every one has acted as if the public order and public morality depended entirely upon the people being able to think. A theoretically arbitrary government has been doing every thing in its power to stimulate and enable the people to educate their children as highly as possible, and has been for years telling them, that the pros- perity and happiness of the country, depend greatly on the training of the chil- dren ; while here, in our free country, we still find people speaking and acting, as if they feared, that education was the inevitable harbinger of immorality and disatfection. There are also in Prussia a great number of endowed schools, which derive their incomes from the rents of lands, or from the mterest of money bequeathed to them by charitable individuals, or which have been founded and endowed at different times by the government. For each of these cases, there is an excep- tion made in the operation of the municipal regulations, which I have described : neither of these classes of schools are directed by Schulvorstande, or by the town committees. The teachers for the former class are chosen l)y the, trustees, appointed by the will of the devisor ; the county courts being enabled to annul tlie elections, if a bad selection is made. The trustees, however, are unable to appoint any person, as teacher, who has . not obtained a diploma* of competency from the provincial committee, appointed to examine all candidates for the teachers' profession. In fact, no person can ofBciate as teacher, in any Prussian school, unless he has obtained such a diploma. This is the parents' guarantee, that he is a person, to whom they may safely intrust their children. The teachers of the class of schools, which have been founded and endowed by government, are appointed by the county courts. The town committees have, however, the sur- veillance and inspection of all these schools, and are obliged by law to assist them from the town funds, if their own do not suffice for their efficient mamtainance. The municipal authorities are also obliged to assist all the parents, who are too poor to do it themselves, to purchase the books, slates, pencils, &o., required for the class instruction ; and they are also obliged to provide decent clothing for such children, as are too poor, to obtain a dress sufficiently respectable for school attendance. And here, I can not help remarking, on the general appearance of the children throughout the proviiioes of Prussia, which I have visited. They were generally very clean, well dressed, polite, and easy in their manners, and very healthy and active in their appearance. In whatever town of Prussia the traveler finds himself, he may always satisfy himself on this point, if he will take the trouble to walk out into the streets, between twelve and two o'clock in the morn- * For an account of diplomas, see page 188. 106 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. ing, i. ij., between the hours of the morning and afternoon classes. In some towns, a stranger would imagine, either that the poor had no children, or that they never let them go out of .doors. All the children he would see in the streets would appear to him to be those of respectable shopkeepers. This is a very sat- isfactory proof of the good effects of the school system, as cleanliness and neat- ness among the poor are invariable symptoms of a satisfactory moral and physical condition. The law requires that every school, both in town and country, shall have an open space of gr5und adjacent to it, where the children may take a little exercise in the mornings and afternoons. This is a very important regulation, and is well worthy our imitation. The children, in Germany, are never detained more than an hour and a half in the school-room at one time, except when the weather is too bad, to allow of their taking exercise In the open air. Every hour and a half, , throughout the day, they are taken into the play-ground for ten minutes' exercise by one of the teachers ; the air of the school-room is then changed, and the chil- dren return refreshed to their work. In the towns this regulation insures other and greater advantages, as it keeps the children out of the filth and immorality of • the streets. In most cases, our town-schools have no yard attached to them, so that, if the children do change the bad and noxious air of the school-room, it is only for the dirt and depravity of the streets, where they are brought under evil influences, much more powerful for injury, than those of the schools are for good. In some provinces of Prussia, there are still some few of the old class of great landowners, between M'hom, in former days, the whole of Prussia was divided, until Stein and Hardenburg put the laws in force, which destroyed the old feudal system, and gave the peasants an interest in the soil. It is, therefore, an interest- ing question to examine, what the law requires these landlords to do for the edu- cation of the people on their estates. I have already mentioned, that the selection of the teacher is left to them, but that the government reserves the right of a veto upon their choice, in all cases where an injudicious election is made. The landlords are required to keep in good repair the schools upon their estates, and to pay the school-fees for the children of all the poor laborers living upon them, and not able to pay it themselves. They are also obliged to furnish the" materials, required for the erection or repair of all necessary school-buildings ; the fuel required for the school-rooms and teachers' houses through the winter ; and, where the school is not endowed, the sum which, is necessary for the teachers' salaries. The children of ilie landed proprietors themselves, often attend the vil- lage schools, and work at the same desks, with the sons and daughters of the poorest peasants — a proof of the excellent character of the education given in the primary schools, and of the high estimation, m which t^e teachers are generally held by all classes of society. About eight or ten years since all the German schools were conducted on the Bell and Lancasterian methods, the children being left almost entirely in the hands of young and half-educated monitors, as in our own parochial schools at the present day. The results of this system were so unsatisfactoi-y that they soon occasioned a powerful reaction in the contrary direction. The German govern- ments, perceiving how grievously the mental education and mental development of the children were retarded by subjecting them to the imperfect care of half- educated monitors, prohibited all employment of monitors in the parochial schools. Hence, it became necessary to considerably increase the staff of teachers as well as the expenditure required for their support. In the towns this has been produc- tive of beneficial results, as the towns can always raise sufficient funds for the support of a sufBoient number of teachers. I generally found that each of these schools throughout Germany had a staff of from six to twelve teaohera attached to it, each of whom had attained the age of twenty years, had been specially edu- cated in the classes of the primary, secondary, and normal schools, from his sixth to his twentieth year, and had obtained a diploma certifying his fitness for the pro- fession to which he had devotod himself. But in the village schools the results of this rejection of all monitorial assist- ance has been less satisfactory. The villages are ^ot generally rich enough to support more than two teachers, and often not more than one, and this too in many cases, where there are 150 children who attend the school. In these cases. SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. IQ>J therefore, monitors are greatly needed to assist in maintaining order among one part of the children, while the teacher is instructing another part, and to relieve the teacher from the more mechanical part of class instruction, so that he may apply his undivided attention to those branches of instructions, in which his supe- rior skill, knowledge, and experience are most needed. But the prejudices which the Germans have imbibed against the monotorial system, are, as yet, too strong to allow them to perceive the necessity of employ- ing monitors in the village schools. Whenever I addressed a German teacher on this subject, he immediately answered, " Oh ! we have had enough of your Lan- casterian methods ; depend upon it, we shall never try them again." It was very surprising to me to see, how universal and how strong this antipathy to monitors was throughourGermany ; but it served to show me, how deep an interest all classes took in the prosperity of the schools, as it was evident that they only rejected this means of lessening the parochial outlay in the support of teachers, because they believed it to be essentially injurious to the sound mental progress of the children. No doubt that the old monitorial system was deserving of all their maledic- tions ; but it would well become the Prussian educational authorities to consider, whether the means between the old system and the present, such, viz., as the i monotorial system pursued in Holland and France, is not the true state of things to which they ought to aspire. In these countries, the teachers j.rain the most promising of their oldest and most advanced scholars as monitors. They give them instruction in the evenings when the day's work in the school-room is over. These monitors are paid by the parochial authorities j ust enough, to make it worth their while to remain at their posts as assistants to the schoolmasters until about seventeen years of age, after which time they are removed to the normal colleges to be trained as teachers, whilst other children take their places in the village schools. To these trained and paid monitors nothing is intrusted, but the mere mechanical parts of school teaching, suck as the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. All the higher and more intellectual parts of school education, such as religious instruction, history, geography, and mental arithmetic, are con- ducted by the schoolmaster himself. But the principal service which the moni- tors render to the teachers is, in preserving order and silence in the school, and in watching oyer those classes, which are not for the time being receiving instruc- tion from the schoolmaster. By this means, one able master, with the aid of two intelligent monitors, may conduct a school of 100 children ; whenever the number, however, exceeds 100, there should in all oases be, at the least, two^uperior teachers. As I have already said, the want of monitors is felt most in the village schools ; for the town schools are conducted in a totally different manner. In a town a greater number of children are found assembled together, and greater funds are always found at the disposal of the school authorities, who, it will be remembered, are elected by the people. In each of the Prussian towns, several great school-houses are generally built, each containing from four to sixteen class-rooms. The num- ber does not, I believe, generally exceed eight in one school-house, and some have not more, but hardly any fewer than four. In Germany, except in the poorest villages, different classes are never instructed in the same room. Even in the villages, there are generally two or three class-rooms in the village school-house, for each of which a separate teacher is maintained. This plan of teaching the different classes in different rooms, adds incalculably to the efficiency of the education given. In each room, only one voice is heard at a time — the voice of the teacher or .one of the children. The attention of the children is not disturbed or diverted from the teacher by what is going on in another class. Each room is perfectly quiet. The teacher can be heard distinctly, and can hear every noise in his class. Besides all this, for equal numbers of children four or five times as many teachers are employed in' Germany as in England. Each child receives, therefore, four or five times as much assistance and attention from a learned man as a child does in England. The individual progress, therefore, of the children in the German schools (ancl the same may be said of the Swiss schools,) is very much greater than that of the English children. Over each school-house one head teacher is appointed, who is an elderly and experienced man, and who himself takes the management of the highest class. Under him are appointed a number of younger teachers, corresponding to the number of class-rooms in the school- 108 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. house. These younger masters board with the head teacher in his house, which is generally constructed large enough to afford lodgings for the staff of masters required for all the classes. If the class-rooms do not exceed four, the boys and girls are mixed together in the different rooms, and are divided into four classes, according to their proficiency. If, however, the school contains more than four olass-rooms, then the girls and boys are separated into two distinct divisions, each of which is divided into three or four classes according to the proficiency of the children. In the town schools, therefore, it is much easier to dispense with moni- tors, as no teacher is perplexed vrith having to direct different classes in the same room. Each teacher has only to instruct a small number of children of about the same proficiency in the same subject, at one time and in a separatexoom. He can, therefore, at all moments engage all his children in the same occujJiHons, keep them all under his constant inspection, and direct their op^ations much better than where these operations themselves are necessarily of three or four different kinds at the same time. But even in such case, the teachers require the assist- ance of monitors, in the writing, drawing, and ciphering exercises ; or else, as I have often observed, when the teacher's attention is withdrawn from the class, or when he is attending to some individual pupil in one part of the school, the juvenile spirit is sure to begin to effervesce in another, and to produce noise, dis- order, and interruption. This want of assistance for the principal teachers was almost the only fault I could find vrfth the Prussian schools. The school-buildings were generally excellent, and often handsome ; the class- rooms numerous, loffcy, capacious, and always clean ; for the inspectors take great care that the .parochial authorities do not neglect the whitewashing and repairs. The scholars themselves were always exquisitely clean. The rooms were con- stantly whitewashed and scoured. The law obliges the school committees to do this. If any neglect in these particulars is evident, the inspectors and county magistrates are empowered and required to act for the parochial committee, and to raise the funds necessary for the purpose by a parochial rate levied upon the householders. But from the beautiful neatness and cleanliness and from the excellent repair of the school-rooms which I saw in different provinces of Prussia and Germany, it appeared to me, that the people fully understood and appreciated the importance and utility of these regulations. The class-rooms were always well fitted up with parallel desks and forms, and almost always with excellent maps of Germany, on which all the leading phys- ical characteristics of the country were delineated in a strong and forcible manner, and on a large scale ; and also with smaller but excellent maps of other parts of the world. At one end of each class-room is the teacher's desk, raised a little above the others. Behind, and on each side of him hang great blackboards, fastened to the wall by moveable hinges. On these he writes copies of the writing exercises, and draws all his figures, &c., for the illustration of his lessons: and on all these also each child is called upon in turn to explain arithmetical operations, or to fill up or draw the outlines of a map of some part of Europe, or of one of the principal countries of the world. The space between the teacher's desk and the other end of the room is filled with parallel rows of desks and forms, at which the children work ; for the Prussians are too anxious to make the children interested in thdr school duties, to think of making education more disagreeable to them than it necessarily is, by forcing them to stand through nearly the whole of their lessons, as they do in many of our nafjonal schools to this day. Each school has also a yard, where the children take exercise in the middle of the morning and after- noon school hours, to refresh themselves, and to awaken their faculties while the windows of the class-rooms are thrown open, and the air of the rooms is thoroughly pvirifiej. Some persons seem to imagine that, if a school-room is built and children attend it, the results must needs be good ; but it behooves them to examine whether they have left any influence at work upon the children's minds, stronger than the influence for good which the school affords. If it is so, it seems a little sanguine, to say the least of it, to hope for happy results. The whole system of things in Germany is so entirely different to that in England, that any one who attempts to describe it to Englishmen must necessarily appear to exaggerate. I SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. JQg can only say, let doubters go and inspect for themselves, and I am convinced they will own, that I have not said nearly so much as I might have done, in favor of the wonderful efforts the people and the governments are making to advance the great cause of popular instruction. Each child buys its own books and slate. Those children, however, who are too poor to pay the small school-fees, and who are consequently sent to school at the expense of the town or parish in which they dwell, are provided with books, &e., by the town or parochial authorities. The children generally carry their books home with them ; and every morning at a quarter to eight o'clock, a trav- eler may see the streets of a German town or village filled with boys and girls, neatly dressed and very clean, hurrying to school ; each of the boys carrying his school-books in a small goat-skin knapsack on his back, and each of the girls carrying hers in a small bag, which she holds in her hand. The cleanliness and neatness of dress which I genei'ally observed among the children very much surprised me, and always served tn convince me how the educational regulations were tending to civilize and elevate the tastes of the lower classes throughout Germany. At first, I was often disposed to doubt the veracity of my com- panions, when they assured me that the children I saw were . the sons and ■ daughters of poor laborers. The very way in which children of different ranks of society are to be found mingled in the same school, serves to show how superior the civilization of the lower orders in Germany is to that of the English peasants. With us it would be ■ impossible to.associate, in the same school, the children of peasants with those of even the lowest of our middle classes. IBut in Germany, I constantly found the children of the highest and of the lowest ranks sitting at the same desk, and in almost every school I saw the children of the lowest and of the middle classes mingled together. In Berlin, one of the teachers, on my asking him whose sons the boys at one of his forms were, requested them to tell me in what occupations their fathers were engaged. From these boys I learned, that one was the son of a clergyman, another of a physician ; that others were the sons of small shopkeepers, and others the sons of errand-men and porters. Now, were not the children of the errand-men and porters very much more civilized, polished, and, if I may use that that much abused word, more gentlemanly than the same class of children in England, such an association would be totally impossible. And yet this to us incredible state of things, exists mth infinitely less discontentment and social dis- turbance than we find among our laboring classes in England. But it must not be imagined that the educational system is in a stationary state, that the people and the government are resting upon their oars, or that they now think that they have done enough, and that they can let . the stream ■ bear them on without further exertion. Far, far otherwise ; on every hand extensive improvements are going on, as if they had only commenced last year, to take any interest in the question, and as if they were only now beginning the work, like fresh laborers. Here I found a new and handsome school-house just finished ; there, another one in building ; and here, again, old houses being altered and enlarged. In one town I fotind them preparing a ' great building for a normal college ; in another, I found them preparing to remove one of these noble institu- tions to a more commodious and larger set of buildings ; and wherever I traveled, I found the authorities laboring to establish infant schools, as well as to perfect the educational institutions of their several localities. It sometimes appeared to me as if aU the resources of the government must be devoted to this object; whereas my readers must recollect that, except in the cases of the normal colleges, this great work is effected by the people themselves ; and that the enormous expend- iture, by being divided between all the different towns and parishes in the king- dom, is scarcely felt. Since 1816, every ^ear has witnessed a further progress : old schools have been pulled down, new ones have been erected ; the old and less efficient teachers have gradually died off, and their places have been supplied by excellently trained masters who now direct the schools ; the young men who are about to enter holy orders have been obliged to study pedagogy, in order to fit themselves to be iMpeptors ; the regulations respecting the factory children, which I have ^ven in an earlier part of this work, have been put in force j 110 SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRrCTION IN PEDSSIA. the minimum of the teachers' salaries has been considerably raised, and the system of teachers' conferences has been perfected, and put into operation. , I shall now show what restrictions exists on the free choice of books by the teachers. The Prussian government has here had two evils to guard against : one of these was the retarding of the gradual reform of school-books, which reform will always take place, when the teachers themselves are learned men, when they thoroughly understand the theory and practice of pedagogy, and when they are not fettered by unwise restrictions ; and the other was, the admission into the practical schools, of books of an irreligious or immoral tendency. These two evils are guarded against in the following manner : No book can be used in any school of the provinces, until the authorities com- posing the provincial Schulcollegium, which has the direction of the higher schools and gymnasia, as well as of the normal colleges of the province, have licensed it, or sanctioned its admission. Any book which has been so sanc- tioned, can be employed by any schoolmaster of the province in which it was licensed. There are,'in every province, a great number of works on religion, history, science, &o., which have been thus hcensed, and from which the teachers are at liberty to choose. But, if a schoolmaster writes a book, which he deems better qualified for school use than those already published, or if he desires to employ a work written by some one else and which is not licensed, he forwards a copy of it, through the inspector, to the provincial authorities, in order to obtain their consent, which is only refused, where the book is positively imperfect or unfit for the young. In the schools, which I personally inspected, I generally found the school-books very excellent, and written either by teachers, or by some person engaged in the educational profession. Coming as they do from men of very long experience in the practice of pedagogy, they are generally well adapted to answer the wants, which the writers themselves have experienced, in the exer- cise of their professional duties. With the above restrictions, the choice of books is left entirely to the schoolmasters. The character of the instruction given in all the German schools is snggestive ; the teachers labor to teach the children to educate themselves. There is little or no " cram" about it, if I may use an old university phrase. In most of the best primary schools of England, the teacher still contents himself with the old cramming system ; that is, he tries to crowd the memories of his scholars vrith facts, and continually exercises their memories, without ever attempting to develop and strengthen any of their other intellectual faculties. Now, we know but too well, that a man may have the most retentive memorj', and the best stored mind, and yet remain as incapable of reasoning, as improvident, and as irrational as ever. He may be full of facte ; but may be as unable to make any use of them, or to turn them to any good account, as one bereft of the faculties of speech, sight, and hearing. If a man can not use his reasoning powers, he is much better without knowledge ; to impart facts to a fool, is like intrusting fire to a madman. The great desideratum for the poor, as well as for every one else in this world, is a capability of using the reasoning faculties ; not that this will always save a man from false ideas and from irrational conduct, but that a man who possesses it will be more likely than any other, to take a right yjew of his position in life, his duties, and his advantages, and will be more Kkely to understand the best means of improving them. Next, then, to implanting good principles in Uie child, the first object of every system of instruction should be, to teach it how to use the high and important faculties, which Providence has given it, as the means by which to insure its temporal happiness and continued self-improvement. Facts are necessary, but facts alone are not enough : to cram a child's mind with facts, without constantly exercising its reflection and ite reason, is like feeding it with quantities of rich viands, and denying it all bodily exercise. The German teachers are, therefore, taught that their duty is to awaken the intelligence of their children, far more than to fill their heads with facts, which they would not know how to use, unless their reasoning powers had been first cul- tivated. The schoolmasters do not therefore hurry over many facts in one lesson ; but endeavor to make them think and reason about the subject of instruction. The method of instruction is left to the unfettered choio* of the teachers, bo SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA, 211 that it is impossible to speal^ with oertainty of the methods pursued in the majority of the schools ; but in all that I visited, I invariably found the simultaneous method pursued. By this the scholars are divided into different classes, and each class is instructed separately. This is not done on the old shouting plan, where one or two clever boys give the answer, and all the others follow in the same breath, and often without having known what the question was. Not so : the class under instruction first reads a section or chapter from the school-book, relating to the subject of instruction ; the teacher then endeavors to illustrate what the children have been reading, to make them clearly understand it, to assure himself that they do understand it, and to impress it more clearly smd firmly upon their memories. All this he does by suggestive questions, which he himself does not answer, until he has first tried whether any of the children can answer them for themselves. When a question is put, all the children, who are prepared to answer it, are told to hold up their hands, and the teacher then selects one child, who stands up and gives what he conceives to be the answer ; if he is wrong, another is selected to coi'rect him, and so on in hke manner; but until the teacher has called upon some one to answer, not a single word is allowed to be spoken by any member of' the class. If no one can answer the question, the teacher, before answering it for the children, excites their curiosity about it by questions and hints, and stories illustrating or partially explaining the subject under discussion ; and when he has succeeded in interesting the whole class in the answer, he then gives it, but not before. By these means, the reflective powers of the children are exercised and trained ; they are taught to think, to inquire and to reason, and their minds acquire strength and activity. During every lesson the teacher stands, and the children sit before him at their desks. The most perfect silence is observed, except when broken by the answer of the scholar fixed on to reply, or by a question made by a scholar seeking explanation, or by a laugh at some amusing story or joke of the teacher. No lesson is continued long. The subjects of instructions are. changed about three times in every two hours ; and, at the end of ever.y two hours, the children of all the different classes meet in, the play-ground, under the charge of one of the teachers, to get some fresh air and a little exercise. The great object of all this is to make the lessons as interesting and attractive as possible to the children, to keep up their attention, and to gradually develop all the powers of their minds. This system enables the German teachers to watch and tend the progress of each individual child. No child can screen idleness or ignorance, behind the general shout of the class. The teacher sees instantly, if a scholar fails often to hold up his hand ; and as he questions those, who do hold up their hands, by turns, he soon finds out if a child is really attending or not. One thing which greatly surprised me in all the German and Dutch schools was, the great interest the children evidently topk in the subject of instruction. This is to be explained entirely by the manner, in which they are treated and instructed by the teachers. The teachers address them as intelligent, rational beings, and in a conversational manner, as if they expected them to listen and to understand. The teachers further excite their interest by showing them, in all their lessons, the practical use of the knowledge they are acquiring. Constant references are made to the different pursuits, in which the children will be- engaged after leavingtifichool ; to the commerce of the country, and the way in which it is supplied vrifh the various articles of foreign produce which it requires ; to the duties of citizens ; to the history of the country ; to its produce, its phys- ical chacteristios, and its political relations ; to farming, in its various branches ; ' to the great inventions and vast undertakings of the day ; to the wonders of foreign countries ; and, in fact, to all the newspaper topics of the day. I have myself been obliged to answer questions in the German and Dutch schools about the navy of England, the wealth of England, our metropolis, our colonies, and the miseries of Ireland. Instruction, or amusement which will excite the scholars to seek instruction, is sought from all the subjects and allusions started by the lesson. The children are made to see the end of instruction and the object of schools in every lesson which is ^ven them. The teachers encourage -them by words and looks of approval. 112 BURGHER SCHOOL AT HALLE. A few words, such as " that's right, Charles,'' " that's a very good answer," 'I you have explained it very well," '' well done indeed," and such like explana- tions, stimulate the children as if they were at a game. Added to this, that the teachers are eo admirably drilled in the art of teaching, that they perfectly under- stand how to make every thing clear and comprehensible to the least intelDgent scholar of the class, while they are so well educated, that they are able to illus- trate each lesson by a hundred interesting stories or descriptions. The subjects of instruction in the primary schools vary in the different classes. In those for the younger children, who have only just entered the school, they are confined to Scripture liistory, reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing ; but, in the classes for the elder children, not only are higher and more advanced exercises in the above subjects given, but the scholars learn also German history, geogra- phy, di-awing, and mental arithmetic. In this last subject of instruction, I some- times found astonishing progress made. Besides the above lessons which the schoolmasters are obliged by law to teach in all schools, the children learn to recite the most beautiful of the Psalms and the 6nest passages of Scripture, as well as the mpst celebrated national melodies. In the higher elementary schools, or, as they are called, the higher burgher schools, which are open to all the children who Uke to enter them after leaving the elementary schools, and which are attended by the sons of small shopkeepers and of laborers also, the course of edu- cation is much higher, embracing not only a continued exercise in the different subjects of instruction which I have enumerated, but in addition to these, geome- try, universal history, and the French language. No child is obliged to attend these schools ; but all are admitted, who wish to continue their education there after leaving the primary schools. These schools are only to be found in towns ; but each town is obliged by law to support at least one of them. They are gen- erally very well attended by the children of small shopkeepere, and contain also many children from the poorest ranks of society. The method of teaching these' subjects generally, has alre^.dy been given under the head of Primary Schools in Germany, -in the lan- guage of Prof. Stowe and Mr. Mann. We will now give from Prof. Eache, and other authorities, the organization, study table, and methods of instruction of severa.1 schools of different grades. BURGHER SCHOOL AT HALLE. The series of schools, which now cluster about the Orphan-house of Halle, are called after the name of its founder, the Franks Foundations, and embraces the whole range of public instruction. It begins with the common or elementary schools, in which the instruction terminates •at the age of twelve or fourteen years ; contains a "higher" or middle school, called, also, a " burgher school," the courses of which end at fourteen or sixteen years, and where the pupil is prepared to enter life as a tradesman. Also, a "real school," its courses ending at sixteen or eighteen, and intended to prepare for the higher mechanical occupa- tions ; and a classical school, or " gymnasium," retaining its pupils until eighteen or nineteen years of age, and fitting them for admission to the university. The attendance on these schools varies from year to year being made up of pupils from other parts of Prussia, as well as from Halle. The attendance, at the date of Dr. Bache's visit, was as fallows : BURGHER SCHOOL AT HALLE. 118 Tree School for boys 350, in four classes, " " " girls 350, II II Burgher School for boys 600, twelve " " " girls 400, eight, * , Superior " " " 100, six Eeal " " boys 150; five « Gymnasium or grammar school 300, six " Paedagogium 80, five « Total, 2330 In the establishments for education there were at the same time, in the orphan house, 114 boys and 16 girls, in the boarding school 330 boys, and in the pseda- gogium 80, total 436. The school which the boys of the orphan-house in general attend, is that called the "burgher" or citizens' school, sometimes also called middle school. Its ob- jects are thus defined, first, " so to train the sons of citizens by instruction in use- fiil science, that, at the age of fourteen years, they may be in a condition to begin ■ a handicraft, or other trade ;" second, " to prepare the pupils for the lower classes of a gymnasium, or for the classes of a real school, to accomplish which latter purposes Latin and French are taught." The lower classes are, in fact, those of an elementary school, and the boys who leave the orphan-house at fom-teen, are instructed exclusively in this, establish- ment. The few who are selected to remain after foui'teen go to the Latin school ; Latin and French both are, however, studied in the upper classes of the burgher school, and the aptitude of the orphan pupils for language, is thus put to the test. The school is divided into four classes in reference to the progress'of the pupils, and each is subdivided ' for convenience, with a teacher to every subdivision. Thus the same teacher gives instruction in all the subjects of study, to a class of boys numbering, on the average, about fifty. The branches taught are : Exercises of speech and thought. Bible history. Religious instruction. Mental and written arithmetic. Elements of geography. (Knowledge of home.) Reading and writing taught together. Reading. Cal- ligraphy. Stories from history. German granunar. Composition. Geography of Germany. German history. French gi'ammar. General history. Higher arithmetic. Elements of geometry. Bible lessons. Christian morals. Chris- tian doctrines. Elements of Latin. There are teachers of singing and drawing, besides the regular class teachers. The pupils are examined privately once every six months, and pubhcly at Easter, when the change of classes takes place. The exercises of speech and thought, the first subject on the above list, consti- tute the breaking-in, as it were, of the child, and being at the very threshold of instruction, try the teacher's skill more than many a learned branch. He must teach the pupil to think, taking care that his thoughts are expressed in appropri- ate words. Pestalozzi, who first practiced upon this idea, drew the child's atten- tion to the human frame, as the subject of contemplation ; others have preferred to bring him in contact with nature, in general, by making simple natural phe- nomena the basis of the inductive lessons ; others, not surrounded by nature, made man and his dwelling their theme ; others introduce simple lessons on ob- jects of nature and art, which can readily be presented to the child for his exam- ination, and on which, as a basis, to rear the superstructure of natural history, physios, and technology, in his advanced course. All these are good in their way, but such as I saw tried seemed to depend for their efficacy upon the cir- cumstances of the school, and to be better or worse as the child found means to apply his newly acquired powers of perception, to observe for himself. Of all the plans, wjien the school is rightly situated for it, a reference to nature produces the best training of the heart, as well as the mind of the child. It would be im- possible to present, here, even extracts from the numerous works which contain the methods employed in these exercises. The Bible history and religious instruction next referred to, are principally given orally, the morals of the Bible and the events which it describes, being put into such a form -that when the sacred book itself, at a later day, comes into the 8 114 BURGHER SCHOOL AT HALLE. child's hands, he is prepared to read it with proper interest. This plan is dia- metrically opposed to that which employs it as the beginner's hgm-book, and from which, I feel ^ound to say, I have never seen any good result. I can not enter into details in regard to all the branches, but must be satisfied with noticing two which are here taught particularly well, namely, reading and writing, and geography. The reading and writing are taught at the same time, according to the method of Harnisch, developed by Soholtz. The child makes a letter on his slate, after a copy upon the blackboard, and is taught to name it. The German language having a fixed sound for each letter, when the sound of the letter has been learned, not its common arbitrary name, but the sound which it has in composition, the pupil has made some progress toward knowing how to form combinations, which is the next step, the vow'els being placed alternately before and after the consonant. These combinations are first written on the slate, and then pronounced. The next exercise consists in placing a vowel between two consonants, which is fol- lowed by other simple combinations. These being classified by careful study, the child is' soon able to compose simple sentences, in which his ideas are developed, so that the mechanical operation of writing and of reading is interspersed with intellectual exercise. In this the talent of the teacher is strikingly exhibited, and a prescribed routine of instruction would fail in its object. The written letters being once learned, the next step is with the printed, and a reading book is not introduced until the child has felt the necessity of it in his further progress. It is then a relief, and not a task. I saw, here, a class which had been under instruction for only nine months, the pupils of which wrote short sentences very legibly in a hand of medium size, spelled them correctly, and read them distinctly. This method of learning to read is, in a great degree, inappUcable to oar lan- guage, in which the vowel sounds are so numerous ; but the union of reading and writing may have its advantages. The characters of the ordinary German writ- ing are composed of very different forms from those of our round hand, and which are more simple, and, in general, angular ; hence no considerable dexterity of hand is required to trace the letters, and only a brief practice in elementary forms is required. I saw classes of children of ten and eleven years old, at Zurich, who, by being constantly practiced in this method from their earhest ilistmetion, had acquired a very striking faoihty of expressing their ideas clearly and correctly in writing. The method. produces a facility of composition, in writing, as that of Jacotot does a fluency in spealcing. The orphans entering at ten years of age, do not, in general, pass through this class. The geographical instruction, founded upon the method of Pestalozzi, proceeds on strictly inductive principles, and is an example of how much may be done by malung the pupil proceed from the known to the unknown. ' The following was the course of a recitation which I attended on the subject. The teacher drew, first, from the knowledge of the pupils of different objects or bodies, a definition of the term body, then led them to define extension, dimensions, &c., and thus fiirnished them ideas of space. Sunrise and sunset were used for establishing the position of the cardinal points, and that of the class-room was determined in refer- ence to these. Then commencing with home, with a map of the city of Halle, they gave an account of its localities, and the history connected with them. Widening hence in circles, the natural and political features of the surrounding district were described, always indicating the real directions of places, &o. The pupil thus grasps every step of geographical knowledge ; begins with his own house, rambles through his own town, makes excursions in its neighborhood,' sets out on his travels through his fetherland, visits foreign parts, sees what is worth seeing ip the natural and artificial state of the country, finally learns the relation ' of its parts and of the whole to otlier worlds, and thus the interest is kept up from the fost to the last. The reverse method I compared with this over and over again ; some teachers have found this tedious, others have mixed the two systems, but, judging by the comparative results, I give this method greatly the preference over others, as not only teaching geography, and connecting history with it, but enlarging the general intelligence, while it improves the memory. In the upper classes, the pupils use maps without names, and draw maps on the board, marking MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ANNABCRG. Jjc localities, &e. At other times, the places are indicated by one pupil, and named by another, with other variations of exercise. In the lower classes, the responses were frequently repeated by the whole class, and in the upper classes the instruc- tion was more addressed to individuals. With all the inherent merits of this method, I have seen it wholly marred by a dull teacher. The inductive method applied to any branch of knowledge requires time, patience, and some skill on the part of the teacher. The routine method, or positive teaching, is much easier to the instructor. The former at every step unfolds the mind, the latter frequently overburthens it. If the positive knowledge acquired by the first is entirely lost, the habit of thinking remains, while, if acquired by the second, there is nothing left unless some improvement of memory, and general development of the reasoning powers. A pupil who has properly improved the advantages of this school, will have acquired a reasonable knowledge of the German language, of reading, writing, and arithmetic, of geography and general history, vriU be familiar with the his- tory, morals, and doctrines of the Bible, and his general mental and moral devel- opment itviU be such as befits his a^e. If especially industrious ojr apt, he will have had an oportunify of beginning Latin and French, and if he prove to have a facility in language, will be transferred to the X/Otin school. It would seem that, if he have a peculiar disposition for mathematical studies, he should be sent to the real school to prepare him for one of the higher mechanical callings. If he should have had this advantage, on reaching seventeen years of age, he would have added to his stock of knowledge : Further acquaintance with German and French, Latin and English if re- quired, though not regularly taught. History and geography. Natural history. Mathematics. Practical arithmetic. Physics and chemistry. Religion. Im- . proved writing, and drawing. The Latin school, into which the more intelligent pupil now actually enters, conforms to the plan of the Prussian gymnasia. This gymnasium has six classes, divided each into two parts, and forming a connected series of instruction, one part being six months behind the other, except that the pupils of the two .parts are sometimes assembled to listen to the same lecture. The branches studied are : Religious instruction, Latin, Greek, French, math- ematics, elements of physics, history, psychology, and logic. Poeliy and rhetoric, and Hebrew or English, as the student may desire. MILITAET ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ANNABURG. The following plan of instruction was prepared by Dr. Harnisch, one of the most distinguished teachers of Prussia: The course is divided into two parts, one an elementary course, consisting of religious instruction, arithmetic, the mother tongue, singing, writing, and exer- cises of induction, taught in four classes, between the ages of ten and fpurteen. The other, a higher course, taught in three classes, and between the fifteenth and eighteenth years of agp of the pupils. In order to rise to the place of a non-com- missioned officer, the pupil must have gone through at least the lowest of the classes of the higher school. The subjects of instruction in this school are : relig- ious instruction, arithmetic, singing, the German languagS, calligraphy, geogra- phy and history, algebra, geometry, trigononjetry, and drawing. The courses in the different branches are arranged as follows : . First. Heligiaug Instmction. LOWER SCHOOL. .Class VIL Bible stories, psalms and hymns, appropriate to the season. Four hours per Glass YI. Histories from the Old and New Testament, portions of the history of the Chris- tian.church, patechism. Four hours per week. Class V. Reading and explanation of the Bible, and of its arrangement. The gospel and lift MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ANNABUKG. historical works are selected, and the history is coniwcted with the geography of the Holy Land, Catechism. Five hours. , _. . ___ Class IV. Doctrines »f the Lutheran ehurcli, taught by L^utber's catechism. Fitc noiira. UPPER SCHOOL. Clkss in. Moral instrnctioii, duties to God and man. Three hours. Class II. Reading the Bible with eomments, the pupils making abstracts. TJiree hours. Class L (Two years.) The first year a reperition of I^uther'scatechi&m. The second, a Wstory of the Christian dispensation. Three hours. Every class commits verses from the Bible to memory. Skcond. Arithmetic. Mental and written arithmetic are taught together, that the readiness aflforded by the one, and the accmracy of the other, may both be caltivated. luweh school. Class VII. The foar ground rules, with three places of figures mentally. Applicaticm to questions in weights and measures. Tliree hours. Class VI. The same rules extended, Three hours. Class V. Fractions, with applications to weights and measures. Three hours. Class IV. Proportions. "Hiree hours. UPPER SCHOOL. Class III. The applications of proportions to questions of weight, strength, value, time, and general quantity. Two hours. Class II. Exercises in practical algebra. Two hours, Clc^s I. Review of the course. First year, practical operations. Second, theory of arith- metrical processes. Two hours. Third. VoctU Music. Ii,0WER SCHOOZk Classes VII & VI. Practice of songs, adapted to youth of a cbeerfol, serious, military, or religious cast, with one part. Two hours. Classes V &. IV. Choral and other songs, with the diflferent parts. Elements of music Two hours. '' UPPER SCHOOL. Classes III, II, & L More difficult choral pieces. Theoretical instruction continued. One ■ hour. There is, besides, ii>striiLction given to- a select choir, intended to conduct the vocal exercises of the church. FouaTii. Reading In the lower classes, a readiness in seadiog, and iu the higher, the style of reading, is attended to especially. Pieces learned previously, by heart, are recited. LOWER SQHOOL. Class Vll. A good pronanciation, and some facility in reading. Six hours. Class VI. Readiness in reading, and repeating the substance of what has been read. Famil* iar ilfostrations. -Five hours. Class V. Reading some work in reference to knowledge useful in common life. Four hours. Class IV. Reading, with attention to emphasis. Four hours. trPFER SCHOOL. Class III. Keading the Bible and sacred melodies, with the view to correct reading in thii kind of composition. Two hours. Class II. Readii^ various selected woirks, in and out of the class. ^ Class 1. Reading continued, and recitations from works previously read. Fifth. Orthography and Writing. These may be taught together in the same way as mental and written arithmetic ; the teacher is, however, at liberty to follow his own method. LOWER SCHOOL. Class VII. Copying on slates from the blackboard. Four hours. Class VI. Copying on paper, from the board, and from books. Four hours. Class V. Writing from copy-slips, from books, or from dictation. (Practice in epeUing and writing.) Four hours. Class IV. Similar exercises continued. Four hours. UPPER SCHOOL. Class III. Copying useful papers, such as registers, accounts, contracts, &c. Two hours. Class II. Calligraphy, with Roman as well as €erman letters; practice in orthography: reading of letters and documents in various handwritings. Two hours. Class I, Copying papers relating, to the management of the institution, as a practical intro- duction to business, Due hour. Sixth. Useful knotctedge taught by inductfon LOWER SCHOOL. Class VII. The pupils give their ideas, verbally, of surrounding objects of the most simple kind, «f the commonest productions &S nature and art. Conversations relating to them. Drawing the most sirpple mathematical figures on the slate. Three hours. Class VI. DescTiptyons of animals and plants, the former in the winter, the latter in the aummer term. Written remarks on these, serving to afford exercise in the formatioa of phrases and in orthography. Four hours. MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSE AT ANNABCRG. u^ CiasaV. The most eseeiatial parts of physics and natural history, the pupils taking notes of the lest^ons. Four hours. Class IV. Compositions on various subjects. Letters relating to cItU and military affairs. Four hours. UPPER SCHOOL. Class HI. Histor^of Frassia, and drawinj; of maps. Four hours. Class II. General geography, particularly that of Europe. Passing from physical to polit- ical geography. Civil geography in connection with the former. Five hours. Class I. Universal history. One year is devoted to ancient and one to modern historj-. Selections are made of the more important parts of history. Five hours. The remaining studies only helong to the higher school. Seventh. German grammar and style. UPPER SCHOOl.. Class m. Logical and grammatical instruction of the German language taugllt. , Class H. Idiom of the language. CompositJonB on military subjects, wittl especial refer- ence to correctness of grammar. * Class L Acquaintance wUh the best writers. Exercises -of composition on subjects taken from history. Eighth. Geometry. UPPER SCHOOX. Class III. Teaching the names and properties of mathematical figures by induction, in con ' nection with drawing. t Glass 11. Equations, with application to problems of common life. Class 1. Elements of trigonometry. Ninth. Drawing, UPPER SCHOOt. Class HI. Drawings from common objects, varying the positions, &c. Class H. Copying flowers, or drawings of implemenls. Class I. Architectural drawing with instruments, drawings of furniture, &c. Dr. Bache makes the following remarks on the above plan: I have allowed myself to present this extended programme, because it -conveys, in as brief a compass as possible, excellent ideas of the succession of courses in an elementary school, and in a technical or trade school, for such the higher school must be considered. It should be remembered that the main pui'pose is the pre- paration of youth for the mihtary service, and hence that the wants of the service are especially consulted. Another fact must be remembered, namely, that this is a Lutheran school, and therefore the religious instruction is adapted to the par- ticular views of that church. The course of morals of the third class, 1 must say, however, seems to me out of its place, for although our duties to. God and «nr neighbor are of com'se best learned from his Word, yet their inculcation by pre- cept and example can not commence too early. In the arithmetical course, the union «f mental and wi'itten arithmetic is abso- lutely essentiaL The gradation appears to me good, and the application to ques- tions of common life gives a zest to such studies, attainable in no other way. The theory of arithmetical processes, however, should accompany or follow more nearly their practical acquisition. Indeed, if they are taught as they ought to be, by induction, the theory goes with the practice. If the youth at Annaburg take the same pleasure in the exercises of song, from the elements to the completion of the mnsical course, as those of the school* actually superintended by the author of this project, the success will be com- plete: The connection of orthography and writing, especially if combined with early reading, is natural. The exercises of induction, which in the lower classes are well drawn out, deviate from the appropriate track in the fourth class, and in the geographical and historical courses do'tiot return to it. The system in both these branches is rather synthetical than inductive. There is a great temptation to break away from this method, into, that of giving positive instruction, from the apparently greater rapidity of progress of ttie pupil -, some teachers have abandoned it alt<>- gether, as too Sow, though ultimately to their cost, as appeared to me in cases where I had an opportunity of comparing the results. The writing is preceded by an introductory course of drawing, which might * Seminary for Teachers at Weissenfels. 118 ■ PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BERUN. I with excellent efFeot be so extended as to branch out into cMnplete courses of drawing and wi'iting. As this plan results from an extended experience, the number of hours rf instruction, per week, necessary to secure the results, is an important datum, and as such I have retained it, whenever it was inserted in the original programme. PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BERLIN. The capital of Prussia is well supplied with public educational insti- tutions of various grades, from the Krippen, (or mere nurseries for children whose parents are obliged to labor away from their homes for their daily support) and Kleinkinderbewahranstalten, (or institutions for the care of children betwe^ two and four, resembling infant schools, ^ but not doing much in mere instruction,) to the university, with its departments of law, theology, medicine, and philosophy, and schools of preparation for gardening, agriculture, commerce, trades, and the me- chanic, and fine arts. Of these, we have selected for description a few which belong to the department of primary education eis understood in this country, as well as two which rank abroad with secondary schools, but correspond to the grade of public high schools, as now organized in our large cities, as parts of their systems of public instruction. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. The elementary schools of Berlin are not organized as a part of a system of public instruction ; they are partly private and partly public ; some of them are intended exclusively for the poor, and are supported entirely by the city, and others are private establishments, in which the tuition of such poor children as attend, are paid by the city. In the burgher, or higher class of primary schools, as well as in the gymnasia and real schools, there are classes which belong properly to the elemen- tary schools. In 1827, Mr. Reicholen, member of the school council, devised a plan of organization for a class of schools for poor children in Berlin, differing in some respects from that adopted in the kingdom at large. From the document embodying this plan we make a few ex- tracts for the ^ke of explaining the organization of the schools, and illustrating the difference between these schools for the poor and our common schools. Although, in the middle class, the co-operation of the parents and the influence of families may he depended on, the contraiy holds with children of the lowest, whom it is often necessary to withdraw as much as possible from the baleiiil 1 influence of the bad example of their parents. In the ease of these children, the exertions of the school are wholly unassisted. In the new organization, the two sexes should be separated j which will not increase the expense, provided the schools he so proportioned, as that one com- plete school shall contain two divisions having seventy-five each, one for boys and one for girls ; these two divisions foi'ming but one parish school for three hundred childTen, in one building. The spebial character of the instruction proper fw po<» children, is defined in these two words, frayer and mork. PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BERLIN. 119 The subjects of instruction for the first class should be : 1. For religion : the Bible, catechism, the positive truths of Christianity. 2. For the German language: language considered as the expression ]28 SEMINARY SCHOOL OP BERLIN. outline or zoology nnd anthropology. W Geography, physical and mathematical, (e) History. Outlines of universal history. History of the country. , v r* k.o «f 4. MicHANicAL AcijDmiiMENTs.— (a) Reading. (6) A good, handwritmg. (O Draughts or modQls, lUrnilure, &c. {d) Singing. It wUl be found, subsequently, that I have taken reading out of this class, and . placed it beside the German language, to which it is subsidiary, and where it is classed in the preceding school. In regard to the methods of carrying out this course, the following rules are laid down, and after carefully visiting the school, I can testify that they are fully observed. Indeed, this is one of the most interesting establishments which I saw, from the liveliness and activity which prevails in its classes. The principle of induction is used, as far as practicable, in aU branches ; thus, in the earUer exercises, an object is presented to the pupil, who is led to notice its peouharities, and to express his conceptions of them. He passes from objects which are knowp, and even familiar, to the unknown. Unknown objects are illustrated, if possible, by models, and the names of the parts are taught, and their uses or pi-opertiea examined. The pupil proceeds first from particulars to generals. Subsequently, the order is reversed. He is made to understand whatever he is required to remember ; to find out for himself, if possible, rather than to be taught directly. Historical and similar subjects are taught by lecture, mingled with questions. The pupil is led to express liimself readUy and correctly ; the teacher speaks no- more, therefore, than is absolutely necessary for explanation, or to induce suita^ ble answers. Self-exertion, on the part of the pupil, is constantly encouraged. He is taught to observe whatever is interesting. Imitation of what is seen, and repetition of what is heard, lead to original thought. This, however, is to be expected only from pupils of talent, and hence the teacher must be satisfied to allow some to learn what others have found out. The common mistakes of over- burdening the mind with positive knowledge, and of too much system in teach- ing, are to be avoided, as both are injurious to mental development. The .teacher must be able to make his subject interesting, and, therefore, should know how to communicate it without a book, and to elicit the knowledge of his pupil by proper questions. It is the mental activity of the pupil which will determine the meas- ure of his success in after life ; and hence this activity, rather than positive knowledge, should be looked to as the object of the instruction at school In regard to this last-named principle, although I consider it applicable, in a great degree, in elementary education, yet it appears to me that exception must be made of the cases of pupils who intend to enter active life on leaving the school, and to whom, therefore, the knowledge which they will have ifnniediate occasion to use, should be imparted, to render their education effective. lu general, where the mind may be cultivated by different studies, choice should be made of those most likely to be applied by the individual in his future career, especially if his education is necessarily to terminate before he can have time to master the ppmplete circle. Religious Instruction. Gass VI. Four hours per week. Narration by the teacher of stories fVom the Old Testament, in the words of the Bible, repeated by the pupils. Easy verses learned by heart. Class V. Four hours. Stories from the gospels, except the lattsr portion of the Life of Christ. Church songs and Bible verses learned. Class IV. Three hours. The Old Testament in a more connected form. The moral of the history is impressed upon the childreu. The Ten Commandments and church soni^s com- mitted to memory. ^ Qaas IIT. Two hours. The life and doctrines of Christ, to the period of his imprisonment, Chm-ch history. Four weeks are set apart for learning the geography of Palestine. Class II. Two hours. The Protestant catechism committed to memory and explained. Church songs and verses committed. Class I. Two hours. A compendium of the history of the Christian Church, particvilarly after the _/ apostolic age. History of the Reformation. Review of the Bible. Committing to memory psalms and hymns, continued. ^^ German Lanquasb. Class VL Four hours. Kxorcises of speech. Stories narrated to the children and repeated by them. After learning to write, these stories are written upon the slate. Class V. Four hours. Exercises in orthography. Etymology begun. Class rV. Four hours. Exercises in orthography and style. Every week a short composition ia written on some subject which has been narrated. SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. 129 Class IIL Grammar continued. Cla^ II. Four hours. Original composition, which are corrected during the recitations. Syntax commenced. Class I. Three haul's. CompoBitiuns on historical subjects. Essays written at home, and cor> reeled in the class-room. Syntax contiuued. Latin Lanouaok. Glass IV. Three hours. Declensions of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns learned. Example learned by heart, and^others written as an exercise at home. Auxiliary verbs con- jugated. Class ni. Four hours. Comparison of adjectives. Regular verba conjugated. Class U. Four hours. Irregular verbs. Syntax begun. Translation from Latin into German. Class L Six hours. Grammar continued. Written exercises at home and in the class. Every four weeks an extempore exercise is written, which the teachers correct out of school hours. Cornelius Nepos read and construed. French Language. Class HI- Three homs. Exercises in reading. Elements of grammar. Words learned by heart Easy exercises written at home and in school hours. Class II. Four hom-s. Regular and irregular verbs learned. Syntax. Translations from French into German. Words learned by rote. Class I. Four hours. Written exercises of increased difSculty. Tables dictated and learned by hear'.. Voltaire's Charles XII. read. Arithmetic. Class yj[. Four hours. Practical arithmetic. The fundamental operations taught with numbers 'from one to one hundred; first mentally, then with blocks, and afterward with figures. Exercises prepiu-ed- at home twice a week. Class V. Four hours. The four ground rules continued, with numbers as high as one thousand. Exercises in reiiding and writing large numbers. Mental arithmetic especially prac- ticed. Addition and subtraction of abstract numbers. Class IV. Four hours. Addition and subtraction revised. Multiplication and division of abstract numbers. Weights and measures explained. Class ni. Four houre. The four ground rules, with fractions. Class II. Three hours. Revision of the above. Rule of three. Class I. Three hours. In the firat year practical arithmetic finished. Proportions and decimal fractions. Elements of algebra. Mental algebra. Geometry. Class IV. Two hours. The essential preparatory exercises in form, in coimection with drawing. Rudiments explained. Class m. Two hours. Practice in the position of points, drawing of lines, angles, plane figures, representations of solids. Class II. Two houre. Elements of geometry proper, the point, line, angles, triangles, and meas- ures of straight lines, surfaces, and contents. Qass I, Two hom-s. Plane geometry completed, with practical exercises. Eveiy alternate ai* months lessons ih physics are given. Natural History. Glass II. Two hours. In the summer term, study of certain classes of plants. In the winter term, of animals. The subject is illustrated by drawings. \ Class I. Two hours. Systematic botany during the winter term, and zoology and mineralogy during the winter. Geography. Class IIL Two hours. Knowledge of home. Berlin and its environs. Regency of Potedam. Province of Brandeoburgh. Necessary technical terms -explained, as horizontal, ver- tical, &c. Class II. Two hours. Geography of Prussia and Germany. Class L Two hours. General geography, partictilariy Europe and America. Asia more generally. Africa and AustraUa very briefiy. History. Class IL Two hours. View of Universal history, biographical rather than chronological. Class I. Two hours. First year universal history completed. Second year the history of Germany, and particularly of Prussia. The most important inventions and discoveries are noticed in connection with the history of these countries. Reading. Class VI. Seven hours. Reading by the phonic (lautir) method. Analysis of words in regard to division into syllables and sounds. . _ „ Class V. Seven hours. Mechanical reading continued, but with reference to the meaning or IM words. The pupils are examined upon words, sentences, and paragraphs. Class IV. Four hours. Explanatory reading continued. Accentuation. No piece is aUowed to . be read without its being understood. . Class IIL Two hours. Rythmical reading begun. Interesting porUons of the matter read, nap. rated by the pupils in their own words. Class IL Two hours. Rythmical reading continued. . Class L Two hours. Reading of some of the German classics. Analysia of the subject read. 9 J go SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BERLIN. , Writinq. Cloes VI. Five hours. Introductory excrclBes of drawinl? upon the slate. Copying the »niaJ' let- ters from the blackboard. Writing on paper. Capital letters. Written exerusea at Class V. Five hours. Writing of German characters continued. Roman letters begun. Copying from a boolc at home, with special reference to orthography. aass IV. Four hours. Writing in German and Roman characters continued. Two hours copy- ing from copy-slips. Two hours writing from dictation. „„ „»j ,„ Claas m. ThreS hours. Kxercises of Class IV. continued. Pupils who write weU are aUowed to write without lines. Wriliug without copies, according to progress. i, j. ^ Class n. Two houre. Exercises continued. Most of the pupils write without lines, or by directr ing points merely. , ^ ^ ■ ^i^ u . e Class L The written exercises in other departments are examined, to ascertain the character ol the handwriting. No special lessons are given. Drawing. Class IV. Two hours. Drawing straight Imes in varioos directions and of various lengths. Mak- ing defluite angles. Drawing triangles, squares, and other reclihnear flgures. Class III. Two bours. Drawing of circles and ovals. . . , ,. . _,. Class II. Two hours. Drawing of bodies bounded by planes and straight Imes uj perspecuve. Drawing of curves. Class I. Drawing from natui-al objects, from plaster casts, and models. Singing. raass IV. Two hours sufBce to learn fifteen or twenty songs, of one or two verses, by note, and some ten choral songs. Class III. Two hours. Songs with two parts continued. Chorals with one voice. Class II. Two hours. £on^ with two or three voices continued. Class I. Two hours. Songs and chorals with three or four parts. Once during tlie morning therfe is an interval for recreation in the court-yard of the school, and the pupils are directed ■ in their exercises of marching and counter-marching, and the lilfe, by one of the teachers. The course marlied out in the foregoing programme, as far as it extends, seems to me well adapted to educate the moral and intellectual facidties, as well aa the senses ; to give mental vigor, while it furnishes information usefiil to the 'pupil in after life. There are peculiarities in regard to the religious instruction, even as intended for Protestants, wliich may be remarked in the fifth and third classes, the object of which I do not , understand. In other respects, when sectarian instruction may be given, as in this school, where all the pupils are of one denomination, the course appears" to be good. The manner of communicating the instruction by conversation and lectures, renders it very effective. There are in all the classes, takeu together, twenty-two hours per week devoted to religious instruction here, and eighteen in the other, but the programme does not show a gain in the amount of knowledge communicated. The course in the mother tongue is fully explained in the programme, and is well adapted to produce fluency and accuracy of expression in conversation and writing. Both this and the foregoing course extend, as they should, through all the classes. The Latin language is introduced with a view to preparation for a gymnasium, in the nomenclature of natural history, the business of the chemist and druggist, and perhaps, to useithe language of an accomphshed teacher in one of the hio-her town schools, " because such always has been the custom." I would give the preference to the course of this school over that of the other, considering the time of twenty seven liours devoted to it more appropriate thaii of thirty, as in the other. The Fre^ich. besides, combining with the German and Latin to give the due proportion of intellectual culture from language, is introductory to the courses m the real schools, which are parallel with the gymnasia, and prepare for the polytechnic or other special schools, as the latter do for the university. It is ipracjically useful, too, to the sliopkeeper and tradesman of the continent of Europe, and was, probably, formerly more so than at present. The Latin lano-uaffe is begun in the fourth class, or at about eight years of age, and the French lan- gtiage in the third class, but neither occupy more than three hours a week, until a year afterward. These languages occupy forty-seven hours per week, during the entire period through which they are taught. Kothing can be better than the foundation laid for arithmetic The pupils are SEMINARY SCHOOL OP BERLIN. ]31 engaged a year in practical arithmetic before they are introduced to a knowl- edge of abstract numbers. Habits of thought are given by simple exercises in mental arithmetic. The eye is enlisted to aid the mind by computing with cubes, according to the method in the schools of Holland. Written aritlunetic relieves the mental exertion, aids the memory, and trains the hand. The course is then carried on, combining mental and written arithmetic, and reaching algebra, which is also, in part, t.iught mentally. The course of geometry begins with ideas of form, in connection with drawing, according to Pestalozzi's method, which it follows in general. It is thus a pow- erful means of stimulating the mind, and, though the time occupied is greater than if the subject were taught in the ordinary way, the results are much more satisfactory. If there is latent mathematical talent iir a pupil, his powers of invention cannot fail to be drawn out by this method. Natural history is not left to incidental instruction, to be derived from the reading-book, but is directly taught in the last two years. I had not the oppor- tunity of judging of the fruits of this instruction in the seminary school itself, but the pupils of the seminary were pursuing the subject with zeal. In comparing this course with that of the other school, I think it preferable, except in the omission, at the beginning, of an account of the domestic animals. There will be, I doubt not, great improvements in teaching this branch at a future day. At present, the plap is hardly formed, and the collections for illustration, where they exist at all, are, in general, quite small. There is, besides, a tendency to make the course too strictly scientific. The system of instruction in geography is begun in the third class, or at nine years of age, with a description of home. History, which in its elements is com- bined with geography, takes a separate place in the second class. The practice of giving biographical sketches instead of mere obrouological details, cannot be too much commended. The pupil learns with interest the events of the lives of men who have made an impression upon the age in which they lived ; these events form an outline which is easily fixed in the mind, and may subsequently be filled up in detaU. Again, the discussions of inventions and discoveries in art or science afford relief from the descriptions of battles and revolutions, and serve to show the influence of genius exerted in civil life. The phonic method of teaching to read, wants only the use of words having a meaning, as in Mr. Wood's system, to be nearly perfect. No reading is allowed, however, without understanding not only the words, but their connection, and tlie ideas conveyed by the sentences. The habit of thus giving paraphrases of subjects, leads to facility of expression, and by combining this with copying from good models, a correct style is formed. The course of reading of the highest class, includes selections from the German classics. Introductory exercises in drawing precede the instruction in writing ; these might, I have no doubt, be much further extended with advantage.* A good handwriting is produced by the succession of exercises described in the programme. The course of drawing, which is commenced as a distinct branch in the fom'th class, is intended to enable the pupil to sketch correctly, and with facility, such objects of furniture, ma- chinery, (fee, as he may have occasion to represent in his occupations in after life. The addition of two hours of drawing in the fifth class, would seem to me not to (iverburdenftlie class with work, whUe it would add materially to their profi- ciency in this useful branch. Singing is successfully taught, and by note. It is considered an indispensable branch of instruction, and all my convictions are in its favor, whether as a means of developing moral sentiment, or of physical education. Singing by ear might, however, very well begin in the lower classes, and for this purpose the number of hours of instruction per week might be increased from twenty-four to twenty- six in the lowest, and twenty-eight in the fifth class. The time allotted to the different studies will appear better by the annexed table. In regard to the ages of the pupils, inserted in the heading of the columns, it is to be understood that they are those of intelligent and industrious boys entering at six years, and going regularly through the classes. The subjects of * As has been done for the elements of an English hand, by our countryman, Mr. Rembrandt Peale, in his admirable system of graphics. The forms of the German letters would require a different system. 132 SEMINARY SCHOOL OF BEKLIK. instruction are placed in the first column, the number of hours per week occupied by the several classes in the following ones, and the total number of hours de- voted to each subject, while in the school, in -the last column. In forming tiaa total, the number of hours occupied by the four lower classes, the course m each of which is of one year, is reckoned once ; and the number of hours of the two upper classes, each course occupying two years, is doubled. Table of distribution of time in the Royal Seminary School of Berlin. SUBJECTS OF INSTRaCTION. EeligiouB Instruction German Language. . . Eeading Latin Language French Language. . . . Arithmetic Geometry Natural History Geography History Writing. Drawing Singing NUMBER or HOURS PER WEEK. S2E 32 32 32 I 26 '-t S.= 24 24 From this table it appears tlrnt language occupies one hundred and five hours, estimating the time devoted to reading with that for German, Latin, and French, science sixty-four hours, and the mechanical branches, including writing, drawing, and singing, forty-three. It would be erroneous, however, to suppose that the results are in these proportions. The least consideration wiU show that the pro- gress in different branches in the same school cannot be estimated by the tune devoted to them ; the intrinsic difficulties of acquisition, the different periods of the course at which they are introduced, and various other causes, prevent com- parisons of this sort. Not only so, but the time occupied in the same subjects in different schools, which might be thought to afford an accurate test of compara- tive progress in them, can not, in reality, be employed for this pm'pose, without at the same time carefully studying the programmes, to ascertain how the time is applied in each class, and the manner in which it is distributed among the several classes. The two higher city schools just described, afford conclusive evidence of this fact. There can be no doubt, I think, that the Dorothean school is the stronger in language, and the seminary school in science. Such is the general reputation of the two, and such is the tone which the director of each would be Ukely to give to the school under his charge. The impression which I derived from visiting the two establishments was to the same effect. The number of hours per week devoted to language in all the classes of the two schools is however ninety-eight for the first, and one hundred and five for tlie second, and to science! ejghty-two for the former and sixty-four for the latter ; leading, in both cases to the reverse of the conclusion just stated. If differences in the ai-rangement of Btndies, in the power of the teachers, in tlie methods and implements of instruc- tion, and even in the pupils themselves, may lead to such results, small ifferenoes in the proportion, of time allotted to different branches should not, without care- fully cheeking their results by other comparisons, be assumed to indicate corres- ponding differences in 'the value of the courses. In following the course of studies of these two schools, it will be seen that those * This includes prfeparatory geometrical exercises. SEMINARY SCKOO!. iT WSISSENFELS. 133 of the lowest class, in each, are almost identical. In the next, the seminary school has greatly the advantage in the compactness of arrangement, by which the atten- tion of the pupil is confined to fewer subjects. No less than ten branches are introduced into the programme of this class in the Dorothean school, while there are but five in the seminary school. .The scientific branches, except those which run through all the years, are introduced later in the latter school, which is in accordance with the principle of concentrating the attention on a few subjects, where it is possible. It appears to me that, in general, it is not proper to introduce these branches early, except as matters of incidental instruction. The separation of the programmes of the two schools, produced as just stated, renders it difficult briefly to compare the courses of the same class in each. A general comparison of the subjects shows that the German language is taught according to the same plan in each, and, that the highest class attains the same level in each, as far as the grammar i^ concerned ; much more attention, however, is paid in the seminary school to the I'eading courses, as well for the acquisition of reading as an art, and to cultivate a taste for it, as for the incidental knowledge to be communicated. Nearly one fourth of the pupil's time, in the school just named, is devoted to the vernacular. The Latin is begun in the same class in both schools, but the course in the Dorothean school at once takes the lead of the other, and keeps it through- out. The French begins in the fifth class in one school, and in the third in the other ; and, though the programmes terminate at about the same point, there is a greater proficiency made in the Dorothean school. One object, if not the princi- pal one, of learning this language being to speak it, the early commencement is an advantage. In a general comparison of progress in language, the Dorothean school, as already stated, ranks higher than the other. The courses of arithmetic are different, but terminate at the same level ; I have already mentioned my preference for the course of the seminary. Geometry is begun in the fifth class in the Dorothean, and in the fourth in the seminary school ; the courses go on together for three classes, and extend further in the latter insti- tution. The differences in the courses of natural history have already been the subject of remark. The course of geography is essentially the same, differing only in the age of the pupil at beginning. History is begun in the fourth class of the Dorothean, and in. the second in the seminary school ; it is more systematic in the former, and assumes more the form of biography in the latter ; the range of the two courses does not differ essentially. Taking these branches, classed as scien- tific, together, the superiority is with the seminary school, and thus, in both this and the former case, the judgment which would have been pronounced by refer- ring to the numbers merely, is reversed. SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEISSENFELS. The Dorothean and Seminary school are described by Dr. Bache as characteristic specimens of the higher burgher school of Prussia. In the same connection he introduces the two following schools, the Sem- inary school at Weissenfels as representing, not a burgher school as it is denominated, but as covering the ground of a well organized ele- mentary school for a village, and the liigher burgher school of Pots- dam, as carrying elementary instruction into the domain of secondary education. This is a higher elementary, or lower burgher school, attached to the seminary for teachers at Weissenfels, and is under the charge of the director of the semin- ary. The school is intended not only for the benefit of the citizens of Weissen- fels, but also as a model school, in which the pupils of the seminaiy may reduce to practice, under the eye of their teachers, the lessons of theory in the art of teaching, which forms an important part of the course of the seminary. The school has four hundred pupils, male and female. They are divided into five classes, in the three lower of which the two se.xes receive instruction in com- mon, being separated in the highest. Each class averages thus eighty under the charge of *ozie master, who is, however, assisted by the pupils of the semmary. 134 SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEI8SENFELS. The following table shows the suttjeets of instruotion, and the arnoont of time devoted to each. The whole course usually lasts seven years, when the pupU enters at the age of six or seven. TABLE OF THE DISTRIBUTION Of TIME IK THE SEMINARY SCHOOL AT WEISBEMFELS. irnHBEB OF BOVM8 TKR "■*»• SDAIECT8 or raflTKucnoir. Religious Instruction, German Language, Reading, Inductive Exercises, Arithmetic, Geometry, Geography, History, Natural Histoiy, &o., Writing, Drawing, Singing, Total, 30 FiriL Becood ClBS*. ClaH. 26 26 Third Clan. 4 1 3t 1 4 1 8t 1 26 The religious instructian consists' in the narration of Bible stories, and in pointing out the appropriate moral ; in Bible history in a more connected form ; in learning Luther's catechism, and committing parts of the Bible to memory. The pupils are also expected to give an account of the. Sunday's sermon. The study of German included the grammar. There are exercises specially of orthog- raphy and syntax in the upper classes. Poetry is also committed to memory. The elements or reading and writing are taught together according to Dr. Harnisoh's method. § In the upper classes, the reading lessons are intended not only to give fluency in the art of reading, but also incidental instruction in granl- mar and general knowledge. - Direct exercises of induction ai'e in use only in the lowest class. The instruction in arithmetic^ extends through fractions j mental arithmetio preceding written through all the rules. That of geometry, consists merely of the elements of form, according to Pestalozzi. Under geograpliy and history are included both physical and political geogra- phy and biography. With the physical geogi'aphy is interwoven an account of the productions of nature and art of different countries. In the summer, the pupils are made acquainted- with the botany of the environs, and in winter receive lessons upon animals, &c. Writing on paper is a matter of privilege attainable by those who improve suf- ficiently. The others write on slates. The first lessons in drawing are introduc- tory to viriting; afterwards it is made a separate branch. The higher' classes learn music by note, and sing twice a week in company with the pupils of the normal school. The violin is used in leadmg the class singing exercises. The discipline and instruction are admirable. The teachers have little occa- sion to use punishment. The instruction is chiefly given viva voce, and the pupils in general appear interested in their studies. A book is kept for the record of delinquences, which is examined by one of the superior mastera once a week, and notice taken of the fanlts recorded. The director examines it once a month, and admonishes those who need it. Corporal punishment is resorted to only in extreme cases. • This column is calculated on the supposition that the pupil remains in the school from six until thirteen years of age, passing through the lowest class in one year, and each of the others in two years. t As the instruction in writing and reading is combined, I have placed half of the number Of houra under each "head. .t Of these eight hours, three are combined, reading and writing, and two copjinf. <) See page 200. ' , HIGHCR BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. 136 The two sohoQls iiist described, will be found to vary very considerably in their arrangements from this one, forming the opposite extreme as it were, of the class, but a connecting link will be supplied by the burgher school of Potsdam, which is intended to cover the ground occupied by both divisions. BIQHEa BURGHER SCHOOL OF FOTSDAM. This school differs from those already described in several particulars, exempli-' fying, in its arrangemonbi, the division into lower and higher burgher schools, and carrying the courses of the latter decidedly into the domain of secondary instruc- tion. Its principal objects are to prepare children of both sexes for occupations connected with, or corresponding to, the lower trades, and boys for the higher mechanical occupations, as builders, architects, &c., or for admission into the trade school connected with the government, mechanics', or trade institute at Berlin, and for the gymnasium. This school thus supplies instruction of diffei'dnt grades ; first, elementary instruction of a higher kind ; second, that usually given in the "real schools" of Prussia, and third, that necessary for entrance into the higher classes of a gymnasium, or grammar school. Hence its stiidies embrace .many subjects and stages of progress which properly belong to secondary instruction, and even to a greater degree than other higher burgher schools. The pupils pursue a course common to all in the three lower classes, or from about six to eleven or twelve y«ars of age, when a separation takes place. Those who are to leave school at thirteen or fourteen, pass into the " middle burgher school class," in which the study pf Latin and French is dropped, and the time is devoted to religious instruction, German, mathematics, geography and history, the elements of natural history, technology and physios, writing, 'drawing, and vocal music. Those pupils who are preparing for a higher class of a gymnasium, or who intend to pursue the entire course here, pass from the third class to the "second bihrgher school class." These arrangements appear to meet the wants of the citizens of Potsdam, for, in 1837, forty-two pupils passed from the third 'class to the middle burgher school class, and forty-one to the second class of the ■ higher school. Pupils preparing for the sixth class of a gymnasium leave this school in the ■' second elementary class," or at about nine or ten years of age, and those who aim at the third class of a gymnasium, usually pass ftom this at the close of the course of the second class in the higher school. The first, or upper class, thuai contain only those pupils who intend to enter into active business life on leaving the school, or to enter a special school of arts and ' trades. On this account, the branches of science which are immediately applicable to such objects, are intro- duced into the course. This class consisted, in 1837, of ten pupils. The complete course is usually gone through at or before sixteen years of age, and entitles the pupil to claim one year of voluntary mihtary service, instead of the three regular years, and qualifies him for appointment in the government bureaux. The six boys' and three girls' classes have twelve ordinary teachers, besides one assistant, and two female teachers. Each of the lower classes has but One teacher, who attends to all the subjects as in the other Schools already described. The total number of pupils was, in 1837, four hundred and fifty-six, of whom three hundred and twenty-three were boys. The usual system of change of place in the classes is employed to excite emula- tion, and discipline is mainly conducted by means of a black-book in which a pupil's name is entered at the end of the week or month, when he has had a cer- tain number of faults per week, or per month, marked against him by the teacher. Marks of merit are allowed to cancel those of demerit. The entry is communi- cated to the pupil's comrades, and also to his parents. As far as I have been able to judge of these and similar systems of discipline in day schools, I have not found any marked good effects from them. If a teacher is competent, he keeps up good discipline without them, and if he is not, they are of little or no service to him. In this remark I do not mearf to include communications to parents, which are frequently of the greatest utility. The following plan, which apparently bears some analogy to this, but which owes its efficacy to a different principle, is m suc- cessful operation in Dr. Mayo's excellent boarding school at Cheam, in Surrey, England; When a pupil proves insensible to the admonitions of the teacher, and 136 HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. is frequently reported for offenses or negligence, he is required to show to ftc prinoipal a written statement of character from each master after every nour. ae IB thus subjected to admonition or other punishment from the principal immeoi- Btely after committing an offense. For this very strict supervision, one exwnaing over a day or yveek is substituted when improvement manifests itself, or wHen me case does not require so great severity. i » T> » I propose now to give a statement of the courses of the burgher school at rota- dam, and of the time required for their completion, with remarks and companijons with the schools already described. !,•«*«? The annexed plan of the distribution of time gives also a hst of the snbjectsot instruction : it is arranged exactly like the similar ones already presented, ine first two columns of figures on the left hand refer to the number of hours ot study per week in the two classes of the higher school. The third contains those of the middle burgher school class, the pupils in which terminate theu- course here. The next three contain the hours of study of the • elementary classes, which are common to the whole school. TABLE OF THE DISTKIBUTION OF TIME OF THE HIGHER BnRGHEE 8CH00I. OF POTSDAM. INBTBUCTION. Religious Instruction, German Language, . . Reading, Latin, French, Arithmetic, Geometry, Natural History, . . . . Geography, History, Technology, PfcysicE, Chemistry, "Writing, Drawing, , Singing , 38 34 34 34 31 28 ■ill 3 5* 3 4 2 4 U 2 2 1 b I Ho" 3 5* 4 4 1 4 2§ 2 1 2 6t 6 Besides the branches taught in the burgher schools already described, we have in this one technology, physics, and chemistry, and the number of hours attached to them in the foregoing table shows that they are actually taught to a considera- ble extent. These subjects are introduced, and at the same time the amount of study in the languages is increased, requiring iin undue degree of labor of the classes, andidividing their attention among too many subjects. Thirty-eight hours of attendance on school per week is certainly too much to require. • Includes orthography, 2 hours; erammar, 2 hours; exercises of style, 1 hour. t Includes exercises of memory, 21iours. j Preparatory exercises. 5 Elements of Torm. I The column of totals refers to the regular progression of five classes, and is obtained Iit doubling the numbers here given for the three elementary and two upper burgher school- classes. HIGHER BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. jgy Latin is begun in the second elementary class, where the first rudiments of grammar are learned, and'easy sentences translated. This course is continued in Sie next class. Those who intend to leave the school in the middle burgher school class, may be excused from attending the Latin lessons in the first. The second class of the higher school read Cornelius Nepos, and the first Caesar and Ovid. Their proficiency did not, however, seem to me to correspond at all with the number of hours devoted to this branch, viz., forty. TTie object of this instruction, for those who do not go to the gymnasium, is stated to be to enable them .to pursue the science necessary to their callings, without embarrassment from the terms. I am of opinion that, in such a ease, the system pursued in Mr. Wood's school, applied to learning the etymology of compound Latin words, and of the German words derived from the Latin, would answer the end better, with a less consumption of time ; and if Latin is to be retained, the number of hours devoted to it in the Dorothean school, (thirty) or in the seminary school, (twenty- seven) seem much better suited to the object in view. I am induced to what may seem a tedious discussion of these programmes, because they afford different exam- ples of primary instruction, the grade with which our college must begin, and we can not examine too carefully the subjects which should compose it, nor draw too largely upon experience in the details of arrangement. French. This course does not differ materially from those already given. Tele- machus is used as a text-book. The time appropriated to the language appears suflicient, without being burthensome. Both the Latin aud French being com- menced in the second elementary class, which contains pupils who intend to leave school at the end of the " middle burgher school class year," it may be supposed that this time is thrown away, as very little proficiency can be made in so short a period ; the force of this objection is, however, somewhat diminished by the fact, tliat the arrangement gives an opportunity for the development of a disposition for language which may warrant a change in the destination of the pupil. In arithmetic, the lowest class is employed mainly in the mental ejdercises. After they have learned to make figures, they prepare written examples at home. Ill the next class, written arithmetic is combined with mental. The four ground rules are learned with abstract and concrete numbers. Preparatory exercises in fractions are taught. The first elementary class proceed as far as to include frac- tions, and a part of the class study proportions. The middle burgher school class pass on to decimal fractions and the square and cube root. The second burgher school class have their attention in these same parts of arithmetic directed to the technical applications, and besides, begin algebra, and proceed as far as simple equations. The first burgher school class extend their course of algebra through ' Equations of the second and third degrees, progressions, and logarithms. Mer- cantile arithmetic also forms part of their course. These latter subjects, however, can in nowise be considered as belonging to primary instruction. Geometry. Preparatory exercises of form, after the method of Pestalozzi, are taugjit in the elementary classes, and the higher ones proceed through the ele- ments of geometry, and include mensuration and plane trigonometry. The head master has arranged, for the benefit of his pupils, a com'se containing the most important elements, and teaches also by lectures, which the pupils are required to write out. The time allotted to this subject is nearly double that of the semi- nary school, and I saw some reason to doubt the propriety of beginning the ele- mentary exercises so early. Knowledge of nature and art. The introduction to this subject, taught in the lowest two classes, is drawn from natural history, physical geography, and physics, and is made the means of inductive exercise. The recitations and conversation lectures which I heard, evidently interested the pupils, while they cultivated habits pf reflection and observation. They are parallel with the lessons on objects of the English schools, being, however, more extended. The^ more sys- tematic course of natural history of the higher classes, is like that of the seminary school. In summer the pupils make occasional excursions into the country, for practical exercise in this branch, under charge of a teacher ; these excursions, if rightly improved, may be made also the means of cultivating proper relations betwgen the pupil and teacher, but they are liable to abuse, and should be care- fully attended to, in order to prevent such results. This school possesses a good 138 HIGHEK BURGHER SCHOOL OF POTSDAM. collection of plates of natural history * and has the use of the museum of the trade school, which is under its roof. The course of technology, intended to give a knowledge of the principal arts and their processes, lies open to the objection already urged, on the score of over- burthening the pupils with work. Such knowledge, as well as that of physies and chemistry, would be of service in after-life, but I do not see the possibility of teaching it, except in a mere outline, in a short course, and the time allotted appears to contemplate something more. Geography. This course is begun with physical geography. Tlie natural and artificial divisions of the world follow. Then the physical and political geography of Europe is taken up. The course of the upper or middle burgher school class terminates with that of Germany, and especially of the Mark of Brandenburgh, and with a review of the whole. The second burgher school class has the same course with the middle class. The first takes up mathematical geography, and reviews physical geography more minutely, adding a knowledge of the climate, productions, commerce, manufactures, &o., of the countries studied. Maps are drawn, as an exercise, at home. This geographical course, which attaches every other part of the information to physical geography, appeared to me next' in its success to the inductive plan already described. It is much facilitated by the use of raised maps, on which the natural features of the country strike the eye more forcible than on a common map, where, if the physical details are given, the names and positions of the places, the boundaries, &c., are obscured by them. The course of history, in the lower classes, is like that in the othey schools. In the middle class the subject is reviewed, and the history of Germany, and especially that of Prassia, and of the Mark of Brandenburgh is studied. The second higher burgher school class is taught an outline of ancient history, of that of' the middle ages, and of later times, and then proceeds to the history of Ger- many and of Brandenburgh. In the first class, the history of Germany, and of modern Europe in general, is continued. In the mechanical branches, the distribution of time agrees with that in the other schools, except in the number of hours allotted to WTiting, which is here twenty-eight, and in the Dorothean school but sixteen. Vocal music is taught by ear in the lower classes, and by note in the upper. Physical education. There is an interval of a quarter of an hour in the middle of the morning, during which the pupils are free to take exercise, but there is no regular gymnastic or other exercise under the superintendence of the teachers. ■ It is obvious from what has been presented, that .the elementary instruction requires raising to a higher level than at present, namely, to that of which an example has been given in the higher elementary school of Weissenfels. That. then all pupils whose circumstances permit them to devote a longer time to edu- cation should pass to other schools, of a kind depending upon their destination in after-hfe, as determined by the circumstances of their parents and their own talents. The tone of these higher schools would, it appeai-s, require to be varied according to the wants of the population amon^ which they are placed, whether that of the country, of small towns, or of cities. In the cities, it has been seen that one class of "burgher schools required is provided, and others will be described belonging more properly to a higher grade of instruction, upon the province of which, however, these latter decidedly trench. An example of a systematic arrangement appropriate to a city is afforded by the burgher school of I^ipsio ■ presently to be described. Such a plan would, however, be inappropriate to a small town, where, of necessity, several schools must be united in one. In this case, it would require care to avoid the union of incompatible classes of pupils causing mutual losses of time, and giving rise to defective habits of study. The same teachers should give instruction in the different depai-tments of the school in the same or kindred subjects, rather than to unite different classes. The pupil preparing for the gymnasium should not be called upon to study the natural sciences or mathematics which he will pursue there, and of which he does not feel the want for admission, nor the student who is to enter an architectural commercial, or trade school, the classics which the gymnasial student requires for his admission. * By Fisher of Breslaw. SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 139 The Bubjecis and methods of instruction thus far described, belong avowedly and appropriately to the department of primalry schools. Those, which follow, aim first, to prepare pupils for the university, and subsequently for the professions of law, medicine, theology, or public office ; and second, to engage in commerce, trade, architecture, engineer- ing, and other kinds of practical business. The schools, where these subjects are taught, belong to the departments of secondary and special instruction. They are introduced here as examples of courses of study which should be provided in all our large cities, in independent schools, or as part of our plan of public high schools. We introduce an account of the Frederick William Gymnasium, with the following summary of the system of secondary instruction in Prussia by Dr. Bache, in his report. The immediate authority superintending secondary instruction is the schooUboard (schul-collegium) of the province in which the gymnasium is situated. This school board is a branch of the provincial consistory, of which the chief magistrate of the province, the higher president (ober-president.) is the head. One of the councillors of the ministry of puplic instruction, at Berlin, is specially charged with the concerns of all the gymnasia, and is the channel through which the provincial authqr- ities communicate with the ministry. The school board consists of the president and vice ptlesidenfof the provincial government, and of two school councillors, and holds its meetings in the chief town of the province. They regulate the details of instruction and discipline in the gymnasia, correspond with the directors, appoint the teachers, except the director, who is appointed by the minister, make visits of inspection, and attend the examinations, especially those for passing to the university, and authorize the books to be used in the school and placed in the library. The inspection of religious instruction belongs to the ecclesiastical func- tionaries of the Protestant and Ca,tholic churches severally. The royal gymnasia are supported from the funds of the state and the payments of their pupils, and their receipts and expenditures, are under the charge of a special officer, or of the director. The funds of those which are otherwise endowed, are usually under the direction of a committee, "or of one of the officers. In 1850, there were 117 gymnasia with 1,664 teachers and 29,474 pupils, and mo^-e than one hundred real schools and other schools of this grade, for special instruction for particular departments of practical life. The following abstract of a series of regulations adopted by the cen- tral board in 1837, will give a good idea of the general organization of secondary instruction. The regulations embrace the following heads : 1. Admission of pupils. 2. Subjects of instruction. 3. Distribution of teachers and of the subjects of the legsons. 4. The number of hours of teaching. 5; Studies out of school hours. 6. Duration of the courses. 7. Remarks on the regulations for the examinations. 8. Remarks on the supposed defects of teachers, methods of instruction, &o. 9. Physical education. 10. Religious instruction. The following is an abstract of the remarks upon these subjects. . 1, Admission. Experience has fully proved that the admission of pupils at a very early age into the gymnasia is prejudicial to the indi- viduals themselves, as well as to the institutions. Neither the mental nor physical development, nor the attainment, at an early age, are ade- quate to the pursuit of the courses appropriate to a gymnasium, and hence the admission of very young pupils induces an improper lower- 140 SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. ing of the standard of instruction in tliese establishmente. The minifr- # try, therefore, recommends that pupils be not admittejd at an earlier age than ten years, and that the following qualifications be required: 1. Facility in logical and rhythmical reading, both in German and Roman text, and the rudiments of grammar and orthographic writing, d,. Writing from dictation. 3. Practice in the four ground rules of anth- raetic, with abstract numbers, and first principles of fractions. 4. Jile- ments of geooraphy. particularly that of Europe. 5. Stones ot the Uld Testament, and lifeof Christ. 6. Elementary notions of drawing and of form. . . Two errors on the part of parents are pointed out by the ministry, the influence of whose advice is directed against them : The first is, that children of feeble bodily constitutions should be devoted to literary pur- suits; the second, that young men who have passed the appropriate age for instruction may be advantageously pushed into one of the learned professions, even if they are required to teach in order to obtain the needful education. 2. Subjects of instruction. As the ground work of higher, instruction, the following subjects are recommended to be pursued in the gymnasia: 1. Religious instruction. 2. German. 3. Latin. 4. Greek. 5. Math- ematics. 6. Physics. 7. Natural history. 8. Geography. 9. History. 10. Writing. 11. Drawing. 12. Vocal music. Experience has shown that these subjects are particularly calculated to develop the intellect- ual powers, and to give a systematic and practical preparation for the higher studies. The same can not be said of the Hebrew, the study of which is specially appropriate only to theologians. A knowledge of the French is not considered essential to the true purpose of a gymnasium. This language has been made a subject of public instruction on account of its useliilness in after-life, and not of its correctness or purity. With the exception of these two languages, the subjects enumerated above have always been taught in the gymnasia, though in variable propor- tions. No one of them could, with propriety, be omitted, and proposi- tions to that effect will receive no countenance. The ministry does not fear that injury will result to the mental or physical development of the pupils, by pursuing all the branches in their appropriate degree, but teachers are cautioned against attempts to push one subject at the expense of another ; being reminded that the course should be viewed as a whole, which must sufier by the unequal forcing of its parts: The directors of gymnasia are especially required to attend to this point, smd the school boards are requested to relieve them from teaching, as far as may be necessary to the inspection thus required. If the subjects of instruction, as here laid down, be compared with those of the secondary schools of England, it will be found that whai is there regarded as innovation, has been successfully used as the course of grammar school instruction in Germany. , That the efficiency of the course is confirmed by long experience, and tliat the subjects are recom- mended, anew, as the future course of those institutions. 'While ancient letters are successfully cultivated, other subjects are not neglected, but their equal importance with the former is clearly asserted, and as clearly proved by results. While the Germans have lost nothing in general literary culture by this system, they have gained much in other depart- ments of knowledge. The scholastic year is divided into two terms, or half years, at the close of each of which there is an examination. At the end of the second half year, the examinations for passino; from one class to another are held. The usual vacations are two weeks at Easter, one at Whit- suntide, three in August, one at Michaelmas, and two at Christmas. SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 141 3. Distribution of the teachers and of the subjects of instruction. There are, in general, six classes in a gymnasium, of which the lowest is called sixth, and the highest first. To produce a harmony in the methods and degree of instruction, notwithstanding the variety of sub- jects taught, it has, for some time, been the custom in the Prussian gymnasia to assign several subjects of instruction to the same teacher, in the same class. ■ This arrangement is confirmed in the document under discussion. It is recommended that similar subjects of instruction be classed together, to constitute a department, as, for example, German and Latin ; history, geography, and natural history ; and mathematics, and physics. That then the instruction of one or more classes, in one department, be consigned to one teacher ; as the instruction of the lower classes in German and Latin; of the two middle classes in Latin, Greek, and French ; of the two higher in German, Greek, and French ; of the lower and middle classes in history and geography ; of the higher classes in mathematics, physics, and mental philosophy. The number of teachers would thus be, in general, in a gymnasium of six classes, two for the two lower classes, three for the two middle, and four for the tvvo higher classes. The ministry further recommend that kindred subjects he taught in different parts of the same term, rather than on different days of the same week, as geography at the beginning of a term, and history at the close ; a Latin and Greek prose author at the beginning of a term, and a poetical author at the close of the term, &c. With a view to induce teachers to take upon themselves the arduous duties of a departnaent, or class teacher, as just explained, the school board are recommended to promote teachers according to merit, not con- fining their promotion to the institution in which they may be, but taking the entire range of the province. A promise is made by the ministry to pay strict attention to this rule, in promoting to vacant situations of directors of gymnasia. The class teachers are to have the title of "upper teachers," (ober-lehrer,) the others being designated simply as '•teachers." , It is obvious that very varied attainments are thus required of the regular, or class teachers, and that the difficulty of finding persons com- petent to discharge these duties, increases very much as the grade of instruction becomes more elevated. Hence the practice in the gymna- sia varies very materially from this recommendation. It is so desirable, in the higher classes, that the teacher should devote much time to his own improvement in the knowledge of his branch of instEuction, and that he should have a strong taste for its cultivation, that in general it is found advisable to confine his attention to a single subject, or to sub- jects much nearer akin than those which are classed together in the enumeration just made. This is particularly the case in the mathe- matics, beyond the mere elements, the physics and physical geography, the natural history, the less elementary parts of drawing, and vocal music. In the case of the French language, a special teacher, from the very beginning, is absolutely necessary, if the instruction in it is to be any thing more than a matter of form. 4. Number of hours of recitation. This is fixed at thirty-two per week ; a number which experience has shown may with propriety be exacted of students, and which is requisite to complete the course of stu- dies. In the French colleges there are but twenty-four hours of regular obligatory instruction per week. This difference alone would go far to explain the reason for the fact, that in the gymnasia, the written course of studies is closely followed in all its departments, while in the royal colleges it is but partially carried out. That in the former, a" branches 142 SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. are deemed worthy of attention, while in the latter, in practice, some are treated as il' they were not appropriate parts of a regular course of studies. , The Prussian minister asserts, very justly, that four hours every morning, and two hours in the afternoon, four tirnes a week, may be passed in a well ventilated school room, without injury to health. The condition ia, regard to ventilation is, however, essential to the truth of the proposition; it is easily realized in the gymnasia, on account of the small number constituting each class. I found, in fact, generally, but little objection to the arrangements, in this respect, in these insti- tutions. I had reason to remark, in the city gymnasia of Prussia, in general, that the appearance of the upper classes betoken a higher state of health than that of the lower, which would not have been the case had they been over worked. The mental labor, on the part of the student, indicated by thirty-two hours per week spent in school, is less .than it would be from the same lime in an English grammar school, or in one of our own establishments of the same grade, from the mode of teach- ing. Much of the instruction is communicated by conversation and by lecture, during the school hours, which are thus devoted to acquiring knowledge as well as to reciting what has been learned by study at other times. The school boards' are requested not to allow this time of thirty-two hours per week to be aexceeded, and a general plan for the distribution of time, which will be given below, is appended to the instructions. This plan, however, may be modified according to the circumstances of the institution to which it is to be adapted, preserving, however, the number of hdurs devoted to religiolis instruction, to the languages and mathematics, as cardinal points in the system. It is deemed unnecessary to begin the French earlier than in the third class, which would postpone it as late as thirteen years of age. Natural his- tory may be substituted for physics in the second class, and a general PLAN OF STUDIES ARRANGED COR THE GVMNASIA OF PRUSSIA BY THE MIXISTRT OP PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, OCTOBER 24tH, 1837. 8UBJIECT8 OF STUDY, &0. Latin, Greek, German, French, Religious Instruction, IMtathematios, Arithmetic and Elements of Form, Physics, ■. Philosophy, History and Geography, Natural History, Drawing, Writing, '. Vocal Music, . . . '. Hebrew for the future TheologianB, NUMBER OF HOCXS PER W LJtK. 30 32 32 32 SECONDAKY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. . 243 review of that branch, as studied in the previous years, is recommended, Drawing and vocal music are intended to be carried so far as that the pupil may follow them to advantage if his tastes incline that way. The ministry recommends that where several hours per week are devoted to a subject, more than one. eacli day should be given to it, so as to concentrate the attention upon' a. lew branches e\4ery day. 5. Study out of school hours. On this subject the ministry remarks, that while if is highly important that the pupil should have preparation to make, requiring the exercise of his own resources, it is not less so that the amount of private study should not be carried to an injurious extent. The regulations, therefore, provide that at the beginning of each term there shall be a conference of the teachers, to determine the due amount of such work in the different classes, in detail. Every teacher should keep a book, in which the exercises actually given are accurately noted, so that the director may see at any time how far the decisions of the conference have been conformed to. The written exercises of tlae pupils must be regularlj' corrected by the teachers, and at least once a mtonth they must review the exercise books, to ascertain .the progress and the propriety of the exercises. German and Latin compositions are to be especially attended to. Themes on subjects with which the pupils are not acquainted, so that they must labor both for the matter and' lan- guage, are forbidden. The. teacher should not only select subjects known to the pupils for. these exercises, but should silso explain the manner in which he expects them to be treated. 6. Duration of the courses. , The six clas,ses should, according to rule, be passed through in nine years: the three lower, each, in one year, and the three higher, each, in two years ; thus a pupil entering at ten would leave the gymnasium at nineteen. The provincial school board may determine the period of the yei^r for the examinations for passing from class to cl&,ss. In the gymnasia, where the classes are subdivided on account of numbers, and the pupils pass from one section to another at the end of six months, the arrangement is permitted to be con- tinued. Superior excellence in a few departments is not tb warrant the pro- motion of the pupil to a higher class; he must be reasonably proficient in all. 7. Examination for the university. The regulations of 1834, on this subject, are confirmed by the present; certain erroneous constructions, which have been put upon the former, being pointed out. The first of these is, the supposition that the amount which the pupils are able to go over, during the tittie fixed for examination, determines the character of tl^eir certificate of capacity, while, on the contrary, this is given for the general knowledge of the subjects which they show. The fact that this examination requires a previous attendance of two years in the first class, is considered as indicating positively that the course jf that class can not be intended to drill for the examination. The next refers to the specific direction in regard to the extent of examination on the different subjects, which being intended as a general guide to the examiners, has been misconstrued so far as to be supposed to furnish teachers who are preparing pupils the means of iinparting the least amount of knowledge consistent with their passing. The ministry considers that the qualifi- cations for the final examination have stood the test of experience, hav- ing been found not too high, and calculated to promote sound instruction and not hasty preparation. As, however, the excitement of these ex- aminations appears to act injuriously on certain temperaments, the min- istry authorizes the; examining commissions to reduce the viva voce parts of the examination, in cases where they see cause to do so. The ] 44 ' SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. ministry declines omitting the examination on tlie course of religious instruction. , 8. Supposed defects of teachers, fr. The ministry states, as the remark of many intelligent persons, that while so much progress has been made within the last twenty years in the elementary schools, many of the teachers of the gymnasia, neglecting the progress of the science of teaching, stilHbllow the old routine methods; that the teachers over- rate the importance of their special branches, and thus destroy the har- mony of the system ; that they imitate the style of lectunng ot the uni- versity professors, which renders their explanations ill adapted to the age and state of progress of their pupils, and when, in consequence, their pupils get on slowly, instead of seeing in this fact the necessity for a change of method, they charge the fault upon the classes. The min- istry remarks that it has not the means of judging personally whether such criticisms are well founded or not, but that the provincial school boards, to whom they have been submitted, are of opinion that, in gen- era^ they are too severe. They are made public, however, that the teachers of the gymnasia may reflect upon them. ■ No specific method of instruction, it is remarked, applicable to all varieties of age, preparation, and subjects of study, can be pointed out. Every teacher should observe, closely, the results of his instruction, and adopt freely the advice or example of teachers of known ability in their art. The directors of gymnasia are especially enjoined to visit the clasges of their teachers frequently, and to make such suggestions as may seem to be required; they are further expected to set an example themselves of thorough teaching. The ministry considers that the system of class teachers, already described, facilitates the course of observation recommended, by giving the teacher a thorough ac- quaintance with all the members of liis class. The importance of making the science of teaching one of observation is thus directly inculcated. The probation of a year, required by the decree of September 26th, 1836, before the admission of a teacher to full standing, being intended to prevent the adpission of incompetent teachers, the provincial school boards are enjoined to give effect to the provision, by promoting to the situations of ordinary or class teachers (ordinarii,) those only who have shown decided capability in their art. The ministry promises to give such an extension to the normal schools for teachers of gymnasia, as shall insure an adequate supply from tliem. The provincial boards are enjoined to see that suitable books are pro- vided for the gymnasia, and to attend to regulating the details of the programmes of the different classes. This authority obviously leaves the most essential points of instruction within their power. 9. Physical education. On this subject, the document from the min- istry states that representations have been made from many of the directors and teachers of gymnasia, that physical education should be introduced as an essential part of their systems. The necessity for due physical development is admitted ; but it is argued, that in the gymna- sia which receive day scholars alone, an attention to it forms no part of the duty of the teacher, who is merely bound to furnish the requisite time for recreation, and to take care that the health of the pupils is not injured during the hours of recitation by causes depending upon the school, in the boarding gymnasia the case is admitted to be different A continuance of gymnastic exercises in these establishments, when they have been tried and found beneficial, is allowed, but the compul- sory attendance of day scholars upon them is not permitted. Wnett regular gymnastic exercises are introduced, it is made the duty of the SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. 145 school board to see that a proper teacher is provided, and the exercises must be conducted under charge of the director of the institution. I confess, that the idea of leaving the physical education of children entirely to their parents, especially in the cities and towns where the day gymnasia are usually established, seems to me very unwise; par- ticularly so in Prussia, where all else is regulated, and where the youth are always glad to engage in gymnastic exercises, when the means are furnished to them. 10. Rdigious education. It is enjoined that this contain the whole doctrine of Christian faith, and that the instruction be given according to a regular plan. The provincial authorities are charged with the communication of the foregoing regulations to the directors and teachers of the gymnasia, and with the superintendence of their execution. Each instructor manages his class in his own way, subject to the advice of the director, and hence, of course, there is considerable variety. Harsh punishments, and personal violence, are discounte- nanced in all the classes. Appeals to the mora] sentiments and feelings, and admonitions, are the favorite methods of discipline. I nowhere saw the discipline, in better condition than in these schools, the youth of the upper class, especially, going through their duties without the necessity for more than occasional admonition, and exhibiting the decorum of gen- tlemen in whallever situation I met them. The director is the supreme resort when a teacher fails in being able to produce proper conduct on the part of a pupil, and he may dismiss from the institution. This, how- ever, is rarely necessary. The means of securing attention to study do not differ from those in other tountries, and already often alluded to. The system of excite- ment is carried to a far lees' extent, in general, than in the French col- leges. Emulation is encouraged, but not stimulated into ambition. In the lower classes, the pupils change places during the daily recitations ; afterward, they are arranged by monthly trials of composition, and at the examinations ; and in the higher classes, from the same pomposi- tions, and from the' results of their marks for daily recitation, and at the half yearly examinations. Prizes are not given as a general rule, though there are some special ones in certain gymnasia. This outline of the system of the gymnasia, as regulated by the cen- tral authority, requires, to complete it, some account of the regulations for the final examination prior to passing to the university (abiturienten- priifung,) and of the means of providing teachers. The regulations for the final examination occupy fifty sections, and enter into very minute details ; it will be sufficient for the present purpose to present an abstract of the more important of them under the following h-eads : 1. The per- sons to be examined, the object, place, and time of the examination. 2. The authorities by whom, and under whose direction, the examination ia to be conducted. 3. The character and subjects of the examination. 4. The kind of certificate obtained on passing the examination satisfac- torily, and the privileges attached to it, 1. Tlie persons to be examined, ^c. Those who intend to embrace one of the professions requiring a course of three or four years at a uni- versity, must, before matriculating at the university, pass the ordeal of this fexamination ; the object being to ascertain whether the candidate has made himself duly master of the subjects required for successful entrance upon his university career. The examination must be made in a regular gymnasium, and in some part of the last two months of the scholastic year. * To be admitted to the examination, a pupil of a gymnasmm must 10 146 SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. have been in its first class at least three terms of half a year each, except in cases where pupils have especially distinguished themselves during a year in this class. Three months' notice of their intention to stand this examination is to be given by the pupils to the director of the gymnasium, who advises with them on their intention, but has no right to prevent any pupil of three terms' standing in the first class from coming forward. Persons who are educated in private undergo this same examination in any gymnasium which their parents may select. They are required to present beforehand the certificate of their masters as to moral con- duct and proficiency, and are examined at a difierent time from the reg- ular students. 2. By whom the- examination is conducted. There is a committee for each gymnasium, consisting of the director, the masters who have charge of the higher classes, a member of the ecclesiastical authority of the place, and a member of the provincial consistory. This latter mem- ber presides, and his appointment must be approved by the ministry of pubfic' instruction. The ecclesiastical member must be approved by the provincial consistory. Besides these, there is a royal commission ap- pointed by the ministry, and consisting of professors of the university and others, who are present as inspectors at the examination. The teachers of the gymnasium and the local authorities of the school are also present at the oral examinations. 3.1 Character and subjects of examination. The examinations are of two kinds, written and oral. The subjects are, the German, Latin, Greek, and French languages,* for students in general, and in addition, the Hebrew for those who intend to study theology. Religion, history, and geography, mathematics, physics, natural history, and the elements of mental philosophy. The subjects of the written examination are chosen by the royal commissary present, from a list furnished by the director of the gymnasium. These subjects must be such as have never been treated specially in the class-room, but not yet beyond the sphere of instruction of the pupils. All the candidates receive the same subjects for compo- sition, which are given out at the beginning of the examination. The candidates are assembled in one of the halls of the gymnasium, and remain there during' the period allotted for their exercises under the charge of one or other of the examining teachers, who relieve each other. The only books allowed them are dictionaries and mathematical tables. The written exercises consist, first, in a German prose compo- sition, the object of which is to discern the degree of intellectual devel- opment, and the style of composition of the candidate. Second : of a Latin extempore! and a Latin composition on some subject which has been treated in the course, the special reference in this exercise being to the correctness of the style. Third.: a translation from a Greek author, which has not been read in the course, and from Latin into Greek. Fourth: a translation from the German into the French. Fifth: the solution of two questions in geometry, and of two in analysis, taken from the courses in those subjects. Candidates who desire it, may be examined further than is required for passing. Those who intend to study theology or philology, translate a portion of one of the historical books of the Old Testamenf,"or a psalm, into Latin adding a grammatical analysis. The time allowed for the several written exercises is as follows: For the German, five hours; Latin composition, five hours ; Latin extempore, one hour ; Greek translation * In the grand duchy of Posen, the Polish IsngiBgo is also one of the subjects. t An exercise in which the master spealis iu German to the pupil, who must render the Oerman into Latin, in writing. SECONDARY INSTRUCTION IN PRUSSIA. j^l* three hours; translation from Latin into Greek, two hours; French composition, four hours; mathematical exercises, five hours; Hebrew exercises, when required, two hours. Four days are allowed for the examination in these subjects, and they must not immediately follow each other. The viva voce examination is conducted by the masters who have given instruction in the first class on the subjects of examina- tion, unless the royal commissary directs otherwise. The subjects are, first, the general grammar and prosody of the German language, the chief epochs of national history and literature, and the national classics. Second: the translation and analysis of extracts from Cicero, Salluk, Livy, Virgil, and Horace ; the ability of the candidates to render the author with judgment and taste being put to the test, as well as their grammatical and archeological acquirements ; parts of the examination are conducted in the Latin language. Third: the translation and analysis of Greek prose and of portions of Homer, with questions upon ■Greek grammar, Grecian history, arts, and mythology. Fourth : trans- lations from the French classics, during which an opportunity is given to the pupil to show how far he can speak the language. Fifth : ques- * tions upon the Christian doctrines, dogmas and morals, the principal epochs in the history of the Christian church, and the Bible. Sixth : arithmetic, the elements of algebra and geometry, the binomial theo- rem, simple and quadratic equations, logarithms and plane trigonome- try. Seventh: in history and geography, on ancient history, especially that of Greece and Rome, and modern history, especially that of the conntry, on physical, mathematical, and political geography. Eighth : in natural history, on the general classification of its subjects. Ninth: in such portions of physics as can be treated by elementrry mathe- matics, and on the laws of heat, light, magnetism, and electricity. Tenth: on the elements of moral philosophy, psychology, and logic. The future theological student must, besides, translate and analyze a portion of one of the historical books of the Old Testament. 4. T%e kind of certificate obtained, and the privileges attached to it. When the examination is closed, the board already alluded to as con- ducting and superintending it, deliberates upon the notes which have ,been taken during its course, each member having a vote. Those students who are deemed to have passed a salislactory examination, receive a certificate called a "certificate of maturity," (maturitats-zeug- niss,) the others are remanded to their class, and may present them- selves, after an interval of six months, for another examination, unless they are deemed entirely incompetent to continue a literary career. Proficiency in all the subjects of examination is, in general, required to entitle a candidate to a certificate, but exception is sometimes made in favor of those who show great attainments in the languages or mathe- matics; and in the case of students of a somewhat advanced age, ^e direct bearing of the different subjects upon the profession which they intend to embrace is considered. The daily records of the class-rooms are /presented by the director of the gymnasium to the examiners, as showing the character of the candidates in regard to progress and con- duct, these points being specially noted in the certificate. The certifi- cate of maturity contains, besides, the name and address of the pupil, and of his parent or guardian; the time during which he has been at the gymnasium, and in its first class ; the conduct of the pupil toward his fellows and masters, and his moral deportment in general; his char- acter for industry, and his acquirements, as shown at the examination, specifying the result in each branch, and adding a statement from the masters of drawing and music of his proficiency in their respective de- partments ; the studies which he proposes to prosecute at the university, 148 FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM OF BERLIN. and to commence which he leaves the gymnasium. These certificates are delivered in an assemblage of the students of the gymnasium with suitable remarks. The certificate of maturity is necessary to enable a youth to be matriculated in either of the faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philology, in one of the national universities, to oe ad- mitted to examination for an academic degree, to be appointed to office in state or church, or to obtain one of the royal bursaries at the universi- ties. Special exception in regard to matriculation may be made by authority of fhe minister of public instruction. Students who have not passed a satisfactory examipation, and whose parents demand it, are entitled to a certificate, stating the branches in which they are deficient; Ihey may enter the university with this, and are registered accordingly. This registry enables them, if they subsequently obtain a certificate of maturity, and the special permission of the minister of public instruction, to have their matriculation dated from the time of inscription. Pupils who have passed through the third class of a gymnasium are entitled to- claim one year of voluntary military service, provided they report them- selves at a specified time during their twentieth year. , There are two kinds of schools devoted to the preparation of teachers for the gymnasia, called respectively philological and pedagogical sem- inaries, (philologiSche seminare, padagogische seminare.) One of the first kind is attached to the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Breslaw, Halle, Konigsberg, and Greifswalde, and one of the second is placed at Berlin, Stettin, Breslaw, Halle, Konigsberg, and Miinster. Besides these, there is a seminary for teachers of natural philosophy and the natural sciences, at Bonn. FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM n-OF BERLIN. 4 This institution dates from 1797, and was at first an appendage to the "real school" of Mr. Heoker. It is now a royal institution, and is independent of the real sohool, except so far that it has the same director, and that the preparatory classes are in the real school, in which, or in other equivalent schools, the pupils are taught until ten years of age. The qualifications for admission are those con- tained in the general account of the gymnasia. This gymnasium had, in 1837, four hundred and thirty-seven pupils, divided into six classes, and instructed by fourteen teachers and six assistants. The second and third classes are subdivided into two parts, called upper and lower, purauing different courses, and both divi- sions of the third class are again suljdivided into two others, for the convenience of instrueticn. The course in each class occupies a year, except in the first, which is of two yeara. Pupils who enter in the lowest class, and go regularly through the studies, will thus remain nine years in the gymnasium. The numbers of the several classes in 18.?7 were, in the first, fifty-four; in the upper second, thirty- two; lower second, forty-seven; upper third division, first, or A, thirty-six; second division, or B, thirty-six ; lower third, division first, or A, thirty-eight; division second, or B, thirty-two ; fourth class, fifty-five ; fifth, fifty-seven ; and sixth, fifty. Each division averages, therefore, nearly forty-four pupils, who are at one- time under the charge of one teacher. One hundred and eight were admitted during the year,, and the same number left the gymnasium ; of these twenty-one received the certificate of maturity to pass to the univei'sity, viz. ten who ii^tend to study law, three medioine, five theology, one tlieology and philo- logy, dne philosophy, and one poUtioal economy, finance, &o., (oameralistio.) Of these all but five were two years in the first class ; out of this number two were two years and a half in the firet class, and three more had been in the gymnasium less than two years, having entered it in the first class. The average age at leav- ing the gymnasium was nearly nineteen years, and the gi-eatest'and least, respec- tively, twenty-two and between sixteen and seventeen years. It appears th^ that on the average, the pupils actually enter at ten, and remain nine years as required by rule. The subjects of instruction are Latin, Greek, German, French, religious instruo- FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM OP BERLIN. 149 taon, mathematics, (including arithmetic, algebra, and geometry,) natural philoso- phy and natural history, history, geography, writing, drawing, vocal music, and Hebrew for theologians. The numbers attached to the names of the different classes, in the following programme, show the number of hours of study per week in the regular branches in which the division of classes takes place. In like manner, the numbers attached to the. several subjects of study show how many hours are occupied per week in each of the subjects by the several < ' EIXTH CLASS, THIRTY HOURS. Latin. Inflections of nouns. &c. Comparisons. Conjugation of the indicative moods of regular and of some irregular verb^. Translation from Blume's elementary book. Exercises from Bliime. Extemporalia. Ten hours. German. Etymology and syntax. Exercises in writing upon subjects previously narrated. Exercises in orthography, reading, and declaiming. Four hours, French. Etymology, to include the auxiliary verbs, in Herrmann's grammar. Oral and written exercises. Reading and translation. Exercises on the, rules from the grammar. Three hours. Religion. Bible history of the Old Testament. Committing to memory selected verses. Two hours. Geography. Delineation of the outlines of Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, from deter- ' min'ate points given- Divisioiisof the countries, with their principal cities, rivers, and moun- tains. Two hours. Arithmetic. The four ground rules, with denominate whole numbers. Their applications. Four hours. Writing.- Elements of round and running hand. Dictation. Writing from copy slips. Three hours. Drawing. Exercises in drawing lines. Two hours. FIFTH CLAfiS, TWENTY-NINB HOURS. LaHn. Etymology. Use of the prepositions. The accusative before an infinitive, prac- ticed orally and in writing, and extempore, and in ex-ercises. Translation from Blume's reader. Ten hours. German. Pai:;sing, reading, and declamation. Exercises on narrations. Four hours. French. Etymology, by oral and written exercises. Easier stories from Herrmann's reader. Three liours. ^ Religion. Explanation of the gospels, according to St. Matthew and St. Luke. Commit- ting to memory the principal facts. Two hours. Geography. Review ol the last year's course. Rivers and mountains of Europe, and chief towns, in contiection. Two hours. Arithmetic. Review of the preceding Fractions Pour hours. Writing. Running hand fr6m copy slips. Two hours. Drawing. Drawing frombodies, terminated by.planes and straight lines. Two hours. FOURTH CLASS, TWENTY-EIOHT HOURS. Latin. Review of etymology. The principal rules enforced by oral and written exercises and extemporalia. Translation from Jacob's reader and Corn. Nepos. Ten hours. German. Compositions on subjects previously read. Reclamation. Reading from Ka- lisch's reader. Parsing. Three hours. French. Review of etymology, irregular verbs. Reciprocal verbs. Anecdotes and nar- rations from Herrmann's grammar, and commilting the principal to memory. Two hours. Religion. Gospel, according to St. Matthew, explained. Verses and psalms committed to memory. Two hours. Geography. Political geography of Oermany, and of the r*st of Europe. Review of the .eography of the otiier parts of the world. Three hours. Arithmetic. Review of fractions. Simple and compound proportion. Partnership. Simple interest. Three hours. Geometry. Knowledge of forms, treated inductively. One hour. Writing. Running hand, from copy slips. Two hours. Drawing. From bodies bounded by curved lines. Two hours. LOWER TBIREl CLASS, THIRTY HOURS. Latin, Syntax. Rules of cases from Zumpt. Exercises and extemporalia. Inflectionfl formerly learned reviewed. Cornelius Nepos .Eight hours. Greek. Etymology, from Buttraann's grammar to regular verbs, included* Transla.tion from Greek into German from Jacob's, from German into Greek from Iless's exerciscB. Sixhours. Getman. Compositions in narration and description. Declamation. Two hours. French. Repetition of inflections, and exercises by extemporalia and in writing. Trans- lation of the fabl&s from Herrmann's reading book, 2d course. Two hours. Religion. Morals, and. Christian feith. Two hours. Geogruphy. PlJysical geography. Europe and the other parts of the world. Two hour& Hislory. General view of ancient and modern history. Two hours. Mathematics. Legendre's geometry, book 1. Decimals. Algebra. Square and cube root Four hours. Draieing, Introduction to landscape drawing. Two hours. UPPER THIRD CLASS, THIRTY HOURS. Latin. Division L Svntax, from Zumpt. Review of the preceding course. Oral exer- cises in construction of sentences- Written exercises and extemporalia. Casar Bell. Gall 250 FREDERICK WILLIAM GYMNASIUM OF BERLIN- books 1, 3, and 7, in part. Ovid's MetamorpliofleS; extracts from books 7 and 8, Prowdy, rules from Zumpt, Ten hours. „ , , . ,„_:*♦-„ ovprriapa Greek. Division I. Etymology, from Buttmann'Bgramnuar. Oral aud written esterciBea and extemporalia. Jacob's reader. Six hours. „ ^. , i„„,5„„a ft,.. HpcIs- German^ Ejiamiuation of exercises on historical subjects. Poetical selectjous for decla. motion. - Two hours. . . » , ,. ™,-„„ !,«,,« .FVmcA. Exercises in translation. Written exercises. Extemporaha. I wo nours Religiun. Prihcipal passages from the gospels gone over. General view oi the iwa i -sta- ment writings. Two hours. , „ . ,« . *u^ A^^r^r-t\cTx «f th<» History ^d Geography. Roman history, from the Pumc Wars to the detraction of the western Empire, flis^ry of the middle ages, three hours. Review of the live general divis- iDus of the world, one hour. Four hours. » r o Ai,roKf<. with fxcr . Mathematics. Geometry. Legendre, books 1 and 2, and part of a Algebra, witn exer- cises from Meyer Hirsch. Four Hours. LOWER SECOND CLASS, THIBTY-ONB HOURS. Lalin. Extracts from Livy and Cffisar de Bell. Civ. Review of Bell. GalL, books 2 and 3. Syntax. Exercises and extemporalia. Committing to memory exercises Irom Livy ana CaBsar. Ovid's Metamorphoses^ books 11 to 14. Eight hours. i. , . i. Greek. Homer's Odys., 11, 12, 13, and 14. Exercises on the dialects. Xenopbon s Anab. 1. ii, and part of Z. Excerpts from the grammar reviewed. Exercises and extemporalia. Syntdx. Six hours. ' r t- ■ i », u <■ Hebrew. Grammar, ending with irregular verbs. Easier parts of historical books of Scr.plure translated. Vocabulary learned by rote. Exercises on regular and irregular verbs out of the recitation room. Two hours. n- u German. Correction of written exercises and essays. Exercises on dehvery. 1 wo hours. lyench. Voltaire's Charles XII. Exercises and extemporalia. Two hours. ^ Religion. Explanation of the principal parts of the Epistles of St. Paul, with historical sketches, and a view of the hfe of early Christian communities. Two hours. History. Roman history, from the Punic Wars. History of the middle ages concluded. General view of history. Three hours. Mathematics. Geometry to proportions and simple figures. Elements of algebra. Loga-' riflims. Four hours. Natural History. Mineralogy. Botany, especially of native plante. Two homrs. UPPER SJfiCOND CLASS, THIR TV-TWO HOURS. Latin. Cicero's Orations, pro. Rose. Amer., de Amic, de Senectute. Livj* books 22 to 25, inclusive. Virgil's .Eneid, books 1 and 2. Some eclogue and excerpts from Georgics. Exercises and extemporalia. Nine hours. Greek. Homer's Iliad, books 4 to 11, inclusive. Arrlan Alex, expedition, boo^ 1 and 2. Buttmaun's grammar^ with exercises and extemporalia. Six hours. Hebrew. Books ot^ Judges and of Ruth, with exercises of syntax. Easy exercises, and committing vocabulary to n^emory out of the class-room. Two hours. German. Essays. Dehvery. Two hours. I\ench. Excerpts from Herrmann and Briichner's manual of the more recent French literature. Two hours. Religion. Christian faith and morals. Two hours. , History, Review of ancient history and geography^ using the Latin language. Three hours. Mathematics. Arithmetical geometry and piaue trigonometry. Algebraic exercises. Poly- gons. Stereometry. Simple and quadratic equations. Four hour^d. Physics. General physics. Electricity and magnetism. Two hours. FIRST CLASS, THIRTY-ONK HOURS. Latin. Horace's Odes, books 3 and 4. Cicero against Verres. Tacitus, Annals, books 11 and 12, and extracts from 3 to 6. Cicero, Tusc, quest. Extempore translatious from Ger- man into Latin. Exercises. Declamation. Eight hours. Greek. Homerfs Iliad, book 16, Odyssey, books 9 lo 16, inclusive. Hippias Major, Char* mides, and Gorsias of Plato,' (excerpts.) Sophocles' Edlp. tyr. and Antigone. Griimmatical exercises. Buttmann's grammar. Six hours. Hebrew. Second book of Kings. Genesis. Psalms, 61 to 100. Grammatical criticisms of historical excerpts, or of psalms, as an exercise at home. Two hours. ■ GefTnan. Criticism of compositions. General grammar, and history of the German gram- mar and literature. One hour. ' French. Selections from Scribe and Delavjgne. Exercises and extemporalia. Two hours. Religion. History of the Christian church, to the times of Gregory VII. Two hoars. History. Modern history, and review. Three hours. , .Mathem,atics. Plane trigonometry and application of ailgebra to geometry. Aleebra. Mensuration and conic sections. Binomial theorem. Exponential and trigon. functions Four hours. Physics. , Physical geography. Mechanics. Two hours * Philosophy. Propajdeutics. Logic. One hour. Tliere are five classes for vocal music,- the fifth receiving two hours of instruction in musi- cal notation and singing by ear. The Iburth, time and cliffs, &c. Exercises in the natural scale, and harmony. Songs and chorals with one part. The third, two houi-s, formation of the scale of sharps, running the gamut with ditficult intervals, combined with the practical exercises of the last class. The secoijjd, two hours, repetition of tones; sharps, and flats. Formation of the scale of fiats. Exercises of songs and chorals, in two parts. The first class is an application of what has been learned, as well as a continuation of tlie science and art and ail the pupils do not, of course, take part .in this stage of the instruction. The course is of four hours per week, two for soprano and alto, one for tenor and bass, and one for the union of the four parts. The proficiency is indicated by the fact, that the pupils perform very creditably such compositions as Haydn's *^ Creation " and Handel's " Messiah." FREDERICK WILLIA.M OVMNASIUM OF BERLIN. JgJ The extemporalia spoken of in the courses of language, consist of written translations ji^ade on the spot by the pupils into a foreign language, of sentences spoken in the vernacular by the teacher. These sentences are, of course, adapted to the progress of the pupil, and are prepared beforehand by the teacher who renders them, especially in the early parts of the course, the application of the rules of grammar on which the pupil is engaged, or of peculiarities of idiom to which his attention is called. In the classical course, the oral and written exercises are varied in their relative proportions to each other. The translation from Latin or Greek into German, and vice versa, tlie grammatical exercises, Latin compositions or essays,' the ex- temporalia before explained, the practice in versificatffin, &c., ai'e varied in amount in the different classes, according to the views of the instructor. One characteristic difference between the classical instruction in the higher classes and in those of similar schools in England and our country, is that, in gen- eral, it supposes the grammatical minutiie to have been fully impressed in the lower classes, and discusses philological questions, varieties of reading and collate- ral subjects of antiquities, history, biography, and geography. The students receive much oral instruction, which they are required to record. The same is the practice to even a greater extent in the other departments of instruction, and the students thus acquire a facility in^ taking not«s which they turn to good account in the university lectures, and which strikes a stranger with surprise on first witnessing it. Most of the pupils in this class of schools begin their classical course at nine or ten years of age, and yet, judging by the progress shown in the programme of the first class, and by the scholars which the universities of northern Germany turn out, and which are, in fact, formed in the gymnasia, the proficiency is ^ that can be desired. It is what a youth of nineteen issuing from one o( our col- leges would be proud of, and'' clearly proves that the classics are not begun too late. The mother tongue and French are both taught in these institutions, in combi- nation with the classical studies. These languages are not merely entered upon the programme, but are actually more or less thoroughly taught, according to the time which is allotted and the skill of the teacher. The course of German would seem calculated to make both writers and speakers, and, probably, if the demand for the latter were equal to, that of the former, this would prove triie in the latter case, as it does in the former. The religions characteristic of these schools is a striking one, and important in its eflfects. The Bible is taught rather than a particular creed, though from the fact that the pupils are nearly all of one creed, this forbearance is not essential, and is not always exercised. The separation of religious from other instruction can but have a most injurious tendency, and their connection, as in these schools, on the contraiy, a happy influence. Religious knowledge, is classed with the sciences in the formal division of the subjects of study. The courses of physics of the Frederick William gymnasium are exceedingly ■ well calculated to fullfil their object, to give general ideas of natural phenomena, without going into what may be considered technical minutiae ; in the latter school physics is connected with an excellent course of physical geography. It seems to me doubtful whether, in the natural history course, more than a general outline of the subject, is necessary, with the prosecution, practically, of such branches as the locality of the institution may render applicable for improving the habits of observation and discrimination. The scientific details of the different branches belong rather to special purposes of study than to general education. The expe- rience of these institutions may, however, be appealed to as proving the entire compatibility of such instruction with an otherwise sound system, and the entiro possibility of accomplishing it without neglecting other more important branches. Drawing and vocal music, which form parts of the regular courses of all th^ institutions, have not yet found their way into the systems of other nations on the same footing with the regular studies. As a part of physical training, they, are im- portant, and as offering a relief from severer pursuits, further recommend them- selves in this connection. , 152 ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN. The Frederick William Gymnasium is regarded by Dr. Bache, as a fair specimen of this class of schools in Prussia ; in the organization and instruction of which a good degree of liberty is tolerated by the govern- ment, to enable them the better to meet the peculiar circumstances of each province, and the peculiar views of each director. The. Royal Real School, and City Trade School of Berlin, furnish a course of instruction of the same general value for mental discipline, but better calculated for that class of pupils who are destined in life, not for what are designated as the learned profession, but for tradesmen and me- chanics. There is less of verbal knowledge but more of mathematics and their application to the arts ; and the whole is so arranged as to fa- cilitate the acquisition of those mental habits which are favorable to the highest practical success. ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN, The Royal Real School of Berlin was founded as early as 1747, by Counsellor TIecker. At the period in whiclithis school was founded, Latin and Greek were the exclusive objects of study in the learned schools, and the avowed purpose of tliis establishment was that ";iot mere words should be taught to the pupils, but realities, explanations being made to them from nature, from models and plans, and of subjects calculated to be useiul in after-life." Hence the school was called a " real school," and preserves this name, indicative of the great educational rolbrm which it was intended to promote, and the suceess of which has been, tliough slow, most certain. The successor of Heoker, in 1769, divided this flourishing school mto three de- partments, the pedagogium, or learned school, the school of arts, and the German school : the whole establishment still retaining the title of real school. The first njmed department was subsequently separated from the others, constituting the Krederiok William gymnasium ; the school of arts, and the German, or elemen- tiiry school, remain combined under the title of the royal real school. The same director, however, still presides over the gymnasium and the real school. The question has been much agitated^hether the modem languages should be c:>nsidered in these schools as the substitutes'for the ancient in intellectual educa- t on, or whether mathematios and its. kindred branches should be regarded in this light. Whether the original principle of the " realities" on which the schools wcvc founded, was to be adhered to, or the still older of verbal knowledge, only with a change of languages, to be substituted for it. In this school the languages will be found at present to occupy a large share of attention, while in the sunilar institution, a description of which follows this, the sciences have the pre- pmJerance. In the royal real school the branches of instruction are — reli^on, Latin, French, English, German, physics, natural history, chemistry, history, geography, draw- ing, wrtting, and vocal music. The Latin is retained as practically useful in some brunches of trade, as in pharmacy, as aidmg in the nomenclature of natural his- tory, and as preventing a separation in the classes of this school and that of the gymnasium, which would debar the pupils from passmg from the former to the Utter in the upper classes. It must be admitted that, for all purposes but the last it occupies an unnecessary degree of attention, especially in the middle classes. The following table shows the distribution of time among the courses. There are seven classes in numerical order, but ten, in fact, the thu'd, fourth, and fifth being divided into two ; the lower fourth is again, on account of its numbers sub- divided into two parallel sections. Of these, the seventh, -sixth, and fifth are ele- mentary classes, the pupils entering the seventh at between five and seven years of age. In the annexed table the number of horn's of recitation per week of each class in the several subjects is stated, and the vertical column separating the ele- mentary classes from the others, contains the sum of the hours devoted to each branch iuthe higher classes, excluding the lower section of the fourth class which has not a distmct oom'se from that of the other division. ' ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OP BERLIN. 153 TABLE BHOWING THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF RECITATION PER WEEK, OF EACH CLASS, IN THE SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN THE ROYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN, njBTBCTS OF irruDT. Latin, . . French, . English, . German, jEleligion, Mathematics,* . . . . Natural History, . . Physics, Chemistry, Geogi-aphy, I-Iistory, Drawing; . Writing, . . Smging, . . Total, 36 36 35 35 32 32 32 26 26 26 26 Proportion of other studies to German in thb 1.4 1.1 0.3 1.0 0.6 1.7 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.7 2.9 0.7 0.8 0.6 1.1 O.lt 0.2t 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 "3 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.6 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.7, 0.4 0.3 0.6 Pupils who enter this school between five and seven years of age, and go regu- larly through the elementary classes, are prepared at ten to pass to its higher classes, or to enter the lowest of the gymnasium. It is thus after the fifth class that a comparison of the ttyo institutions must begin. The studies of the real school proper, and of the gymnasium, have exactly the same elementary basis, and they remain so far parallel to each other that a pupil, by taking extra instruc- tion in Greek, may pass from the lower third class of the former to the lower third of the latter. This fact alone is sufiicient to show that the real schools must be institutions for secondary iiistruction, since the pupils have yet thre^ classes to pass through after reaching the point just referred to. It serves also to separate the real schools from the higher burgher schools, since the extreriie limit of the courses of the latter, with the same assistance in regard to Greek, only enables the pupil to reach the lower third class of the gymnasium. In general, a pupil would terminate his studies in the real school at between sixteen and eighteen Real's of age. The difference between the subjects of instruction in the real school and the Frederick William gymnasium, consists in the omission in the former of Greek, Hebrew, and philosophy, and the introduction of English and chemistry. The relative proportions of time occupied in the same subjects in the two schools, yrill be seen by comparing the two columns next on the right pi the numbers for the seventh class, in the table just given. The first of these columns contains the proportion of the number of hours per week devoted to the different subjects in the six classes of the real school above the elementary, the number of hours devoted to the German being taken as unity ; and the second, the same proportion for six classes of the gymnasium, beginning with the lowest,' the same 'number of hours being taken as the unit, as in the prteeding column. , To bring the natural history and physics into comparison, I have taken the numbers for the » Including arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. t These numbersluclude the entire coarse. lg4 KOYAL REAL SCHOOL OF BERLIN. upper classes of the gymnasium in which these branches are taught. Of the courses common to the two schools, those to which nearly equal attention is paid in both institutions, are— the religions instruction, the German, geography and history, writing, and rocal music. The French, mathematics, physics, and nat- ural history, predominate in the real school, the Latin in the gymnasium. The effect of reckoning the first, second, and upper third classes of the gymnasium, does not materially change the proportionate numbers of the courses which are common to the two schools, except as to Latin and mathematics. To show this, the column on the extreme right of the table is introduced, containing the pro- portions for all the nine classes of the Frederick William gymnasium. There were, in 1838, five hundred and ten pupils in this real school, under the charge of fourteen regular or class masters, teaching several subjects in the lower classes, and of six other teachfers. Each of the eleven class divisions thus aver- ages about forty-six, who are under the charge of one teacher at a time. The elementary course in the real school is similar to that described in the burgher schools, beginning with the phonic method of reading, the explanations of all the words and sentences bemg required at the same time that the mecl)ani- oal part of reading is learned. Written and mental arithmetic are taught together in the lowest class. The religious instruction consists of Bible stories adapted to their age ; and verses are committed to improve the memory of words. The ex- ercises of induction are practiced, but in a way not equal 1o that with objecta, introduced by Dr. Mayo in England. Some of the pupils are able to enter the gymnasium after going through the two lowest classes. In regard to the real classes proper, as I propose to enter into the particulars of the course of study of the trade school, I shall here merely make a few remarks upon two of the branches studied in them, namely, French and drawing. The remarks in regard to the French will serve to show how great, a latitude a teacher is allowed in the arrangement of his methods, the result of which is, that those who have talent are interested in improving their art by observation and experiment. The French teacher to whom I allude had been able to secure the speaking, as well as the reading, of French from his pupils. From the very beginning of the course this had been a point attended to, and translation from French into German had been accompanied by that from German into French : the conversation on the business of the class-room was in French. The pupils were exercised especially in the idioms of the language in short extempore sen- tences, and the differences of structure of the Fren(^ and their own language ■ were often brought before them, and the difficulties resulting from them antici- pated. Difficult words and sentences were noted by the pupils. Declamation was practiced to encourage a habit of distmct and deliberate speaking, and to secure a correct pronunciation. The chief burthen of the instruction was oral. Without the stimulus of change of places, the classes imder this gentleman's in- struction were entirely alive to the instruction, and apparently eamestiy engaged in the performance of a duty which interested them. K such methods should fail in communicating a greater amoimt of knowledge than less lively ones, which I belive can not be the case, they will serve, at least, to break down habits of in- ^lleotual sloth to promote mental activity, the great aim of intelleptual education. The drawing department of this school is superintended by a teacher who has introduced a new method of instruction, particularly adapted to the purpose for which drawmg is to be applied in common life and in the arts ; a method which is found to enable a much larger proportion of the pupils to make adequate pro- gress than the ordinary one of copying from drawings.* In this method the pupil begins by drawing from simple geometrical forms, those selected being obtained from models in wood or plaster, of a square pillar ,t a niche, and a low cylinder (the form of a mill-stono.) The square pillar separates in joints, affording a cube and parallelepipeds of different heights. The hemisphere which caps the niche may be removed, leaving tlie concave surface of its cylindrical part. The exer- cises of the pupil ran thus; First, to place upon a board, or upon his paper or • Mr. Peter Schmidt, who now, hi his old age. has received from the goTernment a pension In return for the introduction of his method, and the instruction in it of a certain number of teachers. t Seven and a half inches high, and one inch and a half in its square section. fclTY TRADK SCHOOL. jgc slate, a point vertically above another, or so that the lines joining the two shall be parallel to the right or left hand edge of the board, paper, or slate. Second, to join them. Third, to place a point horizontally from the second, and at a dis- tance equal to that between the first and second pdints. Fourth, to place one vertically over the third, and at a distance equal to that below the first, and to join the third and fourth. The first ancj fourth being then joined, a square is foriped. After practice in this, the simple elevation of the cube is drawn. Next, a perspective, by the use of a small frame and silk threads, such as is common in teaching the elements of this subject, and by means of which the pupil acquires readily a knowledge of the practice. The drawing of lines in variolis positions, and with various proportions, terminates this division of the subject. ITie niche and cylinder afford a similarly graduated series of lessons on the drawing of cm-ved lines, and the drawing of lines of different degrees of strength and of shadows is introduced. This is accompanied with some of the more simple rules of shadow and shade. More difficult exercises of perspective follow from natm'al objects and from works of art or mechanism, according to the direction to the pupil's air- tainments and the amount of taste which he displays. This method of teaching has been introduced quite generally in Prussia, and with the best results as to the formation of accuracy of eye and of hand. CITY TRADE SCHOOL. The City Trade School was founded to give a more appropriate education for the mechanic arts and higher trades than can be had through the courses of clas- sical schools. It is a great point gained, when the principal is admitted that dif- ferent kinds of education are suited to, different objects in life ; and such an ad- mission belongs to an advanced stage of education. As a consequence of a gen- eral sentiment of this kind, numerous schools for the appropriate instruction of those not intended for the learned professions grow up by the side of the others. The city of Berlin is the patroh of the trade school wluch I am about to notice, as the king is of the real school already spoken of. Its stability is thus secured, but the means of furnishing it with the necessary materials for instruction are liberally provided.* The trade school is a day school, and consists of five classes, of which the lowest is on the same grade as to age and qualification at admission, as the fourth class of a gymnasium. It is assumed that at twelve years of age it will have been decided whether a youth is to enter one of the learned professions, or to follow a mechanical employment, or to engage in trade, but the higher classes are not closed against pupils. Of the five classes, four are considered necessary for certain pursuits and the whole five for others ; the courses of all but the first class last one year, that of the first, two years, a youth leaving the school at from Idto 17 or 18 years of age, according to circumstances. During the year 1836-7, the number of pupils in the several classes were, in the first class, eleven ; in the second, twenty-nine ; in the upper third, forty-three ; in the lower third, fifty- two ; in the fourth, fifty ; total, one hundred and eighty-five ; from which num- bers it appears that a considerable proportion of the pupils leave the school without entering the first class. The number of teachers is nineteen, five being regular or class teachers, and fourteen assistants. The director ^ve^ instruction. The following list of thp callings to which pupils from this school have gone on leaving it, will show that it is really what it professes to be, a school for the in- struction of those who intend to follow occupations connected with " commerce, the useful arts, higher trades, building, mining, forestry, agriculture, and military life ;" and further, that its advantages are appreciated by the class for whom it is intended. The list includes the pupils who have left the school from the first and second classes, in the years 1830, 1832, 1833 and 1837. From the first class, two teachers, five architects, one chemist, twenty-six merchants, one maohinest, two calico-printers, two glass-workers, one cloth manufacturer, one silk manufacturer, one miner, thirteen agriculturalists, eight apothecaries, two gardeners, one painter, one mason, one carpenter, one tanner, one miller, one baker, one potter, one saddler, one soap-boiler, one cabinet-maker, two soldiers, one musician, five to *The present director of this school, Mr. Kloden, was formerly director of the higher burgher school at Potsdam, and is one of the most distinguished teachers iu his line in Persiik 156 CITY TRADE SCHOOL IN BERLIN. public offices, one to the trade institution, six to gymnasium. From the second class, forty-one merchants, one teacher, one chemist, one machinest, one ship-car- penter, nine agriculturist, one sugar-refiner, three dyers, one tanner, one brewer, two distillers, one miner, two lithographers, one dye-sinker, three apothecaries, one dentist, two painters, two gardeners, three masons, five carpenters, ^e ranter, four bakers, one butcher, one to the trade institution, three to pyblic oflices, two to a gymnasium, one musician, one veterinary surgeon, one soldier, being ninety from the first class, and ninety-seven from the second, in the period of four years. In the course of instruction, the sciences and kindred branches are made the basis, and the modern languages are employed as auxiliaries, the ancient languages being entirely omitted. The subjects embraced in it are— religious instruction, Germari, Fi-ench, English, geography, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, technology, natural history, writing, drawing, and vocal music. The courses are fully laid down in the following list, beginmng with the studies of the lowest or fourth class. FOURTH CLASS. Religious Instruction * The gogpel according to St. Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles explained, with a catechetical development of the truths of rehgion and ethical applications. , Two hours per week. . , ■ German. Grammatical exercises in writing. Recital of poetical pieces. French. Grammatical exercises. Regular and irregular verbs, Readmg from Laurens Reader. One iionrof cnnversatidn. Four hours. ■ *. *, v #■ Arithmetic. Mental and written, including proportions and fractions, witn the theory ol the operations. Four hours. jGeometry. Introductory course of fofms. Two hours. Geography. Elementary, mathematical, and physical geography. Two hours. Natural History. In the summer term, elements of botany, with excursions. In the win- ter, the external characters of animals. Two hours. Physics. Introductory instruction. General properties of bodies. Forms pf crystals, specific gravity. &c. Two hours. Writing. tSvo hours. Drawing. Outline drawingand shadows, from models and copy-boards. Two hours. Vocal Music. Two hours. LOWER THIRD CLASS. Religious Instruction. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles read and explained. Two liours. German. Grammar with special reference to orthography and etymolpgy. Written exer- cises upon narrations made by the teacher. Delivery of poetical pieces. Four hours. French. Translation from French into German from.Gredicke's Cbrestomalby. Grammar ; irregular verbs. Extemporalia, and translations from German into French. ' Fourhours. Arithmetic. Partly abstract, partly practical, from Diesterweg's Instructor. Four hours. Geometry. Determination of angles in triangles and polygons. Equality of triangles. Dependance of angles and sides of triangles Constructions. Three hours. Geography. Physical description of the parts of the earth, except Europe. Two hours. Natural History. Mineralogy. In summer, botany, the class making excursions for prac- tical exercise. Man. Three hours. Physics. General properties of bodies and solids in particular. Doctrines of heat and their application to natural phenomena and the arts. Two hours. Chemistry. Introduction. Atmospheric air. Experimental illustrations of chemistry, applied to the arts. Two hours. Writing. Two hours. Architectural and topographical draining. Two hours. Drawing by hand lor those who do not take part in the other. Two hours. Vocal Music. Two hours, J ' UPPER THIRD CLASS. Religious Instruction. Christian morals, from Luther's Catechism. Two hours. German. Simple and complex sentences. Compositions on special subjects. Poems ex- plained and commilted. Four hours. French. Translation from Gredieke's ClTrestomathy, oral and in writing. Written trans- lations from Beauvais' Introduction, from German into French. Grammar, examples treated extempore. Four hours. Arithmetic. Properties of numbers. Powers. Roots. Decimal fractions Practical Arithmetic from Diesterweg. Four hours. Geometry. Similar figures. Geometrical proportion. Exercises. Mensuration of rectili- near figures. Three hours. Geography, Physical geography of Europe, and in particular of Germany and Prussia. Two hours. Natural History. Continuation of the mineralogy of the lower third class. Review in outline of zoology and the natural history of man in particular. Botany, with excursions in summer. Three hours. * Roman Catholic pupils are not required to take part In this instruction, which is commu- nicated by a Protestant clergyman. CITY TRADE SCHOOL IN BERLIN. 157 'Physics, ^Electricity and magneMsm, witn experiments. Two hours. . Chemistry. Water and npn-metallic bodies, with experiments. Two hours. Writing. Two hours. Architectural and topographical drawing. Two hours. Some of the pupils during this time are engaged in ornamental drawing. Vocal Musib. Two hours. SECOND CLASS; Religious Instruction. Explanation of the first three gospels. History of the Christian religion and charcH to the reformation. Two hours. German. Correction of exercises written at home, upon subjects assigTied by the teacher. Oral and written exercises. Introduction to the history' of German poetry Three hours, i, French. Grammar; extemporalia for the application of the rules. Written and oral translations from German into French, from Beauvais' Manual, and vice versa, from Ideler and Nolte's Manual. Four hours. English. Exercises in reading and speaking. Translation into German, from Burkhardt. Dictation. Verbs. Two hours. Arithmetic. Commercial Arithmetic. Algebra, to include simple and quadratic equa- tions. Logarithms. Three hours. Geometry. Circles. Analytical and plane trigonometry. Three hours. Geography. The states of Europe, with special reference to their population, manufac- tures and commerce. Two hours. History. Principal events of the history of the middle ages and of later times, as an intro- duction to recent history. One hour. Natural History. Mineralogy. Physiology of plants. Throe hours. Chemistry. Metallic bodies and their compounds, wtih experiments. Three hours. Architectural, fopographical^ and plain drawing. Drawing witji instruments. Introduc- tion to India ink drawing. Beginning of the science of constructions. Two hours. Drawing. From copies, and from plaster and other modelg. . Two hours. This kind of drawing may be learned instead of the above. Vocal Music. Two hours. FIRST CLASS. Religious Instruction. History of the Christian religion and church continued. Refer- ences to the bible. One nour. German. History of German literature to recent times. Essays. Exercises of delivery. Three hours. French. Reading from the manual of Bnchner and Hermunn, with abstracts. Classic authot's read. Review of Grammar. Exercises at home, and extemporalia. Free delivery. Corrpciion of exercises. Four hours. English. Syntax, with written and extempore exercises from Burkhardt. Readipg of classic authors. Writing of letters. Exercises in speaking. Arithmetic. Algebra. Simple and quadratic equations. Binomial and polynomial theo- rems. Higher equations. Commercial arthmetic continued. Three hours. . Geometry. Plane trigonometry and its applications. Conic sections. Descriptive Geome- try. Three hours. History. History of the middle ages. Modern history, with special reference to the prog- ress of civilizatioui of inventions, discoveries, and of commerce and. industry. Three hours. Natural History. In summer, botany, the principal families, according to the natural sys- tem. In winter, zoofogy. The pupils are taken, for the purpose of examining specimens to the Royal Museum. Physics. In summer, optics with experiments. In winter the system of the world. Three hours. Technology. Chemical and mechanical arts and trades, described and illustrated by mo- dels. Excursions to visit the principal workshops. Four hours. Architectural and machine drawing . Two hours. Those pupils who do not take part in this, receive lessons in ornamental drawing from plaster models. Vocal Music. Two hours. The pupils of this cla^ are, besides, engaged in manipulating in the laboratory of the insti- tion several hours each week. The courses require a good collection of apparatus atd specimens to carry them out, and this school is, in fact, better furnished than any other of its grade which I saw in Prussia, besides which, its collections are on the increase. The facilities for the courses are furnished by a collection of mathematical and physical apparatus, a labratory, with a tolerably complete chemical apparatus and series of tests, a coUectjon of specimens of the arts and manufactures (or technological col- lection,) a collection of dried plants, and of engravings for the botanical course, and a small garden for the same use, a collection of minerals, a collection of insects, a collection in comparative anatomy, a series of engravings for the drawing course, and of plaster models, a set of maps, and other apparatus for geography, some as- tronomical instruments, and a library. The pupils are taken from time to time, to the admirable museum attached to the university of Berlin, for the examination of zoological specimens especially. That this school is as a preparation for the higher occupations, and for profes- sions not ranking among the learned, the equivalent of the gymnasiunfi is clearly shown by the subjects and scope of its courses, and by ttie age of its pupils. 168 CITY TRADE SCHOOL IN BERLIN Some of thaie occupations require no higher inetruction, others that the pnjrils shall pass to the special schools introductory to them. So also, many of the pupils of the gymnasia pass at once into active life, others enter the university. The class of schools to which the two last described belong, are most important in their influence. In many countries, an elementary education is the limit beyond which those intendhig to enter the lower grades of the occupations enumerated m connection with the City Trade School of Berlin, do not pass ; and if they are m- ollned to have a better education, or if intending to embrace a higher occupatiOD, they desire to be better instructed, they must seek instruction in the classical schools. The training of these schools is, however, essentially different from that required by the tradesman and mechanic, the verbal character of the instruction is not calculated to produce the liabits of mind in which he should be brought up, and the knowledge which is hiade the basis of mental trainmg is not that which he has chiefly occasion to use. , Besides, were the course ever so vvell adapted to his object, the time at which he must leave school only permits him to follows part of it, and he is exposed to the serious evils wliich must flow from being, as it were, but half taught. In fact, however, he requires a very different school, one in which the subjects of instruction are adapted to his destination, while they give him an adequate in- tellectual culture ; where the character of the instruction will triun hun to the habits which must, in a very considerable degree, determine his future usefulness ; and where the course which he pursues will be thorough, as fer as it goes, and will have reached before he leaves the school the standard at which it aims. Such establishments are furnished by the real schools of Germany, and as the wants which gave rise to them there, are strongly felt every where, this class of mstita- tions must spread extensively. In Germany they are, as has been seen, no new experiment, but have stood the test of experience, and with various modifications to adapt them to differences of circumstances or of views in education, they are spreading in that country. As they become more diflused, and have employed a greater number of minds in their organization, their plans will no doubt be more fully developed. It is certainly highly creditable to Germany that its " gymnasia," on the one hand, and its. " real schools" on the other, offer such excellent models of secondary instruction in its two departments. The toleration which allows these dissimilair establishments to grow up side by side, admitting that each, though good for its object, is not a substitute for the other, belongs to an enhghtened state of senti- ment in regard to education, and is worthy of the highest commendation. DISTRiaJOTlON OF STUDIES IN THE CITY TRADE SCHOOL OF BERLIN. NO. OP HOURS PER \rmt. EUBJECTS OF INBTRnCTlON. Religion, German, French, English, ... Arithmetic, Geometry, Geography, History, Natural History, . Physios, Chemistry, Technology, Writing, Drawing, Vocal Music, .... Total, First Second ^ ^hlri ro-rth TotJ. Clam. C1«!S. cl»«.. Cl.mt Clmss. 4 2 34 4 2 32 2 2 32 32 28 9 18 20 4 18 14 8 4 13 9 7 4 6 14 10 INSTITUTE OF ARTS OF BERLIN. jgg In Prussia, every trade in which h want of skill may jeopard human life, is regulated by law; and before its exercise can be commenced, a license is required, to obtain which an examination must be passed. This requisition of the law is considered to involve a reciprocal obliga- tion on the part of the government to afford the opportunity of obtain- ing the necessary knowledge, and schools have accordingly been estab- lished for the purpose. Twenty of the regencies of the kingdom already have technical schools established in them, where instruction is, in gen- eral, given, at the expense of the state, or province, or for a very trifling remuneration ; and it is the intention that each regency sliall have at least one such school within its limits. When there is a burgher scliool in the place intended as the locality for one of these technical schools, the two schools are connected as already described : at Potsdam, the special technical course alone being given in a separate department. In all cases the government supplies the apparatus for the courses of mechanics, physics, and chemistry ; furnishes the requisite engravings for the courses of drawing ; and supplies works for the library and for instruction. The most promising pupils from the provincial schools usually find places at the central Institute at Berlin, which is in fact the university of arts. There is a special school for ship-builders at Stettin, in Pomerania. INSTITDTE OF ARTS OF BERLIN. This institution is intended to impart the Iheoretical knowledge essential J^ im provement in the arts, and such praetical knowledge as can be acquired to advan- tage in a school. It is supported by the government, and has also a legacy, to be expended in bursaries at the school, from Baron Von Seydlitz. " The institution is imder the charge of a director,* who has the entire control of the funds, of the admissions and dismissions, and the superintendence of the instruction. The pro- fessors and pupils do not reside in the establishment, so that the superintendence is confined to study hours. There are assistant professors, who prepare the lec- tures, and conduct a part of the exercises, in some cases reviewing the lessons of the professors with the pupils. Besides these officers there are others, who have charge of the admirable oolleotions of the institution, and of the workshops, offices, &o. The number of professors is eight, and of repeaters, two. The dis- cipline is of the most simple character, for no pupil is allowed to remain in con- nection with the institution unless his conduct and progress are satisfaotoiyl There i^ but one punishment recognized, namely, dismission ; and even a want of punc- tuality is visited thus severely. In the spring of every year the regencies advertise that applications will be re- ceived for admission into the institute, and the testimonials of the candidates who present the best claims are forwarded to the director at Berlin, who decides finally upon the several nominations. The pupils from the provincial schools have, in general, the preference over other applicants. At the same time notice is given by the president of the Society for the Promotion of National Industry, in rela- tion to the bursaries vacant upon the Seydlitz foundation. The qualifications es- sential to admission are — ^to read and write the German language Tyith correctness and facility, and to be thoroughly acquainted with arithmetic in all its branches. The candidate must, besides, be at least seventeen "years of age. Certain of the * The director, M. Beuth, is also president of the Royal Technical Commission of Prussia, and has the distribution of the funds for the encouragement of Industry, amounting to about seventy-five thousand dollars annually. M. Beuth is also a privy counsellor, and is president of the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry in Prussia. 160 INSTITUTE OF AKTS OF BERLIN. pupils, as will be hereafter more fully stated, require to have served an appren- ticeship to a trade. The Seydlitz bursar must, in addition, show— 1st. Ihat tneir pareniB were not artizans,* relatives of the founder having the preference over other applicants. 2d. That they have been apprenticed to a trade, if they intend to follow one not taught in the institution. 3d. lliey must enter into an engage- ment that if they leave the mechanical career they will pay back the amount ol their bursaries. There are sixty or seventy gratuitous pupils m the scliool ot whom eighteen are upon the Seydlitz foundation. Forty are admitted annually, this number having been adopted because it is found that, in the course of the first month, about a fourth of the newly admitted pupils foil away from the insti- tution. Each bursar receives two hundred and twenty-five dollars per annum for maintenance. The education is gi-atuitous. The regular pupils enter on the first of October, but the director is authorized to admit, at his pleasure, applicants who do not desire to become bursars, but who support themselves, receiving gra- tuitously, however, the instruction afforded by the institution. The education of the pupils is either solely theoretical, or combines theory and practice, according to the calling wliich they intend to follow. The first division is composed of students, who receive theoretical instruction only, and who are preparing to become masons, carpenters, and joiners. They are supposed to have become acquainted with the practice of their trade before entering the institution, being required to have served, previously, a part of theu' apprenticeship. An ex- cellent reason is assigned for this rule, namely, that on leaving the school such pupils are too old to begin their apprenticeship to these callings, and would, if they attempted to do so, find the first beginnings so irksome as to mduce them to seek other employments, and thus their special education would be lost, and the object of the school defeated. The second division embraces both theoretical and prac- tical instruction, and consists of three classes. First, the stone-cutters, engi-avers, lapidaries, glass-cutters, carvers in wood and ivory, and brass-founders. Second, dyers and manufacturers of chemical products. Third, machine-makers and me- chanicians. The practical instruction is different for each of these three classes. The general course of studies 'last two years, and the pupils are divided into two corresponding classes. The first class is, besides, subdivided into two sections. The lo^er or second class is taught first ; mechanical drawing, subdivided into decorative drawing, including designs for architectural ornaments, utensUs, vases, patterns for weaving, &o., and linear drawing, applied to civil works, to handicrafts, and to machines. Second, modelling in clayi, plaster, and wax. Third, practical arithmetic. Fourth, geometry. Fifth, natural philosophy. Sixth, chemistry. Seventh, technology, or a knowledge of the materials, processes, and products of the arts. The studies of the lower section of the first class are general, while those of the first section turn more particularly upon the applications of science to the arts. In the lower section, the drawing, modelUng, natural philosophy, and ' chemistry, of the first year, are continued ; and, in addition, descriptive geometry, trigonometry, stereometry, mixed mathematics, mineralogy, and the art of con- struction are studied. In the upper or first section, perspective, stone-cutting, carpentry, and mechanics applied to the arts, are taught, and the making of plans and estiinates for buildings, workshops, manufactories, machines, &c. These are common to all pupils, whatever may be their future destination ; but beside them, the machinists study, during the latter part of their stay at the institution, a continuation qt the course of mechanics and mathematical analysis. The ex- amples accompanying the instruction in regard to plans and estimates are adapted to the intended pursuits of th^ pupils. The courses of practice are begun by the pupils already enumerated as taking part in them, at different periods of their stay in the institution. Tlie future chemists and mechanics must have completed the whole range of studies aix>ve mentioned, as common to all the pupils, while the others begin their practice after having completed flie first year's oouree. There are workshops for each class of pupils, where they are taught the practice of their proposed calling, under com- petent.workmen. There are two foundries for bronze castings, one for small, the . ~. ^ ~ * _ * The obiect of M. Von Seydlitz appears to have been to counteract, to the extent of his power, the'tpndency to the increase of the learnetl professions, at the expense of the mechanic arts, by an inducement to a course exactly contrary to the usual one. INSTITUTE OF ARTS OF BERLIN. 161 other for large castings, and the work turned out of both bears a high character. A specimen of this work is retained by the institution in a beautiful fountam, which ornaments one of the courts of the building. The models for castings are made in the establishment. In the first division of pupils, in, reference to their callings, there are usually some whose art is connected with the fine arts in some of its branches, and these have an opportunity during part of the week to attend the courses of the Berlin Academy. The future chemists work for half the year in the laboratory. They are chiefly employed in chemical analysis, being furnished with the requisite materials for practice by the institution. In the shops for the instruction of mechanics are machines for working in wood and the metals, a steam- engine of four. horses' power, a forge, tools in great variety, lathes, &o. The pupils have the use of all neeessaiy implements, according to their progress, and are gradually taught, as if serving a regular apprenticeship. When capable, they are enable to construct machines which may be useful to them subsequently, as a lathe, or machine for cutting screws, or the teeth of wheels, &e., and are furnished with all the materials for the purpose, the machine becoming their own property. In these workshops, also, the models for the cabinet of the school are made. This is by far the most complete establishment for practice which I met with in any institution, and I believe the practice is both real and effectual. It involves, however, an expenditure which in other eases it has not been practicable to com- mand. The scale of the whole institution is, in the particular of expenditure, most generous. This is one specimen of the various plans which have been devised to give practical knowledge of an art in connection with theory in a school. It is first most judiciously laid down that certain trades can not be taught to advantage in a similar connection, but that the practical knowledge must be acquired by an ap- prenticeship antecedent to the theoretical studies. There are besides] however, a large number of trades, the practice of which is to be taught in the institu- tion, and requiring a very considerable expenditure to carry out the design pro- perly. This could not be attempted in a school less munificently endowed, and requires very strict regulations to carry it through even here. The habits of a school workshop are, in general, not those of ,a real manufactory, where the same articles are made to be sold as a source of profit ; hence, though the practi- cal knowledge may be acquired, the habits of work are not, and the mechanic may be well taught but not well trained. At the private school of Charonne, workshops were established, giving a variety of occupation to the pupils ; but the disposition to play rather than to work, rendered these establishments too costly to be supported by a private institution, and the plan adopted instead of this, was to make the pupils enter a regular workshop for a stated number of hours, to work for the proprietor or lessee. This plan remedies one evil, but ijitroduces another, that as the machinist takes orders, with a view to profit, the work may have so little variety as only to benefit a small class of the pupils. The pupils at Charpnne are, however, under dififerent circumstances from those at Berlin ; they are gen- erally younger, and, being independent of the school, where they, pay for their education, are not under the same restraint as in the other institution j hence the experience of the one school does not apply in full force to the other. At Dres- den, in a school somewhat similar to that of Berlin, a dififerent mode from either - of those just mentioned has been adopted. An arrangement is made with a num- ber of mechanics, of difierent occupations, to receive pupils from the schools as apprentices, allowing them the privilege of attending, during certain specified, hours of the day, upon the theoretical exercises of the institution. Where such an arrangement can bo made, the results are unexceptionable, and the advantages likely to accrue to the mechanic arts, from the union of theory with practice, will oflfer a strong inducement to liberally disposed mechanics to take apprentices upon these terms. Small workshops, connected with an institution, must necessarily offer inferior advantagfe, even if closely regulated, so as to procure the greatest possible amount of work from the pupils ; this should not be done for the sake ofi the profit, but to give him genuinely good habits. The difficulties in giving practical instruction in the chemical arts are not to be compared with those under discussion, and will be found to have been satisfactorily obviated in several schools. This subject will receive its more appropriate discns- mon in connection with the polytechnic institution of Vienna, where the ohemioa!. 102 INSTITUTE OF ARtS OF BERLIN. department, at least as for as mannfacturmg chemistry is concerned, is generally recognized as having produced the best results of any yet established. Returning to the subject of the theoretical instruction in the BerUn institute of arts, the following statement will serve to show the succession of the course, with the time devoted to each : WINTER COURSE, MONDAY. PiTst Class. First division— drawing and sketching machines, eight A. M. to twelve o*cIock. Discussion of machines, estimates of power, &e., two F. M. to five P. M. Second division- machine drawing, eight to ten. Modelling in clay, ten to twelve. Physics, two to five. Second Class. Machine drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Elements of geometry, two to four. Repetition of the lecture, four to five. TUESDAY. Pirst Class. First division— architectural plans and estimatee, eight to twelve. Practical instruction in machinery, two to five. Second division— ornamental and architectural draw- ing, eighI\to twelve. Trigonometry, two to five. Second Class. Ornamental and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Physics, two to four. Repetition of the lecture, four to five, WEDNESDAY. First Class. First division— original ilesigne, eight to twelve, Digcossion of machinery. Second division— mineralogy, eight to nine. Machine drawing, nine to twelve. Trigonome- try, two to five. Second Class. Machine drawing, eight tctwelve. Practical arithmetic, two to five. THURSDAY. First Class. Firstdivision-drawing and sketching machines, eight to twelve. Architec- tural instruction, estimates, two to five. Second division — decorative and architectural drawing, eight to ten. Modelling in clay, ten to twelve. Trigonometry, two to five. Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to ten. Modelling in clay, ten to twelve. Physics, two to four. Repetition of the lecture, four to five. FRIDAT. FHrst Class. First division — architectural plans, eight to twelve. Practical instruction in machinery, two to five. Second division — machine drawing, eight to twelve. Physics, two to five. Second Class. Machine drawinj;, eight to twelve. Elementary mathematics, two to four. Repetition of the lessons, four to iSve, SATURDAY, First Class. First division — perspective and stone-cutting, eight to twelve. Original de- signs, two to five. Second division — mineralogy, eight to nine. Decorative and architectu- ral drawing, nine to twelve. Trigonometry, two to five. Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Practical arithme- tic, two to five. The summer term, which follows this, embraces the practical instruction. SUMMER TERM. MONDAY. First Class. First division— in the workshops from seven A. M. to twelve, and from one until seven P, M. Second division— machine drawing, eight to twelve. Applied mathemat- ics, two to five, Second Class. Machine drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Chemistry, two to four. Repetition, four to five. TUESDAY. First Class. First division— analytical dynamics, eight to nine. Drawing of machines from original desisns, nine to twelve. Machinery, two to five. Second division— decorative and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Chemistry, two to five. Second Class. Decorative-and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Elementary mathe- matics, two to four. Repetition, four to five. WBDNBSDAY. First Class. First division— in the workshops from seven to twelve, and from one to seven. Second division— machine drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Applied mathe> matics, two to five. Second Class. Machine drawing, eight to twelve. Practical arithmetic, two to four. Ma- terials used in the arts, four to five. THURSDAY. First Class. First division— in the worksliops from seven to twelve, and from one to seven. Second division— machine drawing, eight to ten. Modelling, ten to twelve. Applied mathematics, two to five. Second Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to ten. Modelling ten to twelve. Chemistry, two to four. Repetition of tJie lesson, four to five. ' INSTITUTE OF ARTS OF BERLIN. igo FRIDAY.* First Class. First division— analytical dynamics, eight to nine. Drawing of a machine for an original design, nine to twelve. Machinery, two to five. Second division— chemistry, eight to nine, Applied mathematics, nine to twelve. Chemistry, two to five. 'Second Class. Machine drawing, eight to twelve. Elementary mathematics, two to four. Repetition of the lesson, four to five. . SATURDAY. First Class. First division— in the workshops, from seven to twelve, and from one to seven. Second division— decorative and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Applied mathematics, two to five. Second, Class. Decorative and architectural drawing, eight to twelve. Practical arithme- tic, two to four. Materials used in the arts, four to five. Tile chemical division of the practical classes is engaged every day in the laboratory. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the library is open for reading from five to eight, P. M. ' The collections for cariying out the various branches of instruction are upon the same liberal scale, with the other parts of the institution. There is a Ubrary of works on architecture, meehanios, technology, the various arts, archeology, &c., in German, French and English. This library is open twice a vpeek, from five to eight in the evening, to the piipils of the first class of the school, and to such me- chanics as apply for the use of it. There is a rich collection of drawings of new and useful machines, and of illus- trations of the difterent courses, belonging to the institution. Among them is a I splendid work, published imder the direction of Mr. Beuth, entitled Models for i Manufactures and Artisans, (Vorlegeblatter for Fabricanten and' Handwerker,) containing engravings by the best artists of Germany, and some even from France and England, applicable to the different arts and to architecture and engineering. Among the drawings are many from original designs by Shenokel, of Berlin. There is a second useful but more ordinary series of engravings, on similar sub- jects, also executed for the use of the school. These works are distributed to tlie provmcial trade schools, and presented to such of the mechanics of Prussia as have especially distinguished themselves in their vocations. The collection of models of machinery belonging to the school probably ranks next in extent and value to tliat at the Conservatory of Arts of Paris. It contains models of such machines as are not readily comprehended by drawings. Most of them are working models, and many were made in the workshops of the school. They are constructed, as far as possible, to a uniform scale, and the parts of the models are of the «ame materials as in the actual machine. There is an extensive col- lection of casts, consisting of copies of statues, basso-relievos, utensils, bronzes, and vases of the museimis of Naples, Rome, and Florence, and of the British Museum, and of the models of architectural monimients of Greece, Rome, Pom- ^peii, &e., and copies of models, cameos, and similar objects ; those specimens only have been selected which are not in the collection of the Academy of Fine Arts of Berlin, to which the pupils of the Institute of Arts have access. There are good collections of physical and chemical apparatus, of minerals, of geological and technological specimens. The instruction is afforded in part by the lectures of the professors, aided by text-books specially intended for the school, and in part by the interrogations of the professors and of the assistants and repeaters. At the close of the first year there is an examination to determine which of the pupils shall be permitted to go forward, and at the close of the second year to determine which shall receive the certificate of the institute. Although the pupils who come from the provinces are admitted to the first class of the institute, upon their presenting a testimonial that they have gon»through the course of the provincial schools satisfactorily, it fre- , quently happens that they are obliged to retu-e to the second, especially from de- fective knowledge of chemistry. The cost of this school to the government is about twelve thousand dollars an- nually, exclusive of the amount expended upon the practical courses and upon the- collections — a very trifling stun, if the good which it is calculated to do through- out the country is considered' The schools and institutions above described, are only specimens of the care of the government to provide facilities for special instruction in every department of labor which ministers to the physical wants of 164 INSTITDTE OF ARTS OP BERLIN. Bociety, and to the improvement of decorative art in the workBhop and the factory. Schools for civil engineering, architecture, gardening, agri- eulture, commerce, &c., are established indifferent provinces, and aided by the government. The practical skill in drawing, made universal by its introduction as a regular exercise in all primary schools as well as per- fected in the higher class of public pchools, has given increased value to the productions of the loom, and the hand, and enabled the Prussian manufacturer not only to supply the home demand for articles of taste and beauty, but to compete successfully with those of other nations, in the markets of the world. ' LEGAL PR0YI8I0N RESPEOTTNa THE EDUCATION, IMPROVEMENT, AND SUPPORT QF TEACHERS IN PRUSSIA. TaE following are the provisioneof the law of 1819 respecting Normal Schools and teachers. It is difRcuIt to describe the well-qualified teacher in more appropriate language : " In order that a master may be enabled to fulfill the duties of his sta- tion, he ought to be religious, wise, and alive to the high importance of his profession. He ought thoroughly to understand the duties of his station, to have acquired the art of teaching and managing youth, to be firm in his fidelity to the state, conscientious in the discharge of his duties, friendly and prudent in his relations with the parents of his children, and with his fellow-citizens in general ; finally, he ought to inspire all around him with a lively interest in the progress of the school, and to render them favorably inclined to second his own wishes and endeavors." In order to insure the education of such schoolmasters, the following regulations are. laid down : "Each department is required to have a number of young men well prepared for their duties, who may supply the yearly vacancies in the ¥anks of the schoolmasters of the department, and therefore each depart- ment shall be required to support a Normal School. These establish- ments shall be formed on the basis of the following regulations : 1. No Normal School for teachers in the primary schools shall admit more than seventy pupil teachers. 2. In every department where the numbers of Catholics and Protest- ants are about equal, there shall be, as often as circumstances will per- mit, a Normal School for the members of each sect. But where there is a very marked inequality in the numbers of the two sects, the masters of the least numerous sect shall be obtained from the Normal Schools be- longing to that sect in a neighboring department, or by smaller establish- ments in the same department annexed to aji elementary primary school. Normal Schools for simultaneous education of two sects shall be permitted when the pupil teachers can obtain close at hand suitable religious in- struction, each in the doctrines of his own church. 3. The Normal Schools shall be established whenever it is possible in small towns, so as to preserve the pupil teachers from the dissipations, temptations, and habits of life which are not suitable to their future pro- fessio% without subjectirig them to a monastic seclusion ; but the town ought not to be too small, in order that they may profit by the vicinity of sevferal elementary and superior primary schools. 6. No young man can be received into a Normal School who has not passed through a course of instruction in an elementary primary school ; nor can any young man be received, of the excellence of whose moral character there is the least ground of suspicion. The age of admission into the Normal Schools shall be from sixteen to eighteen years. 7. As to the methods of instruction, directors of the Normal Schools shall rather seek to conduct the pupil teachers by their own exj)erience to simple and clear principles, than to give them theories for their gmd- ance ; and with this end in view, primary schools shall be joined to all the 166 NORMAL SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA. Normal Schools, where the pupil teachers may be practised in the art of teaching. 8. In each Normal ■ School the coarse of instruction shall last three years, of which the first shall be devoted to the continuation of the course of instruction which the pupils commenced in the primary schools ; the second to an instruction of a still higher character, and the third to prac- tice in tlte primary school attached to the establishment. For those who are sufficiently advanced when they enter not to require the first year's instruction, the course may be reduced to one of two years. 10. In each Normal School particular funds, set apart for that purpose, shall be devoted to the support of young men of good character not able to pay for themselves, but in such a manner as not to habituate them to too many comfm-ts, arid not to render them unfit for the worst paid situa- tions in the primary schools. 11. Every pupil who receives such assistance from a Normal School, is obhged at the end of his educational course to accept thfe place which the provincial consistories assign him ; a prospect of advancement, however, must always be held out to. him in case of perseverance and good conduct 12. The provincial consistories have the immediate surveillance of all the Normal Schools in the different departments of their respective provinces ; and the provincial ecclesiastical authorities have the especial surveillance of the religious instruction of their respective sects." The following provisions, gatheced from the law of 1819, and from the general regulations, have an ijnportant bearing on the social and pecuniary, condition of the teacher. No young man is allowed to conduct a primary school until he has obtained a certificate of his capacity to fulfill the important duties of a schoolmaster. The examinations of the candidates for these certificates is conducted by commissions, composed of two laymen and two clergy- men, or two priests. Tl^e provincial consistories nominate the lay mem- bers, the ecclesiastical authorities of the respective provinces nominate ^ the clerical members for the examination of the religious education of the Protestant candidates ; and the Roman Catholic bishop nominates the two priests who examine the Roman Catholic candidates. The members of these commissions are nominated for three years, Eind they can afterward be continued in their office if advisable. The lay examiners and the clerical examiners join in granting the cer- tificates, but the religious and secular examinations Eu-e conducted sepa- rately. The certificates are signed also by the director of the Normal School in which the young man has been educated, and describe his moral character and his intellectual capability. These certificates are not valid until they have been ratified by the superior authorities, that is, by the provincial consistories; and in the case of the certificates granted to. the Roman Catholics, the further ratification of the bishop is necessary. If the provincial consistories and the bishops can not agree about the granting of any certificate, the matter is referred to the minister of public instruction, who decides between them. The provincial authorities can re-examine the candidates, if they think there is any reason to doubt what is specified on the certificate granted by the committee of examination, and can declare them incapaBle, and can re- quire the local authorities to proceed to another examination if they are not satisfied with the character of any of the candidates. The young women who are candidates for the situations of school- inistresses are obliged to submit to the same kind of examination before they can obtain 'the certificate enabling them to take the charge of a girls' school. NORMAL SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA. ,gh The election and nomination of masters for the communal schools is the duty of the local committees, on the presentation of the communal inspectors. The masters can not be installed and begin to receive their salaries, until their certificates have^been ratified by the provincial authorities. " The provincial consistories are required to choose able and, zealous clerical inspectors, and to engage them to form and direct greaj associa- tions between the masters' of the town and rural schools, for the purpose of fostering among them a feeling of interest in their profession, of further- / ing the further development of their education by regular reunions, by consultations, conversations, practical treatises, study of particular branches of instruction, and discussions on treatises read aloud in their public as- semblies." These teachers' conferences are very useful. They not only promote a spirit of generous emulation among the schoolmasters, and so stimulate them to further exertions, but they encourage the masters, by reminding them that they form part of a great and honorable body. And nothing encourages man more than a feeling of association. Man alone is weak and timid; but let him only feel that his feelings and aims are those of a number who regard him as their fellow, and he then is a giant in his aims and efforts. , The provincial consistories have the power of sending the master of a primary school, who appears to be in need of further instruction, to a Normal School, for the time that may appear requisite to give him the necessary additional instruction ; during his absence his place is supplied by a young man from the Normal School,, who receives a temporary cer- tificate. The expenses of the conferences and of the masters who frequent for a second time the Normal Schools, are generally defrayed by the provincial educational authorities. The schoolmasters are encouraged to continue their own education by hopes of preferment to better situations, or to superior schools ; but before they can attain this preferment, they must pass a second examination, conducted by the same authorities who conducted the former. If a schoolmaster is negligent or conducts himself improperly in his station, the inspector of the school first remonstrates with him, and if this fails to convince him, the inspector of the canton reproves him; and if he still prove refractory, they report him to the provincial authorities, whp have the power of fining him, or of removing him from the school. If he commits any flagrant crime, he is reported at once to the. pro- vincial authorities, who remove him immediately, after having carefully verified the accusations brought against him by the inspectors. Every school in a village or town must have a garden suitable to the nature of the country and habits of the people, for a kitchen-garden, nur- sery-orchard, or the raising of bees. This is provided as an additional resource for the teacher, as well as an available means of instruction of the scholars. Every school-house must not only embrace what we regard as essen- tial features in such structures, such as size, location, ventilation, warmth, seats and desks, &c., but apparatus for illustrating every study, and " a sufficient collection of books for the use of the master," as well as a resi- dence for him. Whenever a new fiind, legacy, or donation, accrues to the schools of a province or commune, the same must be appropriated to the improvement of the school, or of the master's income, and not to the diminution of any tax or rate before collected. The practice of ''boarding round," or the right of the teacher to a place at the table of every family in the commune or district in rotation 2gg NORMAL SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA. '(called in German, Wandeltisch, movable table,) ''"■'?f'''y,.P''^^^"^ii^ i Prussia, but it was first arrested by an ordinance in 1»11' ."'^f "=,'"2 . „,' tiiis " movable table" should not be reckoned in payment ol ttie leacner e compensation, and should be given up at the option of the teacner. ii is now abandoned in every commune which makes any pretension to civui- zation. It never included any thing beyond an " itmeratmg table. l ne teacher always had a fixed residence provided, and usually under tne same roof with his school. , , /• j i „_i„r Scholars are encouraged to form among themselves a lund ny^fUM- tary contributions, for the assistance of their necessitous schooUellows. The fund is managed by themselves under the direction of their teacher. This is done to cultivate good feeling in the school, and save the teacher from a constant tax for articles for such pupds. a i .«. All school fees, all contributions or assessments m money, lueL (&c., must be collected by the regular school authorities, and not by the . •teacher. And no service can be required of the' teacher in or about the school, and he can engage in no employment, which will lower his dignity, or weaken his influence. All public teachers are regarded as public functionaries, and are ex- empt from liability to military service in time of peace, and from all local and capitation taxes, or if taxed, an equivalent is allowed hi an.increase of salary. Whenever any, division of land belonging to a parish, or town, is made, . a sufficient quantity shall be allotted to the schoolmaster for a vegetable ! garden, and for the feed of a cow. Wherever the right of common exists, the teacher shall share in its benefits. Schoolmasters who become temporarily infirm, are entitled to an allow- ance from the school moneys provided for the support of their schools. And ■ when permanently disabled, are entitled to an annual allowance from the income of funds provided in each province for this purpose, and for the support of the widows and children of teachers, who entitle themselves to such provision for their families, by a small annual contribution from their salaries. Teachers, who show themselves entitled to promotion to the direction of Normal Schools, are enabled to travel both in Pru.=sia, and other countries, for the purpose of extending their knowledge of' the organiza- tion, instruction and discipline of schools. A valuable ordinance passed in 1826, and renewed in 1846, requires the director of a seminary to travel about, once a year, and visit a certain part of the schools within his circuit. He makes himself acquainted with the state of the school, listens to the instruction given, takes part himselt in the same, and gives to the teacher such hints for improvement as his observation may suggest. The results of his yearly visits he presente, in the form of a report, to the school authorities of the province. This occa- sional visitation is very useful in clearing up the dark corners of the land, correcting abuses, and giving an impulse, from time to time, to teachers, who might otherwise sink into apathy and neglect. To render the effi- cacy of the seminaries more complete, it is provided that at the end of three years after leaving the seminary, the young teachers shall return to pass a second examination. By an ordinance in 1826, it is provided : " To the end, that the benefi- cial influence of the seminary may extend itself to those teachers already estabhshed, who either require further instruction, or who in their own cultivation and skill in office do not advance, perhaps even recede ; it is required that such teachers be recalled into the seminary for a shorter or longer time, as may be needful for them, in order, either to pass through a whole methodical course, or to practice themselves in particular de- partments of instruction." PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. -.an That the foregoing excellent and thorough regulations have not remained a dead letter in the ordinances of the government, but are substantially followed in the prac^Jical operations of the system, will be made evident from the testimony of Mr. Kay, an intelligent English traveler, as to the education, social position, and professional standing of the primary school teachers of Prussia, as well as from the accounts which follow of several of the best normal schools in different depart- ments of the kingdom : During my travels in different provinces of Prussia, I was in daily oommuniea- tion with the teachers. I had every opportunity of observing the spirit, which animated the whole body, and of hearing the opinions of the poor respecting them. I found a great body of educated, courteous, refined, moral, and learned professors, laboring»with real enthtisiasm among the poorest classes of their oouu- trymen. I found them wholly devoted to their duties, proud of their profession, united together by a strong feehng of brotherhood, and holding continual con- ferences together, for the purposes of debating all kinds of questions, relating to the management of their schools. But what gave me greater pleasure than all else was, to observe in what esteem and respect they were held by ^he peasants. If you tempt a Prussian peasant to find fault with the schools, he will tell you, in answer, how good the school is, and how learned the teachers are. I often heard the .warmest panegyrics bestowed npon them by the peasants, showing in the clearest manner how well their merits and their labors were appreciated,* 1 could not but feel, how grand an institution this great body of more than 28,000 teachers was, and how much it was capable of effecting ; and, when I regarded the happy condition of the Prussian peasantry, I could not but believe, I saw some of the fruits of the daily labors of this enlightened, respected, and united brotherhood. Upon the parochial ministers and parochial teachers depend, far more than we are willing to allow the intelligence, the morality, and the religion of the people. The cordial co-operation of these two important and honorable professions is nec- essary to the moral progress of a nation. The religious minister acts upon the adults, the teacher on the young. The co-operation of the religious ministers is nec- essary to secure the success of the teacher's efforts ; and, on the other hand, with- out the earnest aid of the teacher, the fairest hopes of the religious minister are often blighted in the bud. We must educate the child, if we would reform the man. But, alas ! this education is a labor, requiring a long, persevering, careful, intelligent, and most tender handling. It were much better left alone, than to_be attempted, so as to create disgust, or to embitter early associations, or to render virtuous and ennobling pursuits disgusting throughout after-life. On the teacher depends the training of the poor man's child, for poor parents have, unhappily, too little spare time to allow them to perform the greatest duty of a parent. And thus, as the character of every nation mainly depends upon the training of the children, we may safely affirm, that, sueh as our teachers are, such also will be our peasantry. How essential is it, then, to the moral welfare, and therefore to ithe political greatness of a nation, that the profession of the teachers should be one, insuring the pei^feot satisfaction of its members, and commanding the respect of the country ! Tile teacher's station In society ought to be an honorable one, or few learned and able men will be found willing to remain long in the profession, even if any such men can be induced to enter it; and it is much better to be without teachers altogether, than to leave the training of our children to men of narrow minds,- unrestrained passions, or meagre intelligence. The Prussian governnjent has fully ' Since theso remarks were written, the course of public events in Prussia has given a very remarkable proof of their correctnefss. To the National Assembly, which met in Berlin in May,,l&48, the people bf the provinces elected no fewer than eiffht teachers as representa- tivee ; giving this striking proof of the people's respect /or the a^lity and high characterof '.the profession. 170 PRCSSIAN TEACHERS. recognized these truths, and has, therefore, done all within its power, to raise flie character and social position of the teachers as much as possible. As thrae efforts have been heartily seconded by the provincial governmente and the people, the result has been most remarkable and ^tisfaotory. The first exertions of the government were wholly devoted to the improvement of the intellectual and moral character of the profession, and to the increase ot its numbers. They determined to make the name of " tcaeher" an hoMr, and in itself a guarantee to every parent of the character and attainments of the man who bore it. To attain this end, they denied all access to the ranks of the pro- fession to any but those who proved themselves worthy, of admittance. No person can be a teacher in Prussia, or in any part of Germany, 1 ranee Austria, Switzerland, or Holland, until he has passed a very severe and searching examina- tion, and until he has produced testimonials from those well acquainted with him, of the irreproachable nature of his moral life and character. This examination, which includes both intellectual and moral qualifications, is conducted by able and impartial men, among whom are to be found the candidate's religious minister, the , professors of the normal college at which he was brought up, and at least one of the. educational magistrates of the county of which he is a native. He who passes the ordeal is aljowed to be a teacher, whether he was educated at a normal college or not. The ranks of the profession are open to all educated and moral men, wherever or however they were educated ; but educated and moral they must prove "tliemselves. It is not, then, to be wondered at, that the men, who are known to have satisfactorily passed this scrutiny, are regarded by all their fellow- countrymen with respect and consideration, and as men of great learning and of high character. This once attained, the next great efforts of the government were directed to the improvement of the social position of the teachers. The government placed them under the immediate protection of the county courts. They also made a law that no teacher, who had been once elected, whether by a parochial eommitee, or by trustees, or by private patrons, should be dismissed, except by permission of the county magistrates. This protected the teachers from the effects of the mere personal prejudices of those in immediate connection with them. They then defined the minimum of the teachers' salaries, and this minimum they have ever ■ since been steadily increasing. It is absolutely necessary, that my readers should not connect their preconceived ideas of an English village schoolmaster wth the learned and refined teacher of Prussia. They might just as well think of comparing the position and attainments of the vast majority of our teachers with those of the scholars of our universities, as of comparing those of our schoolmasters with those of the Prussian teachers. I felt, whenever I was in the company of a Prussian teacher, that I was with a gentleman, whose courteous bearing and intelligent manner of speaking must exert a most beneficial influence upon the peasantry, among whom whom he lived. It was, as if I saw one of the best of our English curates performing the duties of a schoolmaster. I never saw any vulgarity or coarseness, and still less any stupidity or incapacity for their duties, displayed by any of them. The Protestant teachers of Germany occupy situations of importance in connec- tion with the religious ministers and religious congregations. They fulfill several of the duties of our curates, clerks, and organists. In both Romanist and Protestant congregations, they lead the choir and play the organ. They act too as clerk ; and when a Protestant minister is indisposed, and unable to conduct public worship, the parochial teacher officiates in his stead, reads the church ser- vice, and sometimes also preaches. The musical part of public worship in both Romanist and Protestant churches and chapels, is always directed by the parochial teacher. The small salary, which they receive for the performance Of these duties, serves to increase their incomes ; but what is of much more importance is that this connection of the teachers with the religious congregations and ministers serves to bind the religious ministers and teachers together, to lesson the labors of each by mutual assistance, and, above all, to raise the teacher in the estimation of the poor, by whom he is surrounded, and thereby materially to increase the effect of his advice and instructions. - It was very curious, and pleasing, to observe ilie effects of the intercourse of PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. ihj this enlightened and excellent body of men \vith the peasantry during the last twenty years. I do not hesitate to say, that, at the period of my visit to Prussia, I had never before seen so polite and civilized, and seemingly intelligent, a peas- antry as that of Prussia. Were a stranger introduced into some of the lowest schools, I am quite convinced he would not believe he saw peasants children before him. They were generally so clean and neatly dressed, and their manners were always so good, that I was several times obliged to asli the teachers, if I really saw the children of the poor before me. , The appearance of tlie girls was particu- larly gratifying ; their dress was so respectable, their manners was so good, their way of dressing their hair showed so much taste, and their cleanliness was so great, that no one, who had not been informed beforehand to what class they belonged, would have believed them to be the children of the poorest of the people. The lowest orders of Germany are so much more refined than our poor, that the childi-en of the rich very often attend the primary schools, while the chil- dren of the trades people and middle classes almost invariably do so. The richer parents know that their children vrill not come into contact with any coarse- ness, and that the teacher is certain to be an educated and refined gentleman. ■This mingling of the children of the higher and lower orders tends to civilize the peasantry still more, and to produce a kindly feeling between the dlflferent ranks of society. But the primary cause of the great and ever-increasing civilization ■ of the Prussian peasantry is, undeniably, their contact with their refined an^ intel- ligent teachers. For, whilst the clergy are laboring among the adults, the teachers are daily bringing under the influences of their own high characters and intelli- gence ALL the younger portions of the community. The teachers in Prussia are men respected by the whole community, men to whom all classes owe the first rudiments of their education, and men in whose welfare, good character, and high respectability, both the government and the peo- ple feel themselves deeply interested. In birth, early recollections, and associa- tions, they are often peasants ; but in education and position they are gentlemen in every sense of that term, and acknowledged officers of the county govern- ments. There are more than 28,000 such teachers in Prussia. This great pro- fession offers, as I shall presently show, a means, by which an intelligent peasant miy hope to raise himself into the higher ranks of society, as the expense* of preparing for admission into the profession are borne by government. But, as the number of candidates for admission is consequently always large, the government takes every possible precaution, that only such shall be chosen, as are in every respect qualified to reflect honor upon the profession, and carry out its objects in the most effective manner. And so well satisfied are the teachers with their position, that, although their pay is often but poor, yet it rarely happens that any one quits his ■ profession to seek another situation. The'y are contented with their • profession, even when it affords only a bare living, as it always confers a station of respectability and honor, in direct communication with the provincial govern- ' ments. I made the most careful inquiries upon this subject, and can speak with great confidence upon it. I was in daily communication with the teachers from the day I entered Prussia, and I tested the truth of what they told me, not only by comparing their statements together, but also by many inquiries, which I made of the educational counsellors and government oifficers In Berlin. Next to Dr. Bruggeman, one of the head counsellors of the Minister of Education, the gen- tlemen to whom I am most indebted for information on this subject are Counsellor Stiehl, the Chief Inspector of Prussia, who is employed by the Minister on partic- ular missions of inspection in all the provinces of Prussia ; Professor HIntz, one of the young professors in Dr. Diesterweg's normal college ; Dr. Hennicke, the director of the normal college at Weissenfels ; Herr Peters, a teacher at Bonn ; one of the teachers at Cologne ; several of the teachers at Berlin ; and several of the teachers at Blberfeld. From these gentlemen,, and many others, I gathered the following information : When a boy is intended for the teachers' profession, he remains in the primary school, until he has completed the whole course of primary instruction, i. e. until he has learned to write and read well, and until he knows the principal rules of arithmetic, the outlines of the geography and history of his native country, a httle natural history, and the Scripture history. This knowledge he does not generally acquire before he is fifteen years of age. 172 PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. From the age of fifteen to the age of eighteen, before which latter age a young man can not be admitted into any normal college, the education of young candi- dates, who are the sons of towns-people, is different to the education of those, who are the sons of countiy people. The young candidates for admission into the teachers' profession, who are the sons of towns-people, enter at fifteen into the classes of the superior public schools of the town, in which schools a number of endowed places are always reserved for poor boys, who have distinguished themselves in the primary schools. The education given in these schools is of a higher character, than that given in the primary schools. It comprehends mathematics, and the rudiments at least of the classics, besides lectures in history, physical geography, and drawing. They remain in these superior public schools until their eighteenth year, when they can seek admission into a normal college. The young candidates for admission into the teachers' profession, who are the sons of poor country people, do not en- joy all the advantages which the children of towns-people possess, as there is sel- dom a superior primary school in their neighborhood, in which they can continue their studies, after leaving the primary school. If the son of a peasant aspires to enter the teachers' profession ; after leaving the primary school, he engages the parochial teacher to give him instruction in the evenings, attends the teachers' classes in the mornings and afternoons, and assists him in the management of the younger children. He continues to improve himself in this manner, until he has attained the age, at which he can apply for admission into a normal college. There are, however, a great many schools in Prussia, established for the purpose of preparing the sons of the peasants for admission into the normal colleges. These preparatory schools generally belong to private persons. Every young person admitted into them is obliged to pay a small fee for his education there. TTiis fee is generally very trifling, but is still sufficient to prevent the sons of the poorest peasants entering them ; and, consequently, these latter, if they live in a country village, are obliged to content themselves with the evening lessons given by the village teacher, and with the practical knowledge gained by attending his classes in tl^e mornings and afternoons. But it is always possible for the peasants' chil- dren, with industry, to prepare themselves, by the aid of the village teacher, for admission into a normal college. Of these latter admirable institutions for the education of teachers I shall hereafter speak at length ; suffice it here to say, that there are between forty and fifty of them in Prussia, supported entarelv by the state, and under the direction and surveillance of the provmcial committees called Sohuloollegium. There are five or six normal colleges in each province, some of which are set apart for the education of the Romanist, and the others for that of the Protestant teachers. Each of them is generally put under the direction of a priest or of a protestant minister, according as it is intended for the education of Romanist or Protestant teachers, and is provided m the most hberal manner with every thing necessary for the education of the young students. The education given in them is nearly gratuitous ; no young man being called upon to pay for any thing, but his clothes and his breakfast, whilst, in many cases even this trifling charge is paid for the poor student out of the college fmids. All young men who aspire to the ofiice of teacher in Prussia, and who aspire to enter a normal college, when the yearly vacancies take place, are obliged to submit to an examination, conducted by the professors of these colleges, in presence of the educational counsellors from the county court No young man can enter the examination lists, who has not produced certificates of health, and freedom from all chronic complaints, or who has a weak voice or any physical defect or infirmity. None but picked men are selected as teachers in Prugpa. The examination is very severe and searching. For, as there are always a great number of candi- dates for admission into each college, and as the favored candidates are only chosen, on account of their superior abilities, the competition at the entranoa examinations is very great. The subjects of this examination are, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography history, singing, chanting, and the Scripture history. The young man, who has just obtained admission into a normal college in Prussia, and whose education as a teacher has only just begun, is much better educated, even at the commencement Of his three years' education in the oolleee PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. , J^g tihan almost any of our teachers are, when they enter uflon the performance of their duties in me schools,,and when their education is considered to be completed ! How much superior, therefore, in intellectual acquirements, the Prussian teacher is, when he has completed his collegiate course, I need not observe. When tho examination is concluded, as many of the most promising of the candidates are selected as there are vacancies in the college j and, after a strict exam- ination has been made into their characters and previous life, each successful candidate is required to sign an agreement, promising to officiate as a teacher, after leaving the college, for a number of years, equal to those during which the gov- ernment educates him gratuitously in the college. They are then admitted, and are only required to provide themselves with clothes, and to pay about 31. per annum. • All the other expenses of their education, maintenance, &c., are, as I have said before, borne by the state. "They remmn in these colleges two or three years, never less than two, or more than three. Here they continue the studies which they had previously followed; in the primary and superior schools. They perfect themselves in writing^ arithmetic, history, geography, and Scripture his- tory, and receive a cafeful education in the physical sciences, and particularly in mathematics and botany. In some of the normal colleges, the young men also study Latin and the modern languages. Besides this, they all learn the violin, the organ, and piano-forte. I have seen as many as a hundred violins, three organs, and three piano-fortes in one normal college. They also continue the prac- tice of chanting and singing, which they had commenced in the village schools ; and when the college is situated in the country, and intended for village teachers, the students learn gardening and agriculture. I became acquainted m Bonn, with the teacher of the poorest school in the town. He could speak French very tol- erably, as well as a little English ; he was acquainted with many of our first wri- ters, and knew the rudiments of. the Latin language, in addition to the necessary attainments of aieacher. But thg government and the people are not satisfied that, because a teacher has passed through one of these training establishments, he is therefore fit to under- take the management of a village school. Far from it. When the normal college course is finished, the young aspirants are obliged to submit to another exailiination, which is conducted by the professors of the college in the presence of a counsellor from the provincial schulcoUegium, the educational counsellor of the county court, and a delegate from the Roman Catholic bishop, or Ptotestent superintendent of the county, aocoi'ding as the school is for Romanist or for Prot- estant students. These different personages ought to be present, but I was assured that, in general, only the educational counsellor of the county court assisted at the examination . At its conclusion, if the directors and professors have been satisfied with the conduct of the young men, duing their residence in the college, and have no reason to doubt the excellence of their moral character, and the ortho- doxy of their religious belief, the young candidates receive diplomas marked according to the manner in which they acquitted themselves in the examination, " I," " 2," or " 3," and signed by the director and professors, and by the mem- bers of the provincial schulcoUegium. Those who obtain the diplomas marked." 1," are legally authorized to officiate as teachers, without futher scrutiny, but those who only obtain those marked " 2" or "3," are only appointed to schools for two or three years on trial, and at the end of that time, are obliged to return, to the normal college and undergo another examination. It is not, however, necessary that a young man should pass through a normal college, in order to obtain a diploma enabling him to officiate as teacher. Any person, who has received 4b good an education as to enable him to pass the exam- ination at a normal college, can obtain one, if his character is unimpeachable. By far the greatest proportion, however, of the teachers of Prussia are educated in the normal colleges. When they have obtained these diplomas, the county courts present them to such school committees as require teachers ; and if these parochial committees are satisfied with them, they are elected. In such a numerous body as that of the Prussian teachers, there are always numerous vacancies. The number of colleges and students are so arranged, as to regularly supply that, vfhich is found to be the average number of yearly vacancies. 174 PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. The candidates who have obtained only the diplomas ra3rked."2," or "3," hold their offices, as I have said, only provisionally ; and, in order to be definitely appointed, are obliged, at the termination of their specified period of trial, either to obtain the approval of the local inspector, or to undergo another examination ; and I was assured, that they are sometimes obliged to return three or four times to be examined, ere they can obtain a definite appointment ; such cave does the country take, that none but fit persons shall occupy this responsible position. When he is once appointed, however, the teacher is thenceforward a county and not a parochial officer. No person or set of persons in immediate connection with him can turn him out of his situation, without having first obtained the sanction of the county magistrates. After the parochial ministers and householders have once elected him, they have no power to deprive him of his salary or his situation. No one but the county magistrates of the union inspector, who, by living at a dis- tance, are not likely to be aflFeoted by personal prejudices or parochial disputes, can interfere directly with the teacher, and should the latter deem the interference of even the inspector uncalled for, he can always appeal to the superior anthoritiea, or even to the minister of education himself. The parochial committees have, how- ever, the power of complaining of the teacher to the county magistrates, if they think he is acting unwisely or immorally ; and such complaints always receive immediate and special attention. When any such complaints are made, the county court dispatches an inspector to examine into the matter, and empowers him, if he thinks the teacher worthy of censure, fine, or expulsion, to act accordingly. If, however, the teacher is not blameable, the inspector explains the matter to the parochial authorities, and effects a reconciliation between the parties. If the inspector should deem the teacher worthy of punishment, and this latter shonld be dissatisfied with the sentence, he can carry the matter before a justice of the peace ; and if he is not satisfied with his decision, he can appeal to the provincial schulcoUegium, thence to the minister of instruction, and thence, if he desires, to the king himself ; of so much importance does the Prussian government deem it, to protect the teachers, and to raise their office in public opinion. I have men- tioned that a Prussian teacher seldom leaves his profession ; but that many change their positions. When a good and well paid situation falls vacant in any parish, an experienced teacher, who already occupies some worse paid situation in another parish, and who has obtained credit for his excellent school-management, is pre- ferred by the school committee to the young adepts fresh from the normal colleges. On this account, the young men generally commence vrith an inferior position, and earn better ones, according as they manage the first they entered. It is evi- dent, how important a regulation this is, as the teachers of the poorest schools are saved from becoming listless and dispirited, and are rendered earnest and indus- trious, in the hopes of bettering their situation. The country is, however, gradually improving the salaries of all the teachers. No village or town is ever allowed to lessen the amount it has once given to a teacher. What it has once given, it is obliged to continue to give in future. It may increase it as much as it likes, and the county courts have the power of interfering, and saying, " Ton have hitherto paid your teachers too little ; you must augment the teacher's salary." This is only done, however, when it is known, that tlie parish or town is capable of increasing the school salaries and is unwilling to do so. Tlie importance of enabling the teachers to command the respect of the people, of rendering them independent of those in immediate connection with them and of protecting them from ignorant interference and mere personal animosity is so fully recognized in Prussia, that even when the school is endowed, and managed by trustees, these trustees, after having once elected a teadier, are not permitted to dismiss him, unless they can prove to the county courr that they have sufficient cause for complaint. The teacher, elected by ti'ustees, has the privilege of appeal- ing to the minister of education in Berlin, against tlie act of the trustees and county magistrates, just as well as all the other teachers of Prussia. The reasons which have induced the Pi-ussian government to render the teachers, after their election, so independent of those in immediate connection with them appear to have been — 1st. Because the teachers of Prussia are a very learned body, and from their long study of pedagogy, have acquired greater ability than any persons in the art PRUSSIAN TEACHt:HS. ,h. of teaching. They are, therefore, better qualified than any other persons to con- duct the instruction of tlieir children ; bat, if those persons who have never studied pedagogy could interfere with them, and say, " You shall teach it in. this way or in that, or else leave the parish," the teachers would often be obliged to pursue some ridiculous, inefficient method, merely to please the whims of per- sons not experienced in school management, and the enlightenment of the people would thus be often considerably retarded. 2d. Because, if the parishioners or the parochial ministers had a right to turn away a teacher, whenever he chanced to displease them, the teachers would always be liable to, and would often suffer from, foolish personal dislikes, founded on no good ground. They would thus lose their independence of character, by being forced to suit their conduct to the whims of those around them, instead of being able to act faithfully and conscientiously to all ; or by being - exposed to the insults or impertinence of ignorant persons, who did not understand and appre- ciate the value and importance of their labors ; or by being prevented from acting &ithfully toward the children, from fear of offending the parents ; or by being forced to cringe to and flatter the ignorance, and even the vices, of those around them, instead of being able to combat them ; and they would thus generally, by one or other of these ways, forfeit at least some part of the respect of the parents of their children, and would, consequently, find their lessons and advice robbed of one-half their weight, arid their labors of a great part of their efficiency. For these reasons, the Prussian government endeavors to give as much liberty as possible to the teachers, and to fetter their hands as little as possible. In the normal colleges they receive instruction in the different methods of teaching ; and, out of these, each teacher is at liberty to follow whichever seems to him the best calculated to promote the growth of the intelligence of his scholars. It is felt, thaj without this liberty, a teacher would often work unwillingly, and that a discon- tented or unwilling teacher is worse than none at all. In the choice of their books and apparatus, the teachers are allowed an almost equal freedom. If a teacher finds a book, which he thinks better calculated for instruction, than the one he has been in the habit of using, he sends it through the inspector to the educational counsellor of the county court, who forward it to the sehulcoUegium for approval ; and, as soon as this is obtained,. the teacher can introduce it into his school. There are, already, a great many books in each province, which have been thus sanc- tioned ; and out of these, every teacher in the province can choose whichever pleases him most. These school-books are, generally, written by teachers ; and, from what I saw of them, they seemed to evince a profound knowledge of the science of pedagogy. Until a book has been thus sanctioned by the sehulcoUe- gium, which has the management of the normal colleges and gymnasia of -its province, it can not be introduced into a parochial school. The teachers are not assisted by monitors in Germany, as in Switzerland, rranoe, and England ; and this I think a very great error. I have often been in schools in Prussia, where the teacher had about one hundred children of different degrees of proficiency to instruct in the same class-room, without any assistance whatever ; the consequence was, that while he was teaching one class, the others were in disorder, and making noise enough to distract the attention of the chil- dreii, who were receiving instruction, as well as that of the teacher, who was giving it ; while the teacher, instead of being able to devote his time to the higher branches of instruction, and to the children, who more particularly needed his ,care, was obliged to divide it among all, and to superintend himself the verj' lowest branches of instruction ; and this, too, at the sacrifice of the order and quiet of his school. When I represented this to the teachers, I was always answered, " Yes, that is'true ; but then we think, that a young monitor is unable to educate the minds of the children under his care, and is consequently likely to do them much injury." This is, no doubt, the result, if the teachers leave the education of any of his children entirely to monitors j but he has no need to do this ; he ought to employ his monitors merely in superintending the more mechan- ical parts of instruction, such as writing, and learning the alphabet, and also in preserving order ; he might then himself conduct the mental education of all the children. But this they will not do in Prussia ; they are so afraid of injuring the mental culture of the children, that they positively throw away a very important lYfJ PRUSSIAN TSSACHERS. means for the attainment of this end. In Switzerland, a veiy diflferent course is pursued ; the teachers are assisted in keeping order, and in teaching the more meohaaiioal parts of instruction, by monitors, chosen from among their most advanced pupils. These monitors remain with the teacher, until they are of suf^ fioient age to go to a normal college ; they are paid, I believe, by th« parishes, and ai'e instructed by the teachers in the evenings. From among them, the young candidates for the vacant places in the normal colleges are, chosen; so that the Swiss teachers have often been engaged in schools, and in school management, ftom their earliest years. Besides this advantage, the country is spared a great expense ; for in Prussia, where they have no monitors, they are obliged to aug- ment tiie number of their teachers very considerably ; and I have found in a small school, which could have been very easily managed by one teacher and some well trained monitors, as many as three teachers, for each of whom good salaries had to be provided, as well as houses and gardens. Doubtless, it is much better to have experienced teachers, than young monitors ; and hence it is that the town schools in Prussia are very much better than those of other countries, as the town committees can afford to engage a sufficient number of teachers ; but in the poor country parishes this is not the case, and there it is, where the want of monitors is most severely felt, as a large school is often left entirely to the unaided care of a single teacher. But this very defect in the Prussian system arises from the great anxiety of the educational authorities, that the religious and moral education of the young should not sutler. Still I think it is a very great mistake ; and I am sure that many schools I saw in Prussia suffer grievously from this regulation. But it will be asked, how are the salaries of the teachers provided, and what is their amount 1 The regulations on this subject are particularly deserving of attention. The Prussian government clearly saw, that nothing could tend more strongly to nullify their efforts to raise the teachers' profession in the eyes of the people, than to leave the salaries of the teachers dependent, either on uncertain payments, or on private benevolence. To have done so would have been to destroy the independence of the profession. The Prussian government, therefore, decreed that, however small and from whatever source the teacher's salary should be derived, its amount should always be fixed before his appointment, and that the payment should be certain and regular. As I mentioned before, each succeeding teacher must be paid, at Uagt, as much his predecessor received. The county magistrates have the power of obliging each town or parish to increase the amount of the salaries of their teachers, when- ever they think the town or parish is paying too little, and can afford to pay more. These salaries are now wholly paid by the school or town committees, from the funds raised by local taxation. Before the late law, which made education gratui- tous, they were derived, in part, from the school fees. But the amount of the salary did not, in any case, depend on that of the fees, nor was the teacher ever placed in the invidious position of being obliged himself to collect these monthly payments. They were always collected by a tax-gatherer, appointed by the village or town magistrate ; and when they did not amount to the fixed salary, which the school committee had agreed to pay to the teacher, they wei-e increased by a paro- chial rate, levied on the householders. In many cases, however, the schools are endowed, and for admission into these, no school fees were ever required. But where feea were required, and where a parent was too poor to pay them, the parochial or town authorities were always obliged, by law, to pay them for him. The following, are the regulations, which define the minunum of the salai*ies of the Prussians. Some of the country schools have each as many as three teachers ■ but the number of teachers in a country school in Prussia does not, generally, exceed two ; and in many of these school, there is only one teacher. Where there are several, one is the head master, and the others are his assistants. The laws relating to their payment are as follows ; " The first teacher in a country school, or, if there be only one, then the single teacher shall receive, as his yearly salai'y and the perquisites of his ofiioe at least : • Ist. Fi-ee lodging. 2d. The necessary fuel for the warming of the school-room, and of his own dwelling-house and for his household economy. PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. ji^y 3d. A piece of land, as near as possible to the school, of from one to three Prussian acres large ; the tillage and manuring of which are to he done at the expense of the parish.' 4th. A kitchen garden behind his house, of not less than half a Prussian acre. 5 th. The necessary building for his little farming operations. 6th. Free summer pasture for at l&ast two cows. 7th. Twelve bushels of rye meal, two cart-loads of hay, and two oart-loads of straw. 8th. ^l. 10». in money." [It must be remembered that 11. 10». in Prusssia, is worth about as much as 122., ($60,).in England, and that this is only the sum which has been fixed by law as the legal minimum, and by na means gives an idea of the amount of salaries paid to the Pjussian teachers.] " If the field, garden, or svmimer pasture for his cows can not be provided by the parish, the county court must determine what equivalent in money must be given him. The second, third, &o., teacher in a cbuntry school must receive — 1st. Free lodging. 2d. The fuel necessary for warming his house. .3d. 9i. in money, (or about 15Z. in Engli^ value.) The teachers of the towns must receive — 1st. Free lodging and fuel. 2d. The first teacher should receive at least 40Z. per annum, and the other teachers at least 30Z. per annum," in English values. I found these regijations among some educational laws issued by the govern- ment in 1845, for one of the provinces ; but Dr. Bruggeman assured me, that similar laws were in operation for the whole of Prussia. The above emoluments are the lowest the teachers can receive according to law. The government is about to raise this minimum considerably, and to increase the salaries throughout Prussia. Hitherto many have been paid but poorly ; very few, however, have deserted their profession, or engaged in other occupations, as they are generally proud of their position, and satisfied.with it. HeiT Peters, a teacher of a primary school in Bonn, with whom I spent some time, said to me, one day, " The Prussian teachers do not receive high salaries ; but," he a!dded, with emphasis, " however little the salary of a teacher may be above the legal minimum, it is oei-tain, and collected for him by the parochial authorities, without his having to trouble himself about it." The law, as I have mentioned, is very strict in requiring the payments of the salaries to be made with the utmost regularity. It is easy to see how invaluable, for any country, a great privileged class, hke that of the Prussian teachers, must be, especially when many of its members are, as in Prussia, chosen by the state from amongst the most highly gifted of the peasant class, and educated at the expense of the country. It is, in fact, for modern Prussia, just what the Roman Catholic Church was, for Europe in the middle ages; it is a ladder, by which all the genius of the lowest orders may ascend into a suitable field of action. A young peasant boy of promising abili- ties pushed on by the restless spirit, which so often characterizes youth of real genius, and anxious to better his position in the world, or to gain some sphere of action more congenial to his taste, than the farm-yard,'or the workshop, finds in Prussia, the teacher's career open to him. If he can only distinguish himself in, his village school, and pass the entrance examination of a normal college, he gains a high education at no expense, and is then sure (if he conducts himself well, and distinguishes himself in the normal college) to obtain a teacher's place, to put himself in immediate connection with the government, and to gain a very honorable situation, affording him the amplest field for the development and exercise of his talents. A clever , peasant in Prussia, instead of becoming a Chartist, enters a normal college, and becomes a teacher. There is no need for a young peasant to despond in Prussia, and say, "Here I am, endowed wittt talents fitting me for another sphere, but shut out by doors, which can only be opened with a golden key." Far otherwise. Free places are retained m the gymnasia for poor boys, who wish to continue their studies ; and from these colleges they can enter either into the ranks of the Protestant or Romanist clergy, 12 178 PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. or into those of the teachers ; and, in the last case, without having any thing to pay for their education. It is easy to comprehend, how this tends to allay political strife and discontent. In our oonntry, this is often occasioned, or, at least, in- creased, by some one or two clever mdividuals, who find themselves confined within a sphere, too narrow for their talents and energies, and who, by their own rest- less murmurs, arouse the dormant passions of their neighbors. The German governments have been wiser in their day than our freer countries. They have separated the fiery spirits from the easily excited masses, and converted them into earnest, active, and indeiatigable fosterers of the public morality, and into guar- dians of the common weal. In considering the salaries and privileges of the teachers, it must also be borne in mind, that they are exempt from taxation, and that they are free from all obli- gation to serve in the army, and to attend the yearly military exercises. On the installation of a new teacher, the parochial or school authorities are obliged, either to send conveyances for the transport of his femily and goods, or to pay the expenses of such transport, for any distance less than fifty English miles. But, if the teacher leaves his situation before the expiration of five years, he is obliged to repay to the local authorities the expenses of this conveyance. Whenever a new teacher is introduced into a parochial school, his installation is a public ceremony, at which all the parochial authorities assist, in order to impress the people with a sense of the importance of his office and his duties, and to encourage among them a respect for him, vrithout which his hopes of suc- cess in his labors must be necessarily very small. The ceremony of installation generally takes place in the parochial church, where the new teacher is presented, by the religious minister, to the civil authori- ties, and to the inhabitants of the parish. The children, whose education he has to conduct, are always present at the ceremony. The Prussian government feels that, unless it can render the profession honorable and worthy of men of high characters and attainments, all its attempts to raisp the religious and moral tone of the education of the people will be ever unavailing. I have not hitherto iSentioned Prussian schoolmistresses, because there are but few ^ and because the regulations, with respect to their education, examina- tion, and appointment, are precisely similar to those relating to schoohnasters. Among the Protestants of Prussia there are scarcely any schoolmistresses ; the greatest part of the Prussian female teachers are Romanists, and for their educa- tion there are .several normal colleges established in the Romanist provinces of Prussia. I inquired of the Romanist counsellor in the Bureau of Public Instruc- tion in Berlin, whether it was not found difficult to retain the female teachers long at their posts, on account of their making such eligible wives, even for the farmers. But he assured me, that this was not the ease, as fer as their female teachers were concerned, as they form among themselves a body like the order of the Sisters of Charity, with this distinction, that instead of actually taking a solemn public vow of celibacy, it is generally understood among them, that they shall not marry, but shall devote themselves, during the remainder of their lives, to the duties of school management and instruction. In this respect the Roman- ists have a great advantage over the Protestants ; for I found, in the Protestant cantons of Switzerland, just the same objection to the employment of female teachers, as that which is experienced among the Protestants of Prussia and pf England, viz., that a young woman, who has been carefully trained in a good normal college, until she is twenty years of age, makes so good a wife for men, even in the middle classes of society, that she always marries, soon after leaving the college ; and, consequently, that a much greater supply of students and col- leges are Required, in order to supply the constant vacancies, which occur in the ranks, and that the expenses of educating a sufficient number of female teachers are, therefore, too great in general to be supported, unless the students pay for their own education, which very few of the young women, who ai-e desir- ous of being teachers, are able to do. In the Romanist cantons of Switzerland, the Sisters of Charity conduct the education of the girls ; and their schools are the best and most pleasing female schools I have ever seen. Herr Stiehl, one of the Protestant educational ooun- PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. ji^y sellors and chief inspector of Prussia, confirmed all that the Catholic minister had tald me, and stated that, for the reasons above mentioned, the Prussian Pro- testants found it impossible to keep the female teachers long in their situations: and that the expense of constantly educating fresh female teachers, to supply the places of those who married, was too great to be borne. The Prussians, how- ever, in general, prefer male teachers for the girls, even where they can obtain female ; so that in nearly all the schools I visited, I found schoolmasters, and not schoolmistresses, instructing the girls' classes. The Prussians would ridicule the idea of confiding the education of the girls to imeducated mistresses, such as those in our dame, and in most of our female schools. They can not conceive the ease of a parent, who would be willing to commit his child to the care of a person, who had not been educated, most care- fully and religiously, in that most difficult of all arte, the art of teaching. They think, that a teacher must either improve and elevate the minds of his children, or else injure and debase them. They believe, that there is no such thing as beihg able to come into daily contact. with a child, without doing him either good or harm. The Prussians know, that the minds of the young are never stationary, but always in progress ; and that this progress is always either a moral or an immoral one, either forward or backward ; and hence the extraordinary expen- diture the country is bearing, and the extraordinary pains it is taking, to support and improve its training establishments for teachers. In order to increase the feeling of union and brotherhood, whiqji already exists in a high degree among the Prussian teachers, and in order to encourage them to renewed exertions, and to diminish as much as possible, the feeling of isolation which must always exist, in some degree, where an educated man &ids himself placed in a solitary country parish, surrounded by peasantry less culti- vated than himself, and cut ofi' from the literary society, to Which he had been accustomed at the normal college, the government promotes the frequent holding of teachers' conferences, for the purpose of mutual improvement and encourage- ment. These conferences are held very often, over the whole of Germany, Switzerland, France, and Holland, and the benefits residting from them are very great indeed. In Prussia, there are three kinds of such conferences, of which I shall now give a short account. The first is that of the province. In several of the provinces of Prussia, all the teachers, both Catholic and Protestant, assemble once a year, inr some town, which has been agreed upon at their last meeting^ and on a predetermined day. The duration of the meeting is diiFerent in dif- ferent parte ; sometimes only for one, and sometimes for several days. Their objecte, too, are different. Sometimes it is for mutual instruction, whilst at others it is for pleasure. But, whatever be the nominal purpose of their assembling, the real end of it is, to produce the feeUng of association and brother- hood, which is one of the strongest enoouragemente to isolated and single efforts. Besides these yearly provincial assemblies, there is also another meetiiig of teachers held monthly in every kreis or union. The principal ecclesiastical authority or school-inspector of the union summons and presides over it. This meeting is more especially intended for the purposes of instruction, than that of the province. It laste only one day ; the teachers meet early in the morning, and disperse again in the evening. They dine together at noon, and spend the morning and afternoon in conferences and mutual improvement. They assemble at some town or village in the union on an appointed day, of which the union inspector gives them each notice some weeks beforehand, fii the morning, they al| meet in one of the schools, or in some great room of the town. A class of children, taken from one of the schools of the town, is assembled there. One of the teachers, generally one of the younger ones, is chosen by his cprapanions to give these children a lesson, on some subject of instruction in the primary schools. The teacher who is selected, gives the lesson before all the others assembled at the conference. When the lesson is ended, the children are dismissed, and the remaining teachers then begin to criticise the manner, in which the instruction was given, and each shows, how he thinks it might have been improved : ■ and then a debate ensues on the merits of different methods of teaching and of different plans of school management. This plan of debating at the conferences, on methods of instruction, makes the igO PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. teachers think, and stimulates them to inquire, how they can impart instruction in the most efficient manner. It makes them also eager to improve their manner of teaching, as each one fears to exhibit any ignorance of his profession, or any un- skillfulness before his professional brethren, and desires to win their applause by his ability ; and it makes them properly attentive to all the minutiae of their pro- fession, as well as to the more interesting studies connected with it. I was 'present at one of these teachers' conferences. It was attended not only by the teachers from the primary schools, but also by professors from the superior schools and colleges, and was presided over by the director of a normal college. I do not think the importance of these meetings can be exaggerated. They are not only, as I have before said, a great encouragement to the isolated teachers ; but they are a continual source of instruction and improvement to all in their most important duties. The teachers continue at these meetings the instruction they commenced at the normal colleges ; they discuss all the new school-bookii that have appeared, all the new regulations that have been issued, all the new plans that have been tried ;» and they inform one another of the progress of their different districts. In France and South Germany, they have so strongly felt the impoi-tance of these meetings, that the expenses of the teachers in traveling to them are borne by the government ; and in Holland and the Duchy of Baden, the government inspectors assist at them, and join in the debates. In some parts of Switzerland, also, they are very well organized ; and in the canton of Neuf- chatel, I remember to have read a number of a very interesting periodical, which was published after each conference, and which contained several most instructive and very able papers, which had been read at the previous meeting of the village school professors. Besides those conferences, which I have already mentioned, there is still another kind, which is held in Prussia. This is when a parish is very large, and contains several schools and many teachers. In such cases, the chief ecclesiastical author- ity summons a meeting of all the parochial teachers once a month, for purposes of mutual instruction, similar to the meetings in the unions. Sometimes the clergy- man himself gives them a lecture on religious instruction, and, at other times, they debate among themselves on questions of pedagogy, or criticise one another's methods of teaching; but Id all cases the object of the meetings is the same, viz., mutual encouragement and improvement. As the religious ministers preside at these parochial and union conferences, they have an opportunity of aiddressing the teachers on their religious duties, and of giving them advice and instruction respecting the true end they ought to keep in view in their school lessons, and on the care they ought to take to keep this end constantly in sight. The ministers also give the teachers advice and counsel respecting the manner, in which their religious lesson ought to be given, in order the more strongly to im- press the minds of their scholars with the serious import of the truths of the Scriptures ; and they have the opportunity of reminding the yonnger teachers of the particular parts of the Scripture, which they ought more particularly to lay before the different classes of their children, and of the method of religious instruction which they ought to pursue. Bnt it is impossible to detail all the great and obvious advantages, which result from these meetings of the clergy and the school professors, or to enumerate the different subjects of reflection, debate, ■and conversation, which are started and discussed at them. They are the sup- plements, so to speak, of the normal colleges, and serve, in an admirable manner, to carry forward the education, which the young aspirants to the teachers' profes- sion pommenoed at these institutions, and to continually revive through after-life the knowledge imparted in them. I have now shown how the government provides for the education appoint- ment, payment, protection, encouragement, and continual improvement ot the teachers. It remains for me to show, how the Prussian government secures the teacher from all fear of being disabled, by sickness or old age, from pni'suinc his labors or providing for his family. It would be a great disgrace for a profession such as that of the Prussian teachers, were the fate of a superannuated teacher to be the same as in our country ; where there is in general no otlier refuge for such a person, than the workhouse or the hospital. Doubtless, if Pi'us4ia did not feel PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. - ., loX more interested than we do, in the protection of this most important class of puln lio servants, it would not care what became of them, when they were too old or too weak • to attend the schools. But Prussia fully appreciates the value of the labors of her teachers, and has a sincere respect for them, and a lively concern in their welfare. The government has felt_that to oast off and forsake all the old and faithful teachers, when they could work no longer, would be to disgust the whole body, to break off the sympathies which unite them to their profeia- sion, and to shut out of it many noble spirits. It has, therefore, most carefully guarded against these results, by the regulations, which I shall now proceed to describe. If a teacher, who has been definitely appointed, becomes imable to fulfill the duties of his station, either through the utter breaking up of his hellth, or by old age, the authorities who appointed him, whether they were the county coMt, the town school commission, or the parochial school committee, are obliged to pension him for the remainder of his life. This pension must, according to law, amount to at least one-third of his former income. Whether the committee settles more than this upon a teacher or not, depends upon the manner in which he has labored, whilst he was yet able to do so, and upon the resources which the committee finds at its disposal. When, however, the teacher is not so far incapacitated for exertion as to be unable to do any thing, but only so far as to require assistance, the local committee or county court is not allowed to dismiss him on a pension, but is required to provide him an assistant, who must be chosen from among the young men, who, have been educated in the normal colleges, and who have obtained certificates of qualifiea- tion for their duties. If the school, to which a teacher has been appointed, is supported by or belongs to a landed proprietor, this latter is obliged to pension the teacher, when incapac- itated for his duties by illness or old age ; and if the school is one of royal found- ation, the court of the county, in which it is situated, must pension him. The Prussian government, although professedly a military state, has shown itself at least as deeply interested in the welfare of its teachers, as in that of its soldiers, whilst we, who disown the appellation of a military people, take greater care of our soldiers than of our teachers. Besides the provisions for the pensioning of the superannuated teachers, there is another law in force in Prussia, which relates to the future provision of the widows and orphans of deceased schoolmasters, and which is deserving of equal praise. In each union a society is formed, of which the principal ecclesiastical author- ity in the union is the president, the object of which is to provide for the support of the widows and orphans of deceased teachers. The' regulations of these soci- eties differ a little, I believe, in the different provinces ; but it will not be neces- sary here to examine them so minutely, as to show what is peculiar to each. I shall only attempt to give a brief sketch of them, as I have collected it from the laws, which have. been framed for some of the eastern counties of Prussia, and which I have now before me. Every definitely appointed teacher, whether in town or country, must become a member of the society established in his union, for the assistance of the widows and orphans of deceased teachers. Every teacher must pay a small entrance fee on his becoming a member, and afterward a small yearly sum. The amounts of these sums are in all oases con- finedfwithin certain limits, and can neither fall below nor rise above them. On the amount of the yearly subscription paid by the teacher depends the value of the pension, which his widow or children will be entitled to receive, after his death, from the director of the union society. There are generally three difFerent pensions, varying in value, for either of which the teacher may subscribe at his own discretion, but for one of which he must pay his annual subscription. If he pay to the first and best, his widow or children will receive the greatest pension given by the society, and this is always very much more than the interest of his money, calculated on life averages, would have entitled him to receive, as the societies are not commercial enterprises, but charitable institutions. To enable' &e socaeties, therefore, to meet the calls upon their treasuries, it is often neces- I g2 PRUSSIAN TEACHERS. anry, that they should be assisted in some extraordinary manner, and this is done by oolleotions made in the union churches by the ecclesiastical supermtendent, and by assistance granted by the county courts. When a teacher dies, howeTer soon it may be after his having commenced his subscription, leaymg a wife or children to young to support themselves, they receive the pension for which their fether had subscribed. The wife &ntinues to receive it for life, and the ebildren until they are old enough to earn their own subsistence, or until they attain the age of fourteen years ; for before this time they are not generaUy able to leave the parochial schools and commence labor. If he leaves several children, the pension is paid, until the youngest attains this age. But if the widow marnes again, she loses her pension, as it is suRiosed, that her second husband is able to support her. By these means, the Prussian teacher is freed from all anxiety, about the fate of his family after his death, and is less tempted than he would be, if their after maintenance depended upon his own small savings, to divert his mmd from his important duties, by the desire of making a provision, sufficient to support them, if he were to die before they were able to support themselves. Besides these great advantages, the regulations, which I have described, tend to raise the pro- fession in the estimation of the poor, who thus see, that the government considers not only the teachers. themselves, but that their wives and families also, are de- serving of its especial protection. They also render the situation of a teacher more desirable for literary and clever young men, who find it an honorable station suited to their tastes, and freed from those anxieties, against which a literary man is often the least fitted to contend. There is still another cause, which contributes, in a very powerful manner, to foster the feeling of brotherhood, between the Prussian teachers. I refer to the teachers' journals. These journals are periodicals, which appear weekly or monthly, and contain all the latest news and statistics, of the progress of education in all the countries of the world ; original articles on different questions relating to the general man- agement of schools^ and the different methods of instruction ; accounts of par- ticular schools distinguished by some particular excellence or other ; biographies of distinguished teachers and professors ; and reviews of all the latest works