LIBRARY 
 
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 International Ctrmatt0n: juries 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 WILLIAM T. HAEEIS, A. M., LL. D. 
 
 VOLUME XII.
 
 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES. 
 
 EDITED BY W. T. HARRIS. 
 
 IT is proposed to publish, under the above title, a library for teachers 
 and school managers, and text-books for normal classes. The aim will 
 be to provide works of a useful practical character in the broadest sense. 
 The following conspectus will show the ground to be covered by the series : 
 
 I. History Of Education. (A.) Original systems as ex- 
 pounded by their founders, (B.) Critical histories which set forth the 
 customs of the past and point out their advantages and defects, explain- 
 ing the grounds of their adoption, and also of their final disuse. 
 
 II. Educational Criticism. (A.) The noteworthy arraign- 
 ments which educational reformers have put forth against existing sys- 
 tems : these compose the classics of pedagogy. (B.) The critical histories 
 above mentioned. 
 
 III. Systematic Treatises on the Theory of Edu- 
 cation. (A.) Works written from the historical standpoint ; these, 
 for the most part, show a tendency to justify the traditional course of 
 study and to defend the prevailing methods of instruction. (B.) Works 
 written from critical standpoints, and to a greater or less degree revolu- 
 tionary in their tendency. 
 
 IV. The Art of Education. (A.) Works on instruction 
 and discipline, and the practical details of the school-room. (B.) Works 
 on the organization and supervision of schools. 
 
 Practical insight into the educational methods in vogue can not be 
 attained without a knowledge of the process by which they have come to 
 be established. For this reason it is proposed to give special prominence 
 to the history of the systems that have prevailed. 
 
 Again, since history is incompetent to furnish the ideal of the future, 
 it is necessary to devote large space to works of educational criticism. 
 Criticism is the purifying process by which ideals are rendered clear and 
 potent, so that progress becomes possible. 
 
 History and criticism combined make possible a theory of the whole. 
 For, with an ideal toward which the entire movement tends, and an ac- 
 count of the phases that have appeared in time, the connected develop- 
 ment of the whole can be shown, and all united into one system. 
 
 Lastly, after the science, comes the practice. The art of education is 
 treated in special works devoted to the devices and technical details use- 
 ful in the school-room. 
 
 It is believed that the teacher does not need authority so much as in- 
 sight in matters of education. When he understands the theory of edu- 
 cation and the history of its growth, and has matured his own point 
 of view by careful study of the critical literature of education, then he is 
 competent to select or invent such practical devices as are best adapted 
 to his own wants. 
 
 The series will contain works from European as well as American 
 authors, and will be under the editorship of W. T. HARRIS, A. M., LL. D.
 
 Vol. I. The Philosophy of Education. By JOUANN KARL FRIED- 
 RICH liOSKNKKANZ. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. II. A History of Education. By Professor F. V. N. PAINTER, 
 of Roanoke, Virginia. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. III. The Rise and Early Constitution of Universities. 
 
 With a Survey of Mediteval Kducation. By S. S. LAURIE. LL. D., 
 Professor of the Institutes and History of Education in the Univcr.-ity 
 of Edinburgh. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. IV. The Ventilation and Warming of School Buildings. 
 
 By GILBERT B. MORRISON, Teacher of Physics and Chemistry in Kan- 
 sas City High School. 75 cents. 
 
 Vol. V. The Education of Man. By FRIEDRICH FROEHEL. Trans- 
 lated from the German and annotated by W. N. HAILMAN, Superin- 
 tendent of Public Schools at La Porte, Indiana. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. VI. Elementary Psychology and Education. By JOSEPH 
 BALDWIN, Principal of the Sam Houston State Normal School, Ilunts- 
 ville, Texas. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. VII. The Senses and the Will. Observations concerning the 
 Mental Development of the Human Being 1 in the Mrst Years of Life. 
 By W. PREYER, Professor of Pbvsiology in Jena. ' Translated from 
 th'e original German, by II. W. BROWN, Teacher in the State Normal 
 School at Worcester, Mass. Part I of THE MIND OF THE CHILD. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. VIII. Memory. What it is and how to improve it. By DAVID 
 KAY, F. R. G. S. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. IX. The Development of the Intellect. Observations con- 
 cerning the Mental Development of the Human Being in the First 
 Years of Life. By W. PREYER, Professor of Physiology in Jena. 
 Translated from the original German, bv H. W. BROWN, Teacher in 
 the State Normal School at Worcester, Mass. Part II of THE MIND 
 OF THE GUILD. $1.50. 
 
 Vol. X. How to Study Geography. By FRANCIS W. PARKER. 
 Prepared for the Professional Training Class of the Cook County (ill.) 
 Normal School. 
 
 Vol. XI. Education in the United States. Its Historv from the 
 Earliest Settlements. By RICHARD G. BOONE, A. M., Professor of 
 Pedagogy in Indiana University. 
 
 Vol. XII. European Schools. Or whut I Saw in the Schools of Ger- 
 many, France, Austria, and Switzerland. By L. R. K I.I.MM. Ph. I)., 
 Author of "Chip.s from a Teacher's Workshop," and numerous school- 
 books. $J.OO. 
 
 Vol. XIII. Practical Hints for the Teachers of Public Schools. 
 
 By GEOUOE HOWLAND, Superintendent of the Chicago Schools. $1.00. 
 
 Vol. XIV. School Supervision. By J. L. PICKAED, LL. D.
 
 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES 
 
 EUROPEAN SCHOOLS 
 
 BY 
 
 L. R. KLEMM, PH. D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "CHIPS FROM A TEACHER'S WORKSHOP 1 
 AND NUMEROUS SCHOOL-BOOKS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 1890
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1889, 
 BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
 
 EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 THE editor presents this volume of the " International 
 Education Series" with some degree of confidence that 
 the reader will find it the first attempt of its kind yet 
 made that proves of real help in the school-room. Al- 
 though much has been written and published regarding 
 European schools, yet, on the whole, teachers have found 
 little profit in reading it. Vague encomiums on the ex- 
 cellence of methods, sweeping criticisms on features that 
 did not suit the taste of the writer, minute accounts of 
 governmental provision for education, rules and regula- 
 tions, arrangements for supervision all these things have 
 wearied the reader without furnishing him new ideas that 
 he could use to advantage. Nor have the descriptions 
 of buildings, statistics of attendance, illiteracy and such 
 matters, although sometimes useful to stir up emulation, 
 satisfied him. Volumes containing immense masses of in- 
 formation compiled from programmes and official regula- 
 tions have been of still less use. The teacher turns away 
 from such things, and asks for a book that will show him 
 how to do his work of instruction in another and better 
 manner than his own. He wishes to hear of methods, 
 but not in a vague, general way. Let the author show 
 him teachers and pupils at work, and report enough of the
 
 Vi EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 essential details to furnish him hints that will assist him 
 in his own efforts. 
 
 The lively pictures which Karl von Raumer gives of 
 the work of Pestalozzi and his pupils are remembered by 
 us as model reports of school-work. They enable us still 
 to see with our own eyes, as it were, the method of the fa- 
 mous pedagogue, with its merits and defects clearly por- 
 trayed. 
 
 This book of Dr. Klemm is not intended as a critical 
 estimate of the school systems of the countries visited. It 
 does not attempt to give the average school nor to exhaust 
 the range of good and poor schools. The author wisely 
 avoids the inferior schools, and adopts the sensible plan of 
 seeking the best and reporting only what he finds note- 
 worthy. He limits himself, for the most part, to what is 
 useful in the class-room. He takes pains to express his 
 preferences quite frankly, and does not expect that the 
 reader will agree with him on all occasions as to the value 
 of the devices that he describes. The reader will, how- 
 ever, thank him for his candor, even when he can not ac- 
 cept his guidance, and feel sure that a less enthusiastic 
 observer would not prove so accommodating in lending 
 the use of his note-book. 
 
 The author's readiness with the pencil assists us in 
 seeing many important pieces of apparatus and many 
 processes of instruction that we should fail to understand 
 from a merely verbal description. This is noticeable es- 
 pecially in his account of the industrial and manual- 
 training movements. 
 
 He draws attention to the difference between French 
 and German aims in this field of education, and states 
 very clearly that the one seeks to find a direct preparation 
 for the trades in its industrial schools, while the other
 
 EDITOR'S PREFACE. v ii 
 
 wishes to get what is educative to the pupil from its 
 manual work. 
 
 What is said of instruction in drawing is very interest- 
 ing, but it leaves the reader in doubt whether the educa- 
 tors in some of the countries of Europe are not looking 
 in a wrong direction for the chief object. For it is not 
 the question of drawing from the flat, or from objects, that 
 reaches the essential point in the educational value of 
 drawing. This concerns the beauty of what is drawn or 
 pictured, rather than how it is copied. If ugly shapes are 
 drawn, either from real objects or from other representa- 
 tions, the taste of the pupil is debased. So, too, if the 
 pupil is allowed to make ugly-shaped objects in wood, like 
 those wooden spoons, boot- jacks, and mallets shown us as 
 products of the Slojd schools, we feel sure that he is not 
 on the way to a profitable industrial career, for the mar- 
 kets of the world will not receive such goods, but will 
 prefer the more graceful articles furnished by France and 
 Belgium. If instruction in drawing lays stress on the re- 
 production of ornament and works of art of a high order 
 of taste, it will secure an educative result of universal 
 utility. The taste of the pupils will be elevated, and, 
 whatever the line of industry followed,, more remuner- 
 ative work will be accomplished. Pupils that copy beau- 
 tiful outlines from the flat will learn a more valuable les- 
 son in form than those who draw indifferent objects from 
 the solid. The cuts exhibiting French and German work 
 in drawing and manual training are for these reasons very 
 instructive to the reader in more than one respect. 
 
 A large portion of the book is devoted to what is called 
 " objective teaching." This includes methods of illus- 
 trating subjects, and ingenious arrangements for arousing 
 the enthusiasm of pupils to work out and realize their
 
 viii EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 thoughts in deeds. The out-door excursions, described 
 so charmingly, furnish us suggestive hints for new feat- 
 ures in our own school-work. It is true that national 
 peculiarity goes for much in the way of determining meth- 
 ods of school management ; but each nation should see to 
 it that suitable means are invented to reach all desirable 
 results. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon teachers will read what is said of the 
 great Herbartian movement in educational theory with 
 wonder and curiosity. The idea of " concentric instruc- 
 tion," with Robinson Crusoe for the center of interest ; 
 the glimpses of earnest and thorough discussions of prin- 
 ciples and practice in the light of the subtle psychology 
 of Herbart, the counter-movement of the opposing school 
 of philosophy what singular phenomena in the history 
 of education, and how suggestive of the originality and 
 thoroughness of the German mind ! 
 
 Instructive glances at the education of women for 
 teachers in this book make us conscious of the consider- 
 able distance that separates our system of educational 
 management from that of the Continent of Europe. Does 
 it seem likely that the latter has begun to move on in the 
 direction we have taken, and that it will follow us in giv- 
 ing higher education to girls, and afterward place women 
 in charge of its schools as extensively as Americans have 
 done? 
 
 The school for dullards will suggest to American read- 
 ers the remarkable educational means employed in the 
 State institutions of New York, Illinois, and some other 
 commonwealths, for feeble-minded children. The methods 
 used in those establishments are so skillful and so highly 
 suggestive for all teachers in the management of their 
 dull or backward pupils, that it seems surprising that we
 
 EDITOR'S PREFACE. i x 
 
 do not often see in our educational journals such de- 
 scriptions of their processes as Dr. Klemm gives of the 
 school at Elberfeld-Barmen. The trend of educational 
 methods is toward a greater care for the weak and un- 
 fortunate. The missionary spirit is more and more mani- 
 fested in our civilization. While, on the one hand, our 
 institutions make the possession of property more secure, 
 on the other hand we insist more and more that the period 
 of helpless infancy and growing youth shall be devoted to 
 education into the ideals that civilization has found in- 
 strumental to spiritual development. Thus, while differ- 
 ences of wealth remain very great, no youth shall be de- 
 barred by reason of poverty from his share in the heritage 
 of culture. He shall be made able to help himself in the 
 most efficient manner, and this power of self-help is the 
 best gift that wealth can possibly confer on him. 
 
 W. T. HARRIS. 
 CONCORD, MASS., July, 1889.
 
 AUTHOB'S PREFACE. 
 
 THIS book is not, like many official reports, weighed 
 down with statistical data and ponderous descriptions of 
 school systems. It says very little of school houses and 
 sites. The course of study is mentioned only when it is 
 absolutely necessary, and even then in outlines only. The 
 book contains observations in European schools, or " Chips 
 from Educational Workshops." The author has endeav- 
 ored to offer the reader truthful delineations of the pres- 
 ent status of didactics and methodology in the public 
 schools of Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland. 
 Lessons which he heard are sketched as faithfully as a 
 quick pencil could gather and the memory retain them. 
 Numerous devices in use in Europe are offered in sketch 
 illustrations, and copies of pupils' work where they could 
 conveniently be used. The manual training-schools of 
 Europe are shown in their results ; the different systems 
 of drawing and industrial training of girls are compared. 
 Each branch of study of the elementary schools is repre- 
 sented by sketch-lessons, and successful methods of teach- 
 ing are illustrated by verbatim reproduction of model les- 
 sons. 
 
 The book is written for the purpose of offering a 
 " standard of measurement " for our own schools ; a state-
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. x i 
 
 ment of what is done in the schools of Europe, and how 
 it is done. If it should succeed in disproving the opinion 
 that " European methods of teaching can not be adapted 
 to American schools," the author will be most happy. 
 This fallacious opinion is upheld very obstinately. It is 
 heard from the rostrum, found in the educational press, 
 urged in season and out of season ; but, since it is merely 
 an opinion, it can be disproved by facts alone, and they 
 are already furnished by hundreds of excellent teachers in 
 this country who adopt and adapt what is good in the 
 theories and practices of their European brethren. 
 
 Though the author had frequently advocated methods 
 used in Germany, he had never called them " German 
 methods " nor felt called upon to refute the fallacy of 
 their non-adaptability, knowing that some day he would 
 have an opportunity of answering it more successfully 
 than by entering into controversies. The facts offered in 
 this book, it is hoped, may not seem strange, for they are 
 not decorated with fancies. They can be verified by stacks 
 of pupils' work collected by the author himself on his vis- 
 its in hundreds of schools of various types. Speculations 
 are rare in this book, though the writer states his opinion 
 freely, and indulges in comparisons perhaps too freely. 
 
 He went to Europe with the intention of seeing what 
 was worth reporting. Schools inferior to the average 
 American school he avoided. He strove, during a journey 
 of ten months, to see the best that Europe could offer him, 
 and in this volume he thinks he has pictured the beet re- 
 sults, described the most advanced methods, and given a 
 great number of valuable hints that will be serviceable to 
 teachers who have not sunk back into that detestable state 
 of self-sufficiency and satisfaction which is the arch-foe of 
 progress.
 
 xii AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 The most warm-hearted thanks are due to all who 
 aided the author with valuable advice in selecting " points 
 of observation " ; thanks also to the Government officials 
 in France, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Austria, and Switzer- 
 land, but particularly to the Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion in Berlin, Dr. von Gossler, and to the director of 
 " ecoles primaire " in Paris, Monsieur J. Buissou. By 
 their generous kindness the writer was enabled to see what 
 few American visitors have had occasion to see. 
 
 May this book infuse a little enthusiasm into teachers 
 who consider their professional duties distasteful ; may it 
 strengthen others who are earnestly striving to reach a 
 higher level of perfection ; and may it contribute its share 
 toward improving the schools of a country which deserves 
 to have the best schools on the face of the earth ! 
 
 L. R. KLEMM, PH. D. 
 
 CINCINNATI, OHIO, September, 1888.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PACE 
 
 INTRODUCTION 1 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. HAMBURG, THE FREE CITY 5 
 
 1. A Master-Stroke. 2. Something for the Little Ones. 
 3. Another Device for the Little Ones. 4. Penman- 
 ship. 5. A New Scheme for Ventilation. 6. " Homc- 
 ology " (Heimathskunde). 7. How Literature is taught. 
 
 II. DCISBURG, IN RHENISH PRUSSIA 17 
 
 1. An Efficient City School System. 2. "Mittelschule" 
 (Intermediate School). 3. Methods applied. 4. A Dis- 
 trict Conference. 5. History Teaching. 6. The Prin- 
 ciples of this Method. 7. Practical Instruction in 
 Drawing. 8. Learning to shade in Drawing. 9. Fe- 
 male Teachers in Germany. 10. Tenure of Office. 11. 
 Miscellaneous Notes. 
 
 III. DiiSSELDORF, IN RHENISH PRUSSIA 41 
 
 1. The Whole Nation a School. 2. Singing in German 
 Schools. 3. A Novel Exercise in Music. 4. " Nature- 
 Description." 5. A Lesson in Botany. 6. Ideal Teach- 
 ing in Geography. 7. Silhouette Practice Maps. 8. 
 Cause and Effect in Geography. 9. Making History an 
 Experience. 10. The Star-Gazer. 11. Why so few 
 Germans can talk on their Feet. 12. Class-Book of 
 Progress. 13. Promote the Teachers with their 
 Classes. 14. A School of Design.
 
 x iv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PACK 
 
 IV. ELBERFELD-BARMEN, IN RHENISH PRUSSIA . . . .73 
 1. Proper School Furniture. 2. The First Reformed Par- 
 ish School. 3. A Separate School for Dullards. A. 
 Object and Organization. B. Results. C. Methods 
 pursued. D. Means of Instruction. 4. A Very Prac- 
 tical Device. 
 
 V. CREFELD, IN RHF.NISH PRUSSIA 94 
 
 1. How English is taught in Germany. 2. A Primary Les- 
 son in Mensuration. 3. Individuality in Teaching. 4. 
 French Pupils in German Schools. 
 
 VI. COLOGNE, IN RHENISH PRUSSIA 104 
 
 1. Conservatism and Liberalism. 2. Intermediate Schools. 
 3. Preparatory Schools for Teachers. 4. Female 
 Teachers' Seminary. 5. Special Instruction for Teach- 
 ers. 6. Two Conveniences. 7. A Lesson in Physics. 
 8. A Lesson in Grammar. 9. Girls' Industrial Educa- 
 tion, I, II, III, IV. 
 
 VII. BERLIN 135 
 
 1. The Old and the New. 2. Position of School-Houses. 
 3. The Teachers of Berlin. 4. Two School Museums. 
 5. Correcting Compositions. 6. My Mode of Proced- 
 ure. 7. Home-made Charts. 8. A Map-Suspender. 9. 
 Length of School Sessions. 10. Normal School for 
 Young Ladies. A. The Building. B. The Practice 
 Department. C. The Normal Department. 11. How 
 not to teach. 12. "Naturkunde" (Knowledge of Na- 
 ture). 13. A Lesson in Singing. 14. A Lesson in Zo- 
 ology. 15. A Most Refreshing Sight. 16. A Distinc- 
 tion with a Big Difference. 17. A Rare Case. 18. 
 "Tout comme chez nous." 19. Concentric Extension 
 of the Geographical Horizon. 
 
 VIII. HALLE, IN PRUSSIAN SAXONY 182 
 
 1. The "Francke Stiftungen." 2. Concentric Instruction 
 illustrated. 3. The Exponent of the Herbart Move-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 3HA.P. PAGE 
 
 mcnt. 4. The Miser among the Animals. 5. A Les- 
 son on Robinson Crusoe. 6. A Language-Lesson. 7. 
 Miscellaneous Notes from Halle. 
 
 IX. VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES 211 
 
 1. Schools in Prussia. 2. A Device, not a Method. 3. 
 Mental Arithmetic everywhere. 4. Teaching Decimal 
 Fractions. 5. Arithmetic in a Village School. 6. A 
 Lesson in Botany. 7. Learning to do by doing. 8. 
 Teaching Composition. 0. Criterion of a Model Les- 
 son. 10. Drawing in Gentian Schools. 11. Drawing 
 in a Country School. 12. Compulsory Attendance. 13. 
 Home - made Apparatus. 14. Our " Treasure - Box." 
 15. Local School Museums. 16. A Prussian Normal 
 School. Introduction. The Building. Biblical His- 
 tory. Literature. Natural History. Drawing and 
 Music. Geography. Arithmetic. Daily Programme. 
 Scarcity of Teachers. 17. Three Kinds of Conferences. 
 18. Object-Lessons and Sketching. 19. Miscellaneous 
 Observations. 
 
 X. LEIPSIC, IN THE KINGDOM OF SAXONY 262 
 
 1. Manual Training-School. 2. Appeal to Leipsic's School- 
 Boys. 3. Normal School for Manual Training. 4. 
 The Work done in Leipsic. A. Pasteboard. B. Wood- 
 and Wire-work. C. Wood-Carving. 6. The Germ of 
 the Manual Training Idea. 6. Drawing in Leipsic and 
 other Saxon Cities. 7. Shading in Drawing. 8. A 
 Drawing-Lesson full of Fun. 9. The Best - equipped 
 School. 10. Notes from the Schools of Leipsic. 
 
 XI. DRESDEN, IN SAXONY, AND MUNICH, IN BATARIA . . . 289 
 1. Examinations in Dresden. 2. Notes from the Schools 
 of Dresden. 3. Manual Training in Germany. 4. Ob- 
 jects made in the Slojd Schools. 5. What I saw in 
 Munich. 6. An Ideal Course of Study. 7. Cause and 
 Effect in Geography. 8. " Knabenhort " (Asylum for 
 Boys). 
 2
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XII. PARIS 817 
 
 1. Industrial Education of Boys. An Argument. Results. 
 Pupils' Work in using Tools, in Joinery, Metal-work, 
 Turning, Wood-Carving, and Inlaid Work, Modeling in 
 Clay and Plaster. Industrial Work in Evening Schools. 
 Pupils' Work in Building. 2. Industrial Education of 
 Girls. 3. Dinners for School-Children. 4. Gymnastic 
 and Military Diill. 5. Equipment of School-Rooms. 
 6. Drawing in the Communal School. 7. Sketching. 
 8. How Geography is taught. 9. French Text-Books. 
 10. How Reading and Spelling arc taught. 11. The 
 "Musee Pedagogique." 12. A Calculating - Machine. 
 13. Crumbs. Notes from the Schools of Paris. 
 
 XIIL OTHER FRENCH CITIES 381 
 
 1. Making Beauty contagious. 2. Composition-Books in 
 French Schools. 3. More Devices, not Methods. 4. 
 Also a Device, but oh ! 5. Ignorance and Chauvinism. 
 6. Molding Maps. 7. " Ad oculos " Evidence. 
 
 XIV. VIENNA 392 
 
 1. A Successful and an Unsuccessful Lesson. 2. An Ob- 
 ject-Lesson in the Primary Grade. 3. A Lesson in 
 Grammar. 4. Manual Training-Schools. Introduction. 
 A Work-bench. 6. Pupils' Work in Pasteboard, Join- 
 ery, Carpentering, Turning, Wood-Carving, Modeling. 
 
 XV. SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE 409 
 
 1. Simplicity in the Wrong Place. 2. Industrial Education 
 of Girls. 3. A Lesson in Philology. 4. Notes from 
 the Schools of Miilhausen.
 
 EUROPEAN SCHOOLS IN 1888. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE reader may permit me to introduce the book with 
 an argument. I wish to state emphatically that what is 
 urged in our country, and advocated under the caption 
 " German methods," does not deserve that name. German 
 methods ha,ve nothing specifically German about them, so 
 long as they aim at assisting intellectual growth. The 
 faculties of the mind are essentially the same in different 
 craniums. It matters not whether I have to teach the chil- 
 dren of a Zulu-Kaffir, or an Indian tribe, or children of 
 English, German, French, or American birth the leading 
 features of my procedure in teaching them would be the 
 same. It is only matters specifically German, as, for in- 
 stance, the peculiar form of government and other things, 
 such as customs and habits, that bear upon the govern- 
 ment of schools, which can not, and should not, be urged for 
 adoption in our country. But it has never occurred to any 
 one to urge institutions foreign to the spirit of our free insti- 
 tutions as specifically German methods. What is applicable 
 to the education of the human being, not of the German as 
 such, is urged, and that, as was said, is not specifically Ger- 
 man. 
 
 There can be no objection to such methods, if their object 
 is to facilitate the growth of the mind, the strengthening 
 and steeling of the will, and the skill of the hands, though
 
 2 EUROPEAN SCHOOLS IN 1888. 
 
 they be erroneously called German methods, because in Ger- 
 many they were first applied. To think that there must be 
 special avenues to the mind of the German child, that can 
 not be used for the American, is either the height of pre- 
 sumption, which disdains to use anything not indigenous to 
 the American soil,* or a total disregard of the true definition 
 of the term " method," to wit : " Method is a way of reach- 
 ing a given end by a series of acts which tend to secure it." 
 
 The end in view being the same, why should not the 
 method be the same ? I take it for granted that the reader's 
 innate sense of truth permits him to see that the end in view 
 in German and American schools is the same, as far as in- 
 tellectual culture is concerned. For proofs, he may read 
 Comenius's, Pestalozzi's, Froebel's, and Diesterweg's princi- 
 ples and maxims, and compare them with expressions of 
 our home authorities. I will not burden this chapter with 
 them. The lessons I describe in the following pages may 
 convince him that there is nothing specifically German in 
 "German methods." What I find in them is specifically 
 human, and can be applied in any school. 
 
 " But," wrote a learned doctor, with whom I had ex- 
 changed arguments on this point, " your argument, that the 
 faculties of the mind are the same in different nations and 
 individuals, might lead us to adopt Chinese methods, be- 
 cause the Chinese children's senses are the same as all other 
 children's." 
 
 Why should it ? We do not wish to adopt and adapt 
 inferior but better methods. If, perchance, the Chinese 
 should hit upon a more direct and profitable method of 
 teaching, I should not hesitate a moment in adopting it. 
 But the Chinese have not developed the art of teaching to 
 
 * Colonel Parker and other typical American teachers unhesitatingly 
 adapt (nay, adopt) " German" methods, and give due credit to the sources 
 from which they draw. Many of the iioted writers in the educational press 
 of to-day have been in Europe to study methods. Thus I found the names 
 of Prof. Larkin Dunton, of Boston, and other Americans, in the register of 
 visitors in schools of Saxony and Prussia.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 any high degree, and have not invented or discovered meth- 
 ods worth recommending 1 . Why, therefore, should we adopt 
 their methods ? 
 
 Any one who travels through Europe as I did for nearly 
 a year, seeing, observing, testing, inquiring, examining in all 
 domains of activity, in society, in schools, in factories, in. 
 government offices, etc., would see that in Europe American 
 methods are adopted and applied with an alacrity worthy of 
 a good purpose. I saw applied numerous American inven- 
 tions, American methods of carrying on trade, of industrial 
 pursuits, of managing public and private affairs, etc., ad 
 infinitum. American machines and devices, all that we are 
 justly proud of, are there copied, sold, used, and applied. 
 Why, might I ask, do not the Europeans adopt the Hot- 
 tentot's methods ? It is the same argument, and deserves the 
 same answer : It is the better, not the inferior methods that 
 they want. 
 
 Our almost insular seclusion from the other civilized 
 parts of the world should not make us exclusive in thought 
 and action. National pride is a grand virtue; but, when it 
 becomes derogatory to our own interests and shuts our eyes 
 to the progress of other nations, that pride becomes a vice. 
 Not having a standard measure of length, how can we meas- 
 ure a distance! If this book, in a modest way, succeeds in 
 furnishing a standard of excellence by which true-hearted 
 American teachers may measure their own performances, it 
 is all I desire and hope for. 
 
 One more word of introduction. Some of my readers 
 may think that this book offers a little too much in the way 
 of illustration. To them may be recommended the perusal 
 of the following article, clipped from " Harper's Bazar " of 
 January 14, 1888. It is here reproduced, partly as a defense 
 and partly for the purpose of preserving the exquisite argu- 
 ment in behalf of illustrations in the professional press and 
 in school-books of recent origin : 
 
 " One of the most curious forms of Gradgrind severity is
 
 4 EUROPEAN SCHOOLS IN 1888. 
 
 the crusade occasionally undertaken against all illustrations 
 of school-books. The most thoughtful and carefully de- 
 signed work in geography, in history, even in arithmetic, is 
 supposed to be sufficiently condemned when it is called a 
 picture-book. Yet it is a period when all works for older 
 persons dictionaries, encyclopaedias, histories, magazines 
 have brought the art of pictorial illustration to its highest 
 point. Webster and Worcester have alike adopted it. Jus- 
 tin Winsor's monumental ' Narrative and Critical History 
 of America' is crowded with portraits, autographs, fac- 
 similes, and reproductions of historic pictures. The later 
 editions of Gray's ' Botany of the Northern United States ' 
 have careful delineations of every historical genus. The 
 American magazines have won the admiration of the world 
 by their illustrations of all geographical and historical 
 papers. Mr. Edward Atkinson carries the art of pictorial 
 exhibition even into political economy, and is never quite 
 happy till he can get his proposition embodied for the eye 
 in parallel lines. The United States Census Report resorts 
 to charts and curves and colored diagrams when it wishes 
 fully to elucidate any important general result. All this is 
 done for grown people for the gravest, the maturest, the 
 most educated. They, if any, are the persons who might 
 fairly be asked to fix their minds clearly and austerely upon 
 words and numerals, without stooping to the alleged frivol- 
 ity of picture-books. If they do not accomplish this, if the 
 very people who make the criticism are only too glad to eke 
 out their own imperfect knowledge by an illustrated maga- 
 zine, or an illustrated dictionary, is it not a little absurd in 
 them to enforce such a grim abstinence upon school-chil- 
 dren? 
 
 "No child can understand from words alone that there is 
 any part of the world which is essentially different from his 
 native town, but his first picture of a glacier or a geyser, a 
 castle or a cathedral, the Sphinx of Egypt or the Eskimo in 
 Lis kayak, opens his eyes to the rest of the globe; he be- 
 gins to be a traveled man. It is even more true of history :
 
 A MASTER-STROKE. 5 
 
 the most skillful combination of words can never bring a 
 child so near to the Mound-builders or the Pueblo Indians, 
 to the Puritans or the Cavaliers, to the Revolutionary sol- 
 diers and the founders of our government, as he is brought 
 by the first good picture he sees. When shall we live up to 
 the strong good sense of Horace Mann, who pointed out that 
 the love of knowledge is as natural to a healthy child's mind 
 as the desire for food ? " 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HAMBURG. 
 
 1. A MASTER-STROKE. 
 
 SCENE, a hot, dingy school-room in the Gymnasium of 
 Hamburg ; pupils supposed to attend to a lesson in algebra ; 
 the teacher a middle-aged, patient-looking man, with care- 
 worn features, but remarkably keen eyes and the proverbial 
 square forehead of a mathematician. One of the pupils, a 
 criminally stupid-looking specimen of the genus homo sapi- 
 ens one of those boys whom Schiller must have had in 
 mind when he said, " With stupidity even the gods fight in 
 vain " could not see why the difference between plus 6 and 
 minus 10 should be 16. The teacher made it clear by re- 
 ferring to six marbles in pocket and ten lost in the game 
 played " for keeps." The boy persisted in saying the sum 
 was 16, but not the difference, confounding in his mind re- 
 mainder with difference. 
 
 I pitied the teacher, but was curious to see the outcome of 
 this tussle with stupidity. The teacher looked up, cast his 
 eyes about the room, ran to the thermometer, snatched it up, 
 and with a triumphant look aimed a last blow at stupidity 
 by demonstrating that the difference between 6 above zero 
 and 10 below zero was 16, not 4, as the boy thought. This
 
 6 HAMBURG. 
 
 last stroke was a master-stroke, and the boy's mind yielded to 
 this demonstration ad oculos. Further questioning revealed 
 the fact that he had caught the truth and held on to it. I 
 never left a school so thoroughly convinced of the useful- 
 ness of the objective method as I did that day. 
 
 I have gathered a great many interesting points on my 
 journey of inspection, and shall continue to do so till my 
 purse calls a halt. Most Americans visiting Europe only 
 follow the great high-roads of travel, and care naught for 
 the pleasant by-ways which are studded with flowers of the 
 richest hue. I am wandering with my friend through the 
 country. A small knapsack containing the necessaries for 
 toilet is all the baggage we have. We see much, experience 
 unspeakable pleasures, learn a great deal, and gather honey 
 as we go along. I assure my readers we are the happiest 
 couple of tramps one can imagine. 
 
 2. SOMETHING FOR THE LITTLE ONES. 
 
 This device (see cut, No. 1, below) I found in almost every 
 primer-class in German schools. Its object is plain. It is a 
 
 Fio. 1. 
 
 box full of movable letters, printed on cardboard, which may 
 be placed on ledges nailed to the lid. The letters are used in 
 teaching young children to read by means of the word and
 
 SOMETHING FOR THE LITTLE ONES. 7 
 
 phonic method combined. The letters on stiff cardboard are 
 arranged, according to the frequency with which they arc 
 used, like the types in a compositor's case. 
 
 Thus, for instance, the word man is placed on the ledge 
 and learned as a whole ; then the different letters, learned as 
 sounds, are obtained by analyzing the word. After that 
 other known sounds are substituted, for instance, r for m, 
 which makes the word ran, and so on. All new sounds ob- 
 tained by analyzing words are made into new words, until 
 the child can sound through any word at sight. Where the 
 phonic method is used, the " Setz Kasten " may be used very 
 well in English and American schools. 
 
 I asked a young lady whom I saw using this device what 
 she would do if she had no "Setz Kasten." She said with 
 determination : " I'd pawn my bonnet and get one at once. 
 I can not teach reading without movable letters. The read- 
 ing of an adult person is rapid sounding, and the sound- 
 ing of the little ones is simply slow reading." 
 
 Whether this case of letters can be used in teaching read- 
 ing to English-speaking children is no longer a question, 
 since it has been demonstrated repeatedly. One of my teach- 
 ers in Hamilton (Ohio) practices analysis and synthesis of 
 words by placing three bright boys in front of the class, 
 charging one to say m (the sound m, not the letter em) when 
 called upon; the next one a; and the third n. Then by 
 placing them close to each other, so that their shoulders 
 would touch, she makes them sound the word man rapidly. 
 The same is done with other words. 
 
 Now she separates the boys, the middle one remaining in 
 his place, while the others recede toward the right and left, 
 and every time they make a step the word is pronounced 
 over again, thus separating the sounds farther and farther. 
 After that is done, synthesis follows, and the two " end men " 
 come back to their old position step by step, the three boys 
 pronouncing the sounds as often as a step is made, the 
 sounds being drawn long enough to make them appear one 
 word. Other words are treated in like manner.
 
 8 
 
 HAMBURG. 
 
 Now the teacher changes the boys' positions and asks 
 each to pronounce his sound. Of course, it is at once seen 
 that that does not make the word man or whatever word 
 was before the class. Finally, they assume their former 
 position, and once more the well-known words are pro- 
 nounced. Then these words are found on the chart, on the 
 board, in print and script form, and it goes without saying 
 that the children enjoy these lessons. Call this play if you 
 please. If the children learn more by play than by joyless 
 drudgery, we should prefer play every time. Now, substi- 
 tuting the movable letters, the art of joining letters to make 
 words can be learned quite rapidly even by the dullest child. 
 "How long does it take an average class to master the 
 art of reading sufficiently to take up the first reader ? " I 
 asked several teachers at different places. 
 
 "About three or four months, never more. Sometimes 
 
 a specially bright class gets 
 into the first reader after six 
 weeks." Think of it, and 
 then compare this with the 
 fact that our English-speak- 
 ing children in America, 
 owing to the incongruity of 
 English spelling, are worried 
 with the words of the primer 
 THE SPACE ABOVE AND BELOW and charts for more than a 
 
 THE APERTURES IS USED AS 
 
 BLACKBOARD, year I 
 
 3. ANOTHER DEVICE FOR 
 THE LITTLE ONES. 
 
 A truly ingenious device 
 is the apparatus I wish to 
 describe here. I saw it in 
 Hamburg first and after- 
 ward in other German schools. It is used to facilitate the 
 teaching of reading. The two sketches (2 and 3) below may 
 assist me in my description. 
 
 Fio. 2.
 
 ANOTHER DEVICE FOR THE LITTLE OXES. 
 
 9 
 
 It is a blackboard, two feet square, with three apertures, 
 two of which appear covered by a board in the rear. Into 
 convenient slits are shoved strips of strong pasteboard, on 
 which are printed letters or syllables. The strips containing 
 the vowels are shoved from right to left, or vice versa ; the 
 slats containing the consonants are shoved up and down. 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 I a 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 ) i o 
 
 
 
 ^xv 
 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 ^ n-.i^.i > 
 
 - \ 
 
 x 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 d 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 b 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 sh 
 
 
 
 
 FIG. 3. 
 
 Every movement creates a new word, " possible or impossi- 
 ble"; but the characters printed on the strips are exceed- 
 ingly well selected and grouped, so that their arrangement 
 13 made easy. 
 
 Of course, a beginner will find some difficulty in hand-
 
 10 HAMBURG. 
 
 ling the apparatus; but it is quickly learned, and the teacher 
 whom I saw use it handled it with such a velocity that no 
 awkward pauses interrupted the lesson. There were a great 
 number of slats, some containing only single letters, some 
 combinations, as eft, sh, st, ck, etc. ; others containing syl- 
 lables which are apt to occur often, as be, dis, in, etc. 
 
 The advantages connected with this apparatus consist in 
 this: 1. It offers to the eye of the little pupils only one word 
 at first. Their attention is not diverted by a large number 
 of words, such as are found on a chart or on a page of the 
 primer. 2. The word is easily changed by changing one 
 letter, as, for instance, man to can, /an, ran, Dan, etc. This 
 change is made before the eyes of the pupils, who will 
 readily see that the remainder of the word remains the same. 
 3. It obviates the difficulty of writing whole strings of words 
 on the blackboard. 4. On the charts or in the primer the 
 words are fixed, and the pupils are apt to learn them by 
 heart. This is prevented, since"the words in the apparatus 
 change kaleidoscopically. 
 
 The apparatus is accompanied by a box containing some 
 forty to fifty slats. (For the convenience of my English- 
 speaking readers I have pictured English letters in my 
 sketch.) 
 
 4. PENMANSHIP. 
 
 On my tour through German, Dutch, and French schools, 
 I saw only one in which copy-books for instruction in pen- 
 manship were in use. Nevertheless, the writing of the 
 pupils was remarkably regular, and in many cases elegant. 
 I found it so everywhere in Prussia, from Hamburg to Ma- 
 yence. This absence had struck me as well worthy of note. 
 When I did see the copy-book in use, near Hamburg, I 
 thought it time to inquire about it, and the reply was as 
 ludicrous as it was sensible: " My dear sir, my school is un- 
 der punishment. Because the boys had acquired negligent 
 habits, and handed in poorly written compositions and home 
 exercises, I made them procure copy-books and practice good
 
 PENMANSHIP. 11 
 
 forms of letters. The boys are fully aware of the fact that 
 they are, calligraphically, ' under a cloud,' and try hard to 
 redeem themselves and regain their former standard: 
 
 " As a rule, we do not use copy-books, starting from the 
 principle that the pupils need no special instruction in pen- 
 manship, if they write well whatever they write. This is 
 the rule in our school. From the lowest grade upward 
 good writing is insisted upon, and the teachers take good 
 care never to hurry their pupils much in their written 
 work. The teachers themselves never write negligently on 
 the board, so that the pupils have only good models. The 
 result of this practice is so apparent that it needs no em- 
 phatic assurance. 
 
 " Copy-books are an excuse for bad penmanship. If the 
 pupils write well during the short space of two or three les- 
 sons a week, and hurriedly and slovenly during all the re- 
 mainder of the week, the practice in the copy-book will not 
 produce good penmen. Penmanship is an art which can 
 be maintained only if practiced constantly. Just as little as 
 it will do to be good, kind, and obedient during the early 
 lesson in religion and morals, and unruly, bad, and vicious 
 during the remainder of the day, will it do to permit the 
 habit of poor penmanship to grow upon the pupils." 
 
 The answer seemed to me so convincing that I considered 
 it worth quoting. I asked, " What do you do to teach ar- 
 tistic forms, various styles of penmanship, forms of beauty, 
 and fine initials ? " The answer was : 
 
 "We do not teach them; do not want to attempt such 
 things. If apy of our pupils wish to learn them, let them 
 apply to a special school of calligraphy. The teachers in the 
 common school teach what is necessary to a common-school 
 education. All specialties must be excluded." 
 
 This answer indicated that the teacher had a correct idea 
 of the end and aim toward which he was steering. I find 
 this generally to be the case in these German schools. Each 
 teacher knows exactly what he aims at. He has his rules 
 and regulations, and his course of study, and he knows them
 
 12 
 
 HAMBURG. 
 
 by heart. His thorough pi*ofessional training enables him 
 to steer his way clear of impediments such as beset the way 
 of any one who is not clear on what he wants. It remains 
 ever true that he who knows wJiat he wants will find a way 
 how to obtain it. 
 
 5. A NEW SCHEME FOR VENTILATION. 
 
 When it is found inconvenient to raise or lower the win- 
 dow for the purposes of ventilation, a little device like the one 
 represented in the cut (4) may be applied. I find it in use 
 all over Germany, where many class-rooms are overcrowded, 
 and where the pupils' seats are standing very near the win- 
 dows. This ventilator is constructed like our Venetian shut- 
 ters, only that the slats are of glass. Each slat is set in a 
 brass groove which ends in a pin or pivot. The different 
 
 Fio. 4. 
 
 slals are connected by a simple device, and may be opened 
 wide, or only a trifle, as may be desirable. 
 
 6. "HOME-OLOGY." 
 
 " Heimathskunde," knowledge of home and its surround- 
 ings, is what they term primary geography in Germany.
 
 HOME-OLOGY. 
 
 13 
 
 In order to give the reader an idea of what is done in the 
 primary grades, a few suggestions may suffice. I heard 
 some lessons in "home-ology" in Hamburg, and enjoyed 
 them very much. I may be allowed to give the results of 
 
 FIG. 5. 
 
 the lesson in the form of a sketch-map. This map (5) was 
 made on the board as the lesson proceeded. 
 
 Teacher : In what direction is our school from the Inner 
 Alster, or Alster Basin? What street on this side of the 
 Basin ? On the opposite side ? On the third ? fourth ? 
 What separates the Inner from the Outer Alster ? What 
 bridge ? What monuments are erected on the esplanade ? 
 In what direction from the Basin is the Nicolai Church ?
 
 14 HAMBURG. 
 
 The new Polytechnicum ? The theatre ? The Berlin De- 
 pot ? On what side of the Alster Basin is the new hotel, the 
 Hamburger Hof, situated ? and so forth. Some streets were 
 sketched in order to make the picture more vivid. 
 
 Every new item was inserted in the sketch on the board 
 drawn by the teacher. Thus the sketch of a city plan grew 
 by degrees, and the pupils drew or imitated this plan on 
 their slates. One can not imagine a more attentive group of 
 young children than these were. Each one was eager to 
 suggest new points known to him. I copied the sketch 
 as the lesson progressed, and hope that its simplicity will 
 speak for itself. No teacher can hide his unwillingness to 
 follow suit behind so flimsy an excuse as " I can't draw," for 
 the drawing of such a sketch presupposes no training nor 
 special skill in drawing. 
 
 When the geographical part of the lesson was well dis- 
 posed of, the teacher gave a new zest to the pupils by asking, 
 " To whom belongs the theatre, the school, the bridge," etc. ? 
 In the most natural way possible the pupils learned some- 
 thing of governmental relations, and laid the foundation for 
 the subsequent study of history. It caused a merry inter- 
 ruption when a little boy thought the school-house belonged 
 to Mr. (the janitor). 
 
 In a higher grade of the same school the geography of 
 Germany was the topic of the day. It was still "home- 
 ology," only with a wider horizon. The teacher began by 
 making a few simple lines representing the so-called " mount- 
 ain-cross " in Central Europe. After first drawing the Fich- 
 tel Mountains, the center of the figure (6), he added the Erz 
 Mountains toward the northeast, the Franconian and Thu- 
 ringian Forest toward the northwest, the Bohemian and Ba- 
 varian Forest toward the southeast, the Franconian and 
 Swabian Jura toward the southwest. A few peaks were 
 mentioned, as were also the characteristics of these mount- 
 ains. Thus, for instance, the silver-mines in Saxony, the 
 dense forests in Bohemia, the lovely scenery in Thuringia, 
 the caves in the Jura, etc., came in for a few well-remem-
 
 HOME-OLOGY. 
 
 15 
 
 bered remarks. The teacher always knew when to stop; 
 he was discretion personified. 
 
 Now, the teacher drew the four rivers which rise in the 
 Fichtel Mountains namely, Main., Saale, Eger, and Naah 
 showing and indicating on the map into what main rivers 
 
 NASSAU 
 
 FIG. 6. 
 
 they empty. A few important cities and the countries 
 around the cross were named. All this information was 
 partly given, partly asked for, as the case suggested. 
 
 Now, the complete map, a printed one, was hung up, and 
 all the information just gained was looked up. Each item 
 was noted, and it made the children fairly glow with enthu- 
 siasm when they were able to corroborate the facts of the 
 two maps. In a few points the map on the board was cor- 
 rected, improved, and completed ; then the lesson closed, and 
 now followed the recitation that is to say, the pupils were 
 called upon to state, in answer to leading questions, what 
 they remembered of the lesson. My heart was filled with 
 joy when I heard them speak out, not like human parrots 
 3
 
 1& HAMBURG. 
 
 who had memorized, but like rational beings who had 
 learned by experience. The hour .was brought to a close by 
 an imaginary journey all over the section the acquaintance 
 of which they had just made. Many little items of informa- 
 tion were added on this journey. Photographic views of 
 rocks and mountain scenery were exhibited, and they proved 
 to be of intense interest to these children, who have no op- 
 portunities of seeing a mountain " in nature." 
 
 7. How LITERATURE is TAUGHT. 
 
 The common schools of Hamburg have a seven years' 
 course, to which is added a class for girls, called selecta. In 
 this class I heard a lesson in literature which seemed to me 
 worthy of mention. The young ladies had no text-book of 
 history of literature, but a book containing copious selec- 
 tions from the best German poets and prose writers. They 
 read a passage from the " Seventieth Birthday," by Voss, and 
 read it well. Then the teacher questioned them about the 
 contents of the matter read. It was remarkable how accu- 
 rately they reproduced poetical thoughts in prose, and what 
 a felicitous choice of words they made. 
 
 After they had proved to be thoroughly familiar with 
 the substance of the poem, they were questioned as to the 
 kind of poetry it belonged to. And before the pupils made 
 the acquaintance of such words as prosody, etc., they had 
 learned a good deal of it. Terms like epic, lyric, etc., fell 
 like ripe fruit from the tree of experience. After general 
 observations, the characters of certain persons in the poem 
 were reviewed, the old schoolmaster, the wife, etc., and for 
 each discovered trait proofs were searched among the actions 
 and sayings of the person referred to. 
 
 Now, the poem was scanned, and the metre was compared 
 with that of others. Repeated references to other poems in 
 hexameters made this part of the lesson particularly fruitful. 
 A vista into the history of literature was then opened by 
 first learning something about the author of the poem under 
 discussion. The information was given by the teachers, and
 
 AN EFFICIENT CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM. 17 
 
 the pupils took notes. Then the surroundings which exer- 
 cised a beneficial or detrimental influence upon him were 
 mentioned, and in this way the horizon of the pupils was 
 widened. All their knowledge of the history of literature 
 was grouped around a few famous poets. 
 
 Before the lesson, which lasted an hour, was closed, an- 
 other poem, ' The Child of Sorrow," by Herder, was read 
 in chorus, and then treated like the first one. Again the 
 poem was made the nucleus around which was grouped the 
 knowledge gained. Since this poem was both in contents 
 and form different from the other, it afforded ample oppor- 
 tunity for contrasts, and thus the knowledge gained was 
 brought into bold relief. Of course, this method needs a 
 teacher of thorough acquaintance with literature, and its 
 history, and one who has the enviable gift of application. 
 All others should keep hands off, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 1. AN EFFICIENT CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
 
 DUISBURG, a town of about sixty thousand inhabitants, 
 situated at the confluence of the rivers Ruhr and Rhine, a 
 very busy industrial center, has a most remarkable school 
 system. I will endeavor to sketch it, not because it is worthy 
 of imitation in its organization, for our American school 
 system is, in that regard, much more preferable, but because 
 a description of the system in Duisburg is a typical one, and 
 explains the social conditions of the people. A diagram (7) 
 may assist me : 
 
 A is the People's School. It consists of two schools, in 
 fact, namely, of A a, five grades of primary schools for both 
 sexes, and A b, four grades of intermediate schools for boys 
 only. This primary or elementary school rounds off its
 
 18 
 
 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 course somewhat that is, offers its pupils the elements, and 
 ahstains from all scientific branches. In arithmetic it leaves 
 off when simple examples in percentage can be solved. The 
 intermediate school takes the boys from the fourth-year 
 grade of the primary school if they intend to stay in school 
 longer, but can not enter a high-school. This intermediate 
 school has a more complete course than our grammar-school, 
 teaching geometry and algebra, natural history and science. 
 
 .' YEAR 
 OF UFE 
 
 6th 
 
 7th 
 
 8th 
 
 9th 
 
 10th 
 
 llth 
 
 12th 
 
 13th 
 
 14th 
 
 15th 
 
 16th 
 
 irth 
 
 18th 
 
 SCHOOL 
 YEAR 
 
 1st 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 
 4th 
 
 5th 
 
 6th 
 
 7th 
 
 8th 
 
 9th 
 
 10th 
 
 llth 
 
 12th 
 
 13th 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A& 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 B. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 C. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 D. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SOME CITIES MAINTAIN 2 
 PREPARATORY CLASSES 00 
 IN HIGH eCHOOLS. 
 
 FlO. 7. 
 
 Although it is not obligatory to stay during the ninth school 
 year, many pupils prefer to remain till they arc fifteen years 
 of age. I have marked that grade with dotted lines and *. 
 
 B is the Girls' High-School. In other cities it has a pre- 
 paratory school of its own, and does not draw its pupils from 
 the primary people's school. In many of such schools for 
 girls a seventh grade (a selecta) is added, in which young 
 ladies are prepared for the teacher's profession. I have 
 marked that grade with dotted lines and * also. 
 
 C is a Boys' High-School, called " Eealschule,'' or " Real- 
 gymnasium." It pays more attention to natural history, 
 natural sciences (physiology, physics, and chemistry), mod- 
 ern language, and drawing than does the school marked D. 
 Its graduates are admitted to the universities, but not to all
 
 AN EFFICIENT CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM. 19 
 
 departments. Business men, engineers, and other scientific 
 men prefer this school to D^ 
 
 D is also a Boys' High- School, called Gymnasium. In 
 France it is called Lyceum ; in America we would call it the 
 Boys' Classical High-School or College. It pays particular 
 attention to classical languages, and its graduates are ad- 
 mitted to the universities without examination. 
 
 Pupils of hoth C and D, when they have completed the 
 course to lower secunda, pass an examination which abbre- 
 viates their three years' term of serving in the army to one 
 year. Such one-year soldiers can be recognized in the ranks 
 of a regiment by black-and-white borders on their shoulder- 
 straps. This privilege of serving only one year instead of 
 three is a tribute the Government pays to thorough and ex- 
 tended education. 
 
 I know full well that this separation of children into 
 different schools according to their social standing and 
 worldly circumstances is distasteful to us ; I know that we 
 are not apt to imitate this. I also know that this description 
 of the German school system is a digression from my text, 
 but I deem it desirable, if not necessary, to make this ex- 
 planation, so that my readers may judge more intelligently 
 as to the merits of certain methods and results that I may 
 describe hereafter. The mere statement of this or that be- 
 ing accomplished in this or that school year is not always 
 a sufficient guide, since the material is vastly different in 
 different schools. The people's school contains the poorer, 
 ill-fed children ; the others the children of the wealthier and 
 more cultivated classes of society. 
 
 Let me add that all these schools are public schools, 
 though tuition fees are paid in all of them. The idea of ab- 
 solutely free tuition is gaining ground, though, in Germany. 
 In order to complete my sketch, I should add that, in addi- 
 tion to the schools A, B, C, and D, there is another school 
 for boys, called Burger School. Its course is parallel with 
 B (see diagram). But, wherever a Burger school is main- 
 tained, the intermediate school of A is omitted.
 
 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 2. THE "MlTTELSCHULE." 
 
 It is the intermediate or " middle school " (A b) of which 
 I desire to give an account. While the city of Duisburg 
 maintains a great number of elementary schools, it has but 
 one intermediate school. I spent a whole day in it. Its 
 course of study embraces the following branches : 
 
 1. Religion. a. Biblical history ; b. Catechism ; c. 
 Hymns and Bible verses ; d. History of the Church. 
 
 2. Language. Only the mother -tongue, a. Reading 
 and literature ; b. Composition ; c. Grammar. 
 
 3. Mathematics. a. Arithmetic completed; 6. Algebra, 
 elementary ; c. Geometry and mensuration. 
 
 4. Geography. a. Topographical ; b. Astronomical ; c. 
 Political; d. Physical. 
 
 5. History. a. General history in first year; b. Prus- 
 sian history in second year ; c. German history in third 
 year; d. Review. 
 
 6. Natural History. a. Botany in first year ; b. Zo- 
 ology in second year. 
 
 7. Physics in third year ; apparatus. 
 
 8. Chemistry and mineralogy in third and fourth years ; 
 apparatus. 
 
 9. Drawing. Free-hand, geometrical, decorative, and 
 drawing from solids. 
 
 10. Music. Theoretical and vocal. 
 
 11. Gymnastics, calisthenics, and with suitable appa- 
 ratus. 
 
 A mere glance at this list will reveal the fact that this 
 school, which is equal to our grammar-schools in age of 
 pupils, in organization, etc., accomplishes more than is done 
 in our grammar-schools. First, more in mathematics is of- 
 fered ; secondly, history is offered in four years, while with us 
 it is confined to home history and to one year or at best two 
 years ; thirdly, physics and chemistry are taught, and very 
 well, I must say; fourthly, drawing is carried to drawing
 
 METHODS APPLIED. 21 
 
 from casts and other solid models; fifthly, a regular daily 
 lesson in gymnastics is given. Add to all this a daily lesson 
 in religion, which I mention merely to state that it takes 
 time like other branches of study, and it will be clear to my 
 readers that the school offers an education to the lowest 
 classes of society such as is not offered in many American 
 grammar-schools. 
 
 I do not pretend to insinuate that this should be a criti- 
 cism upon our school system, or that I blame our teachers 
 and superintendents ; far from it. The reason of this re- 
 markable difference in results may be found in the vast 
 amount of time which is necessarily spent in mastering the 
 outrageous orthography of our English language and in 
 other reasons too obvious to mention; but it is highly in- 
 structive to " see ourselves as others see us," or notice what 
 others do and measure our results with theirs. 
 
 3. METHODS APPLIED. 
 
 It is very probable that the methods applied in this school 
 have something to do with the good results achieved. In 
 his famous report Hoi'ace Mann said: " In Germany I never 
 saw a teacher hearing a recitation with a book in his hand, 
 nor a teacher sitting while hearing a recitation." This holds 
 good still. I passed through six rooms repeatedly during 
 the day I spent in the Duisburg " Mittelschule," and saw or 
 heard nine lessons or recitations, but not once did I see a 
 teacher with a book in his hands, not even during a lesson 
 in reading and literature. " I expect you to read so that I 
 may understand you instantly," the teacher said to the class ; 
 and they did it, to be sure. 
 
 Arithmetic was taught without a text-book. After a 
 thorough lesson in division of fractions was completed oral- 
 ly, the order came, "Take your books and solve problems 12 
 to 18 on page 23." I looked at the book and found it to be a 
 small, primer-like looking thing, filled with problems, and 
 void of all the explanations that swell our text-books of 
 arithmetic. The text-book of algebra was no larger, and for
 
 22 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSLV). 
 
 geometry no book at all was used, but the boys entered the 
 results of a new lesson in a composition-book. 
 
 I asked for the text-book in grammar, and evoked a 
 broad and humorous smile ; but their histories were pretty 
 good-sized books. I found no text-book of botany or zo- 
 ology, but a valuable collection of objects dried plants and 
 stuffed animals and finely-colored charts. The apparatus 
 for instruction in physics was in good condition and filled 
 four spacious cupboards. That for chemistry was less costly, 
 naturally so, but complete. Their geography contained no 
 text; it was simply an atlas. Take it all in all, the teachers 
 taught and the pupils saw much, were obliged to do much, 
 and then to tell about it orally and in writing. 
 
 That is the whole story in a nutshell. In grammar the 
 method was cumulative, not analytic ; in physics and chem- 
 istry it was experimental throughout; in mathematics it was 
 demonstrative. Nowhere did I find any parrot-like repeti- 
 tion. The only direct appeal to mechanical memorizing was 
 made in literature, for which study a great number of fine 
 poems were learned, recited, dissected, compared, changed 
 into prose, imitated, and, I must say it, enjoyed. 
 
 Shall I say more about the methods applied ? It is scarce- 
 ly necessary, if I add that I noticed a truly enviable una- 
 nimity among the teachers with reference to their modus 
 operandi. Though each teacher is permitted to follow his 
 own methods, there seems to be a tacit understanding or 
 agreement to work into each other's hands. 
 
 4. A DISTRICT CONFERENCE. 
 
 Rather against my inclination, I went a little out of my 
 way to attend a meeting of a teachers' association in a dis- 
 trict of Lower Rhenish Prussia, and I do not rue it, for it 
 gave me a novel experience. It is not too much to say one 
 can not find a finer and more intelligent-looking body of 
 teachers in deliberation anywhere, unless it be the National 
 Council of Educators in America, a body which looks like 
 the Roman senate. One thing was particularly pleasing to
 
 A DISTRICT CONFERENCE. 23 
 
 me : There was no talking for immediate effect, perhaps be- 
 cause "feminini generis " being non est. 
 
 The three papers read had been selected by a majority 
 vote after the titles of all on the programme had been made 
 public. In other words, the body chose the questions it 
 wanted to discuss, and permitted him " who was primed " to 
 have the first say. The three papers selected were " Princi- 
 ples versus Practice," " The Scope of Arithmetic in the Com- 
 mon School," and "Education in America." 
 
 The first essay was a masterly refutation of such views as 
 found utterance in our country under the captivating cap- 
 tion, " The Presumption of Brains." It would have done me 
 good to see Superintendent Marble in the audience. The 
 essayist perhaps never heard of this gentleman, but it seemed 
 as though he aimed his words at the author of " Presump- 
 tion," etc., directly. The discussion was spirited, but a vote 
 of sixty-three to five sustained the position held by the es- 
 sayist. 
 
 The second essay showed that the question lately called 
 up by General Walker in Boston is being ventilated in Ger- 
 many also ; but it was the third paper which challenged my 
 admiration. The referee spoke of our American common 
 schools with a remarkable degree of familiarity, and proved 
 that he had the geography and statistics of our country at 
 his fingers' ends. His statistical items were all very well 
 sifted and true. I could not help sighing when I unwill- 
 ingly compared this accurate knowledge of America on the 
 part of German teachers with the Egyptian darkness that still 
 prevails in American educational circles about Germany. 
 
 Being called upon to address the meeting, I inquired 
 whether the speaker had been in America, that he was en- 
 abled to thus speak of the American schools with precision 
 and authority. I was told, however, that he had gathered 
 his data from publications of our National Bureau of Educa- 
 tion in Washington; that the library of the association con- 
 tained a full set of General Eaton's reports and sundry other 
 sources of information.
 
 24 DUISBUKG (RHENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 Again I had to stifle a sigh, thinking of the isolation of 
 thousands of our teachers in America who can be made to 
 read only through persuasion and by the Damocles's sword 
 of an approaching examination. The men present at this 
 meeting were mostly country or village teachers. They 
 looked highly intellectual, but had all more or less care- 
 worn faces and seemed to labor under heavy stress, such as 
 overcrowded school-rooms, poor pay, and perhaps domestic 
 cares. 
 
 5. HISTORY TEACHING. 
 
 Perhaps in all my wanderings through the schools of Eu- 
 rope I may never again find such perfect teaching of history 
 
 as I found in a school of D , in Rhenish Prussia. Though 
 
 it is impossible to render the lesson in writing, I will at least 
 give my readers an inkling of it. (Pardon the pun, it was 
 an unconscious one.) There were two such lessons : one was 
 on " The Great Elector of Brandenburg," the other on " Ru- 
 dolph of Hapsburg." These lessons, I believe, will never 
 fade in my memory. Each was a masterpiece. The classes 
 ranked in age with our C grammar classes, or sixth school 
 year. 
 
 First, a biographical narrative was given by the teacher, 
 who spoke in very simple, appropriate language, but feel- 
 ingly with the glow of enthusiasm and the chest-tone of 
 conviction. He made each pupil identify himself with the 
 hero of the story. The map was frequently used or referred 
 to. Bits of poetry, taken from the reader, were interwoven, 
 and circumstances of our time, as well as persons of very 
 recent history, were mentioned at proper occasions. The 
 attention was breathless. 
 
 Secondly, the story was then repeated by pupils who 
 were now and then interrupted by leading questions. The 
 answers were again used to develop new thoughts not 
 brought out by the first narration. Particularly was it 
 cause and effect, and the moral value of certain historical 
 actions which claimed the attention of the teacher. To me
 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF THIS METHOD. 25 
 
 it was very instructive to see these children search for analo- 
 gous cases in human life as they knew it. 
 
 Thirdly, the pupils were led to search in their stores of 
 historical knowledge for analogous cases, or cases of decided 
 contrast. This gave me an insight into the extent of their 
 knowledge. When, for instance, certain civil virtues were 
 spoken of, they mentioned cases which revealed a very laud- 
 able familiarity with history. But all their knowledge had 
 been grouped around a number of centers that is, great 
 men. That is to say, their historical knowledge had been 
 gained through biographies. 
 
 Fourthly, the pupils were told to write, in a connected 
 narration, what they had just learned. This proved a fer- 
 tile composition exercise, because the pupils had something 
 to write about a thing that is not quite so frequent in 
 schools as it seems desirable. I afterward asked the teacher 
 for his principles of method in teaching history, and he gave 
 them to ine at length. The following is an epitome of them : 
 
 6. THE PRINCIPLES OF THIS METHOD. 
 
 It must be the aim of instruction in history to nourish 
 and strengthen all the powers of the soul, interest, emotion, 
 and volition, so that the harmonious development of the 
 child be assisted and a general interest awakened. 
 
 The pupil's intellect is increased by making him familiar 
 with historical deeds, and the circumstances under which they 
 were done, with their causes and effects, with various con- 
 ditions of life, with persons as they are mirrored in their 
 deeds, with the development of the character of persons and 
 that of nations. The intellect is particularly nourished by 
 affording comparisons and making distinctions ; by causing 
 keen judgment and correct conclusions. By means of all 
 these, the pupil's thinking power is stimulated and an in- 
 sight into political and governmental relations past and 
 present is gained, which is important alike for the indi- 
 vidual and the state. 
 
 The pupil's heart is influenced by instruction in history,
 
 2G DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 because many great, sublime, noble, and beautiful actions 
 and motives are presented, which cause pleasure and lead to 
 imitation, unconsciously to the pupil. Again, because his- 
 tory shows, in some abominable examples, that evil is pun- 
 ished as well as the good rewarded; that justice, though 
 slow sometimes, will overtake the evil-doer. 
 
 The pupil's will-power is greatly stimulated by instruc- 
 tion in history, because he is warmed and inspired by truth, 
 right, and duty, for love of country and his fellow-men. He 
 receives an impetus to imitate great deeds. He takes in 
 some of that spirit which prompts men to act nobly and 
 grandly. The fountain of emotion is the best fountain of 
 volition. 
 
 There are, however, some absolutely necessary condi- 
 tions : 1. That the teacher of history be a person whose heart 
 is full of patriotism, and beats strongly for truth, right, and 
 duty. To him should be said, "Take thy shoes from off 
 thy feet, for the ground upon which thou standest is holy 
 ground." 2. That the instruction be not a mere recital of 
 names and dates, of battles and acquisitions of land, nor dis- 
 sertations upon abstract ideas and generalities, but, above 
 all, a simple narration of deeds and events, and a glowing 
 description of persons and circumstances. It must be bio- 
 graphical. The most interesting and most ennobling study 
 for children is the lives of great men. Biography is the 
 first step in our historical course. 
 
 It is necessary, 3. That the teacher connect the new his- 
 torical knowledge with circumstances and conditions, such 
 as are cither known, to the pupil, or are near enough at hand 
 to draw them into the discussion. Relics and other tangible 
 objects, suitable for illustration, should be brought into the 
 class-room, if only in pictures. The teacher must be so ob- 
 jective in his narratives that the events and creations are 
 not only spoken of, but become experiences by natural pro- 
 cess of thought. 4. The pupil should not be allowed to 
 remain receptive, but must be induced to be active in this 
 study. In this, as in other studies, practice is wanted. The
 
 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION IN DRAWING. 27 
 
 pupils must be called upon to reproduce, orally and in writ- 
 ing, the matter given them and the thoughts produced in 
 them. 
 
 It is necessary, 5. That the teacher should induce his 
 pupils to compare similar and dissimilar actions and per- 
 sons, and thereby cause judgment upon cause and effect 
 from a moral or ethical standpoint, so that not merely the 
 intellect be developed, but also the heart and the will. Their 
 practical interest is then generated without repressing then* 
 speculative interest. 6. That instruction in history be 
 brought into organic connection with the study of lan- 
 guage; for this reason, reading is to be brought in as an 
 assistant. Recitations of patriotic poems and ballads can be 
 woven in profitably, and that geography must aid history is 
 self-evident. 
 
 During the first three years of school, biblical stories, 
 references to public men, holidays and festivals, legends and 
 stories, and a few biographical attempts are the proper mat- 
 ter there. After that, a biographical history should begin, 
 which may widen with each succeeding year, so that the 
 historical horizon of the child is extended simultaneously 
 with that in other studies. 
 
 If the common school gives that kind of instruction 
 in history it need not be great in amount it is doing 
 much better than teaching higher arithmetic and book- 
 keeping. 
 
 7. PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION IN DRAWING. 
 
 I doubt not, that it will be of interest to many teachers 
 in the Union to learn how drawing is taught here in city 
 schools. This branch of " study " has so recently been in- 
 troduced into the American schools, or rather, it has been 
 made an obligatory branch of the curriculum so recently, 
 that it may be said to be still in its infancy with us. Here, 
 in Germany, drawing, as a branch of study, is much older, 
 and more can, therefore, be expected, and better results should 
 be exhibited. But, to speak candidly, when comparing the
 
 28 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 \ 
 
 
 SERIES I. FIGS. 8-17.
 
 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION IN DRAWING. 29 
 
 drawings exhibited in New Orleans, Madison, Topeka, and 
 Chicago, with what I find here in crowded class-rooms, 
 where seventy and more pupils are seated, I can not say that 
 
 FIGS. 1S-26. 
 
 the work is better, certainly not as showy. A standard of 
 measui'ement is wanting for a true comparison. Still, de- 
 spite the absence of glittering results and show, I suspect,
 
 30 
 
 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 7 / 1 
 
 SERIES IX. Ftos. 87-37.
 
 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION IN DRAWING. 31 
 
 \ 
 
 V 
 
 SERIES XIII. FIGS. 38-40.
 
 32 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 more results en masse, and a more general and deeper cult- 
 ure are obtained here. 
 
 Perhaps I may with impunity say, also, that instruction 
 in drawing here in Prussia is more practical. In order to 
 prove this, I will say that I found drawing of objects quite 
 frequently. The objects used as models are furnished by a 
 Hamburg firm. They are made of hard wood, and are so 
 plentifully furnished that there is one for every two or three 
 pupils. Each pupil draws the object as he sees it that is, in 
 the position in which it is placed before him. I can not 
 explain this better than by copying a number of series 
 drawn by classes in my presence. The models were all the 
 same in size, given to the classes that day as new subjects. 
 The work was free-hand drawing, and as such very credita- 
 ble. I copied the accompanying sketches, omitting all con- 
 struction lines. They are here offered on a smaller scale, so 
 as to permit their insertion in this book. 
 
 The series I and IX are the two extremes, so far as diffi- 
 culty in representing is concerned. Then? simplicity cer- 
 tainly speaks for them. I found them used as models for 
 drawing, for clay-modeling, pasteboard work, wood chiseling 
 and sawing in manual training schools. Before I dismiss 
 this subject, I must not neglect to say that the girls are ex- 
 cluded from this drawing of solids.. They draw convention- 
 alized leaf and plant forms, and learn then* application in 
 knitting, crocheting, embroidering, lace-making, and weav- 
 ing. Leaves pasted on cardboard are used in great number, 
 and forms of beauty of no mean kind are the result. The 
 reader is referred to pages 123-134, where the girls' industrial 
 education is spoken of at length. 
 
 8. LEARNING TO SHADE IN DRAWING. 
 
 Being thoroughly convinced of the practicability of in- 
 struction in drawing solids, I was pleased to find my opinion 
 shared by many teachers in Germany. The difficulty which 
 seems to puzzle many teachers is, to find suitable objects, 
 simple enough to avoid the great obstacle, which consists
 
 LEARNING TO SHADE IN DRAWING. 33 
 
 I
 
 34 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 in the pupils not seeing the covered lines. The solids used 
 here are so simple that they are admirably adapted for the 
 elementary schools. 
 
 After a body is conceived in outlines the shading begins, 
 and this is done by using casts, a copy of which is inserted 
 on page 33. A very strong light is allowed to fall from 
 the left on the cast, which is hung up on the blackboard. 
 The dark background makes the white cast shine, as it were, 
 and the shadows on the cast are distinctly seen. I have 
 provided myself with sufficient copies of pupils' work to 
 prove that this drawing of solids is possible in the element- 
 ary schools. One glance at page 33 will suffice to convince 
 the reader that these casts are easily obtainable. Indeed, 
 any person may model them in clay, and then cast them, by 
 setting the models in a frame and pouring plaster over them. 
 When the plaster is dry and hard it can be separated from 
 the model, and a new cast may be made. In some schools I 
 found the models made of clay by the pupils themselves. 
 
 The system in use here is decidedly more practical than 
 others I saw in use in France, inasmuch as it deals with 
 only a limited number of objects, and never leaves out of 
 sight the fact that the common school is, and can only be, 
 an elementary school. It proves immortal Goethols maxim : 
 " In der Beschrankung zeigt sich der Meister." 
 
 The method of shading is different in different schools, 
 sometimes even in different classes of the same school. 
 While some teachers used lines of various thickness to repre- 
 sent shadow, others, by far the majority, use the leather 
 stump. The reader is also referred to pages 233-235, and 
 272-281, where the results and methods of drawing in other 
 German schools are shown. In Chapter- XII, Paris, the 
 French mode of procedure in drawing is stated. 
 
 9. FEMALE TEACHERS IN GERMANY. 
 
 Though I spent several weeks in German schools, I had 
 only heard men teach. But one day I heard two ladies 
 teach, and model lessons they gave. The first was a lesson
 
 FEMALE TEACHERS IN GERMANY. 35 
 
 in reading, according to the word and phonic method com- 
 bined, or, to speak scientifically, the analytic-synthetic meth- 
 od. An object-lesson on " fish " introduced the reading. 
 When that was closed, oral splitting of the word fish into 
 sounds followed. The teacher pronounced the word slow- 
 ly, thus bringing out each sound clearly, so that the little 
 urchins could recognize and separate them. Then the word 
 was written, copied, and other words were made of material 
 (sounds and letters) previously learned, till at the close of the 
 lesson a great number of new words were read and learned. 
 These were combined into little sentences. 
 
 The second lesson I heard a lady give was in religion. 
 The topic was the announcement or prophecy of Christ's 
 birth to Mary, the pious virgin. The children were on an 
 average eight years old, and the teacher a young, sweet- 
 looking girl. I assure my readers that, though the teacher 
 proceeded with laudable tact and much pedagogical skill, 
 the lesson left an unsavory taste, there being too much cant 
 in it to please me. 
 
 As a rule, the women teachers in Germany, I am told, 
 teach well in the lower grades, and only there. Middle and 
 higher grades of school are closed to them. During the 
 grand upward start which business took in Germany after 
 the re-establishment of the empire, so many men left the 
 school-room to join the chase after the golden calf, that the 
 Government was obliged to engage women to teach school. 
 At present they are numbered by the thousand. 
 
 I inquired whether they could not be promoted, and in 
 due time be elected principals. The inspector with whom I 
 conversed on the subject of women teachers replied with a 
 holy (or shall I say unholy ?) horror : " No, never, as long 
 as the father is the head of the family. It would be as un- 
 natural as crowing hens. A weak, indulgent man may sur- 
 render his breeches to his wife ; such cases are found, of 
 course, but these exceptions do not shake, but confirm the 
 rule. Besides, the Government is fully aware that the women 
 can not govern the men, a thing which they would have
 
 36 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 to do if they were made the heads of schools. Such a thing 
 would be contrary to all precedents, and to the eternal fit- 
 ness of things, as conceived by us Germans." 
 
 Having thus given me a bit of his own mind, he snatched 
 up a paper containing extracts from a recent novel by 
 Walter Besant, saying, " Here is an Englishman with whom 
 I fully agree." I quote : 
 
 " There are many points of distinction between the mas- 
 culine and the feminine mind; as, that the woman is not 
 happy unless she is quite sure and certain, and that the man 
 gets along very comfortably under a sense of uncertainty ; 
 also, that any man who disagrees with a woman is, to her, 
 an utterly contemptible person, while to a man, he is only a 
 person with a curious mental twist. But the most distinct- 
 ive of all these points is, that a woman never invents any- 
 thing, or wants to change anything, or to improve any 
 methods or ways of doing things. In order to illustrate this 
 proposition, consider the common house-maid, the common 
 household cook, and the household nurse-maid. The first 
 of these has never been known to show the smallest inven- 
 tion in the laying of a fire, nor the second in constructing a 
 dish, nor the third in dressing a baby." 
 
 His own metaphors dissuaded me as little as this quota- 
 tion did, of the natural right of women to rise and take a 
 hand in the government of the world ; and that the school, 
 as a world in miniature, is the proper place for women to 
 begin to show their executive and administrative powers. 
 But, being on my guest-behavior, I changed the subject. 
 Strange, however, but true it is, that from the moment I had 
 asked that question, I was looked upon with suspicion, and 
 the confidence of the otherwise pleasant and kindly-spoken 
 man was as though it had dried up. 
 
 How deep-rooted the prejudice against female teachers is 
 here in Germany may be seen, also, from the fact that the 
 male teachers club together in the yard during recess, leav- 
 ing the ladies to amuse themselves. Oh, yes, they speak to 
 them, and politely salute them by uncovering their heads
 
 TENURE OF OFFICE. 37 
 
 " as they pass by," but no professional discussion, no social 
 conversation, not even a bit of small talk, takes place. All 
 such professional ties seem to be forbidden by an unwritten 
 but well-understood law. I leave my readers to draw their 
 own conclusions. 
 
 10. TENURE OF OFFICE. 
 
 There is one feature of the German schools which de- 
 serves attention and imitation I mean the stability of the 
 teacher's position. After he has completed his course in the 
 normal school, he is assigned to duty somewhere or elected 
 by a community for a two years' probation. Whether he 
 has succeeded well or not, at the end of this time he is called 
 upon to pass his "repetition examination." Having passed 
 that, he is free from all further examinations, and can settle 
 down permanently, since his position is not endangered by 
 political rotation or any other causes, except his own errors, 
 such as neglect of duty, etc. 
 
 He lives either in the school-house or in a neighboring 
 dwelling, fitted up by the community as the " schoolmaster's 
 house," as a parsonage is fitted up for the parson by the 
 church authorities. Being thus safely housed, and having 
 no such Damocles's sword as a change in the political com- 
 plexion of the school board to fear (in fact, there is no school 
 board), his future is assured. Now he naturally begins to 
 " gather moss," like a stone safely imbedded in the loam of 
 the woods. By that, I mean, he increases his library, and 
 devotes his leisure hours to some hobby. Some teachers 
 resort to agriculture or floriculture (every school-house in 
 small towns or villages has a few acres of land for garden- 
 ing purposes) ; some raise silk-worms or bees, or start a nur- 
 sery of trees ; others make collections of beetles, butterflies, 
 and minerals. Again, others resort to some kind of manual 
 labor, such as turning, scroll-saw working. A great many 
 choose literature as their leisure-hour occupation. Nearly 
 all foster music, and act as musical directors and conductors 
 of choirs and as organists in churches.
 
 38 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 In short, they " gather moss " like an ancient pike in a 
 well-stocked carp-pond. This stability of office engenders 
 a good deal of conservatism, which, queer as it may seem, 
 rarely manifests itself in their methods of teaching; for local, 
 district, provincial, state, and national teachers' meetings, 
 an educational press of most formidable powers, frequent 
 visits of royal school commissioners, and the competition 
 engendered by friendly visits of colleagues, prevent a stag- 
 nation in school. 
 
 Being curious to know the political proclivities of an old 
 friend of mine, who had become a fixture in a small town 
 of Rhenish Prussia, I frankly asked him. Said he : " Do 
 you know that the Roman citizen was a Roman first, and 
 a Roman last ; right or wrong, he was a Roman forever ? 
 Well, my friend, I am teacher first, last, and all the time." 
 I accepted this circumlocution for the term "mugwump," 
 and changed the subject. 
 
 11. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 
 
 An Idyl. Curiosity induced me to visit the place in the 
 country where I gained my first experience in teaching. It 
 was a pretty little village, situated between two industrial 
 centers, and inhabited by vegetable gardeners, who had an 
 avei-age of ten or fifteen acres of land, rarely more. The 
 village had not changed materially within a quarter of a 
 century. The half of a millstone in front of the school- 
 house, serving as a doorstep, was still there, and through iis 
 square aperture grew the grass as it did twenty-five years 
 ago. The school-house was as dilapidated as it was then, 
 only a little more so. The church tower had received a new 
 coat of slate, a few new houses had been built, others had 
 been repaired. The same fine linden-trees offered shadow to 
 the school-yard ; and, indeed, the picturesque village seemed 
 to have slept the sleep of the Sleeping Beauty, while within 
 sight of the top of the steeple industrial centers had grown 
 from twenty thousand to eighty thousand inhabitants within 
 that time.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 39 
 
 The principal teacher, however, was a different sort of 
 man from the morose fellow who used to hold sway there 
 and made my life unbearable. The American can not 
 imagine how peaceful the life of a German country school- 
 master is. He is secure in his position. Nothing but mis- 
 conduct or gross neglect of duty on his part can remove 
 him. He has no rent to pay, but lives in the upper stories 
 of the school-building, where he has from five to eight rooms 
 and a high garret. Usually a large garden is at his disposal. 
 Let me tell you of the present incumbent. 
 
 This teacher's life is a perfect idyl. His young assistants 
 worship him, his pupils love him, his fellow-villagers respect 
 him, call for his prudent advice, and, what is more, believe 
 in it implicitly. He is the universally respected arbiter in 
 all questions of dispute, and is welcomed in every house of 
 the village. In his leisure hours he is a gardener, and the 
 culture of roses is his special hobby. I have seen many fine 
 collections of roses in my life I even dabble a little in that 
 line myself but my astonishment was boundless when I saw 
 the results of this man's patient labor. Thousands of varie- 
 ties of roses, hundreds of colors and sizes, from the lovely 
 carnation centifolia and orange Marshal Neil to the dwarfed 
 pink-colored May rose and yellow Lilliput rose all were 
 there. 
 
 His young assistants and his elder pupils vie with each 
 other in helping him in his work of floriculture, so that 
 there is nothing left for him to do but to direct and super- 
 vise. But he never forgets that he is teacher first and gar- 
 dener afterward. First duty, then pleasure. The man is 
 about fifty years old, and is not married. A housekeeper 
 from the village attends to the duties indoors. Though this 
 idyllic picture is rather out of place in this book, I could not 
 refrain from painting it, to show our American country 
 teachers what is in store for them if they will agitate the 
 question of tenure of office more vigorously. 
 
 Herbart versus Pestalozzi. There is a war carried on 
 here in Germany at present between the disciples of Pesta-
 
 40 DUISBURG (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 lozzi and those of Herbart a war which promises to be more 
 beneficial than destructive. My American readers can not 
 conceive of the intensity and earnestness displayed by the 
 combatants. Here in Rhenish Prussia the " Herbartians " 
 are holding meetings, discussing Herbart's and Ziller's prin- 
 ciples and methods, and the bookstalls are full of pamphlets, 
 books, and journals, which all refer to the question at issue. 
 Elsewhere, I am told, the same question is agitating the 
 minds of teachers, notably in Thuringia and Saxony. 
 
 I attended a meeting of the "Herbartians," to which 
 representatives of Diisseldorf, Crefeld, Duisburg, Miihlheim, 
 Essen, Elberfeld, Barmen, Solingen, Gladbach, and many 
 other towns had been sent. I was deeply impressed with 
 the profundity with which Herbart's psychology and Ziller's 
 concentric circles were discussed from three till after eight 
 o'clock, p. M. What pleased me most was the absence of all 
 personal wrangling, and not a word of disrespect to Pesta- 
 lozzi and other educational reformers fell from the lips of 
 the speakers. My interest grew amazingly when I exam- 
 ined the shelves of a bookstall later and found no less 
 than sixty books, pamphlets, and exercise-books of very 
 recent origin all discussing and exemplifying the "great 
 question." Well, I own that I left the book-store with an 
 armful of pamphlets and books, and poorer by thirty-five 
 marks. 
 
 In the face of such literary activity, such thorough scien- 
 tific discussion, I heave a deep sigh, thinking of the peace- 
 ful mental slumber of thousands of our American teachers, 
 who do not even read an educational journal, and at edu- 
 cational gatherings have nothing to say, but suffer them- 
 selves to be read to by essayists, and in the school-room do 
 merely what they are ordered to do. I shall not venture to 
 enter upon the discussion of the disputed question until I 
 have seen the schools of Saxony and Thuringia, and have 
 studied my armful of books. I am like that German pro- 
 fessor who was asked for his opinion on a question which 
 he had never approached. His answer was, " I've got to read
 
 THE WHOLE NATION A SCHOOL. 41 
 
 a lecture on that question before I can answer you.' 1 So, 
 then, more anon. 
 
 Hospitality of Teachers. It is no more than simple 
 justice to state that I have found a hospitality among the 
 teachers here which can nowhere be found in like manner 
 except in America. In America, especially west of the Alle- 
 ghanies and in the South, hospitality is one of the most pro- 
 nounced virtues of the people, and I know whereof I am 
 speaking, having traveled much in America, and having 
 had opportunities to compare French, Dutch, and German 
 customs with our American customs. Wherever I go here 
 in Germany I find among teachers a truly American hos- 
 pitality which it is difficult to resist. I deem it just and 
 proper to state this fact in my reports to my American 
 brethren. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DUSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 1. THE WHOLE NATION A SCHOOL. 
 
 MY admiration for the schools in Germany grows when 
 I notice the consistent help different institutions for edu- 
 cational and scientific purposes are rendering each other. 
 Thus, for instance, I see in Diisseldorf on the Rhine that 
 the common schools, as well as the several high-schools (the 
 Gymnasium, Realschule, and Young Ladies' Academy), 
 stand in close connection and intimate relation to the man- 
 agement of the Art Academy, the Art Museum, the Zoologi- 
 cal and Botanical Garden, the Observatory, the libraries, 
 the gymnastic societies, and even the theatre, in fact, with 
 every institution which in some degree may be influential in 
 assisting the work in school. 
 
 Plants are ordered for the study of botany at the Botan- 
 ical Garden. Certain hours are fixed at the Zoological Gar-
 
 42 DUSSELDORF (RHENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 den for visits of the classes in zoology ; admission free. 
 Classes in drawing are taken to the art collections and muse- 
 ums, where the teacher of advanced classes gives a lesson 
 monthly. The libraries are open to the pupils on presenta- 
 tion of a membership ticket issued by the rector of the 
 school. Classes in literature go with then- teachers to see 
 classic performances in the theatre. The schools having 
 small but very valuable collections frequently exchange 
 specimens with the curator of the museum or even make 
 loans. And so on, to every department of the curriculum, 
 some institution outside of school offers assistance free of 
 charge. 
 
 The more I look about me here in Germany, the more am 
 I impressed with the fact that the whole nation is one great 
 educational institution. Churches have their reserved seats 
 for school children ; theatres offer classic performances for 
 students ; gardens and parks are open to children ; play- 
 grounds are provided with flower-beds for children; gym- 
 nastic halls and apparatus are erected for the use of pupils 
 of the city schools ; in fine, all efforts are made to put public 
 instruction upon a rational basis and to make education con- 
 tagious. We Americans have much to learn from these 
 "barbarians." 
 
 2. SINGING IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 Ah, but what an inexhaustible spring of musical talent is 
 found in German schools 1 These children sing divinely. 
 Their teachers all play the violin more or less well and have 
 a thorough theoretical training in music, teach the notes, 
 and generally conduct the musical performances of their 
 classes as leaders of orchestras do instrumental music that 
 is to say, they beat time, keep the different parts in har- 
 mony, stimulate here, depress there, and work like good 
 fellows. The results are touchingly beautiful. I heard 
 three- and four-part music in the upper grades of common 
 schools. 
 
 Many a time I heard the teacher call upon a single pupil
 
 A NOVEL EXERCISE IN MUSIC. 43 
 
 to sing alone, as we should expect him to read alone. They 
 consider this reciting in music. In one city on the Lower 
 Rhine I heard a mass-chorus which touched me to the quick. 
 The childi-en sang patriotic airs with an artistic finish which 
 quite upset me. An old gentleman who had accompanied 
 me was moved to tears. 
 
 Our American city schools ai-e doing a noble thing in 
 awakening the musical sense of the nation. The adult 
 American, as a rule, is not musical. General Grant used to 
 say: " I know but two tunes. One is 'Yankee Doodle,' and 
 the other isn't." And if we were to inquire among our 
 Anglo-American friends, we should find that the older gen- 
 eration is not any more musically inclined than General 
 Grant. But in the younger generation a great love and 
 comprehension for music makes itself felt, which is fostered 
 by easy melodious home-made airs such as " Grandfather's 
 Clock," " Wait till the Clouds Roll By," etc. Inferior as 
 these airs may be, it will not do to undervalue their great 
 influence upon the latent musical talent of our American 
 conglomerate. Some generations may yet pass away before 
 we can find such a school in New England as I saw here, 
 where, among four hundred and eighteen pupils, only two 
 were found without a musical ear. 
 
 3. A NOVEL EXERCISE IN Music. 
 
 I noticed a novel exercise in vocal music which I deem 
 worthy of mention. The teacher wrote the lines of a pretty 
 little poem on the musical staff painted on the board and 
 called upon certain pupils to compose a new melody. The 
 first pupil looked at the first line thoughtfully awhile, and 
 then struck out, giving a very acceptable air. The teacher 
 asked her to repeat it, and then fixed it by writing it in 
 notes. The second pupil then followed with a continuation 
 which was less acceptable. Another suggested a little but 
 vital improvement which made the line much more accept- 
 able. Again a new line was added, till the four lines were 
 finished. Now the teacher played the tune, suggesting two
 
 44 DCSSELDORF (RIIENISU PRUSSIA). 
 
 more, though slight changes, and indeed the melody seemed 
 very pretty. 
 
 Now it was harmonized. A pupil was called upon to 
 write the second part (the alto). This he did, with some er- 
 rors, which were speedily detected by other pupils. An- 
 other added a third part (the tenor). Of course, this took 
 longer than it takes me to write about it ; but within the 
 short space of thirty-five minutes the three parts were all 
 down on the board. They were tested on the violin and 
 found to harmonize quite well. Now followed a grand 
 rehearsal that is, the class sang the newly composed song. 
 Again a few changes were found desirable, and again it was 
 tried, till it met the approval of the teacher. There was 
 no need of attention to the order of the room. The order 
 was perfect, simply because all the pupils were intensely in- 
 terested. The lesson was brought to a close by the request 
 to copy the new song into their manuscript music-books. I 
 have rarely enjoyed a singing lesson as much as I did this 
 one. 
 
 The school in which this brilliant theoretical instruction 
 in music was witnessed gave me the pleasure of hearing 
 choruses of wonderful sweetness. The text was sung so 
 well, emphasis or expression was so excellently brought out, 
 that no professional choir could sing better. The fresh me- 
 tallic sound hi the voices of these German youngsters is 
 quite enjoyable. 
 
 4. "NATURE-DESCRIPTION." 
 
 Don't frown at this heading, fair reader. I have put it 
 down for a reason. Our English term " natural history " is 
 faulty, inasmuch as it is anything but history, so far as we 
 teach it in the common school. Whatever criticism may be 
 urged against the teachers here in Germany, they can not 
 be said to be hazy hi their technical terms. They do not 
 use such terms as botany, zoology, physiology, but German 
 translations which, while they are more precise, at the same 
 time convey a meaning to the child, being grown, as it were,
 
 " NATUllE-DESCKIPTION." 45 
 
 out of German roots : " Pflanzen-Beschreibung " for botany, 
 " Thier-Beschreibung " for zoology, etc. So, please, familiar- 
 ize yourself, my candid and patient readei', with this " odd " 
 heading and follow me into a school representing the sixth 
 school year. Here I heard a lesson in "Thier-Beschrei- 
 bung " which might be said to be an ideal lesson. It is im- 
 possible to give the whole lesson ; only essentials must suf- 
 fice. 
 
 Orang-outang and sundry other apes were the subject. 
 Teacher, showing the large picture of the orang-outang, and 
 saying that, for want of time, they had only barely touched 
 upon this subject yesterday, asked : " What do you remem- 
 ber having heard of this animal ? " A rather insignificant- 
 looking specimen of the genus homo sapiens answered : 
 " The orang outang is a monkey which resembles the human 
 being more than other monkeys. But there are more dis- 
 similarities than similarities, I think. He is called orang- 
 outang, because that means ' forest- man ' or ' wood-man ' on 
 account of his similarity with man. He is very fierce and 
 vicious and of huge strength." 
 
 Teacher. " That is about all we said yesterday about him. 
 Now, let us proceed. Let us hunt up some of the similarities 
 as well as dissimilarities between him and man." 
 
 Pupil. " His face looks like that of an old man." (Went 
 to the board and wrote under the heading "similarities." 
 "Looks like an old man.") 
 
 Teacher. " From this picture it is plainly visible that this 
 must be a young specimen, for the older the monkey gets 
 the more will the jaws grow outward and the forehead re- 
 cede, so that in old age this monkey will look more like a 
 ferocious beast than like man." Repeat this thought. 
 
 Pupil. " John said the orang-outang looks like an old 
 man on this picture. Then this must be a young specimen, 
 for in old age he looks more beast-like." 
 
 Teacher. "What changes take place in his face in the 
 course of time ? " 
 
 Pupil. "His jaws grow outward and his forehead re-
 
 46 DOSSELDOKF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 cedes." (Went to the board and jotted down, "Jaws and 
 forehead change with age.") 
 
 Teacher. " What other observations ? " 
 
 Pupil. " He is like man covei*ed with hair ; but while 
 man's hair is very short and scarcely visible, the monkey is 
 covered with fur-like hair." (Made appropriate note on the 
 board without being called upon.) 
 
 Pupil. " Certain parts of his body are not covered with 
 hair; for instance, the ears and the inside of the hands. In 
 this he resembles man also." (Note on the board.) 
 
 Pupil. " I have read somewhere that the teeth of this 
 monkey arc exactly like human teeth." 
 
 Teacher. " I am glad you tell us that. Then by examin- 
 ing our own teeth we may infer from them as to this ani- 
 mal's teeth." (Now followed a description of the human 
 teeth, size, kind, use, growth, etc., an interesting digression 
 from the lesson of the day, one which revealed some knowl- 
 edge of physiology and hygiene.) "So, then, we have an- 
 other point of similarity ; what is it ? " 
 
 Pupil. " He has a complete set of teeth like that of the 
 human being." (Note on the board.) 
 
 Pupil. " We can't tell his size from the picture. What 
 is it ? " 
 
 Teacher. "He never grows any bigger than a boy of 
 fourteen years, but his strength is greater. Now, repeat this 
 statement and make a note of it." (It is done.) 
 
 Pupil. " His color is chestnut-brown." 
 
 Teacher. " Now some one may repeat connectedly all the 
 points mentioned so far." (This was done, and errors in 
 language were corrected " on the spot." This connected de- 
 scription was repeated by a pupil.) 
 
 Pupil. " It appears from this picture that the arms of the 
 orang-outang are very long." (Note.) 
 
 Pupil. "His feet are like hands." 
 
 Teacher. " True ; he has four hands. But what is the 
 difference between hand and foot ? " 
 
 Pupil. " On the hand the thumb can make a movement
 
 " NATURE-DESCfilPIIOX." 4.7 
 
 opposite to that of the fingers. This enables the hand to 
 grip or grasp. The big toe can not do that." 
 
 Teacher. "What, then, is the characteristic of the 
 hand ? " 
 
 Pupil. " The hand can grasp, the foot can not." 
 
 Teacher. " The monkey walks on his hands, sometimes 
 erect on his hind hands. Sometimes, especially when he is 
 in a hurry, he walks on his four hands. Repeat this." 
 (Whenever the teacher made a statement or a pupil brought 
 out something new, the pupils had to repeat it.) 
 
 Pupil. "His arms reach to his ankles, while ours are 
 shorter. The orang-outang can grasp things with his hind 
 hands as well as with the other two." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, an interesting fact is that some monkeys 
 have only two hands. But all who have only two hands 
 have them on their hind-legs, while their two feet are on the 
 fore-legs or arms." (Repeat this.) 
 
 Pupil. " I notice that this orang-outang has hair on his 
 arms which grows up and downward. How is that ? " 
 
 Teacher. " Look at the arms carefully. What do you 
 see?" 
 
 Pupil. " The hair on his upper arm grows downward ; 
 that on his lower arm grows upward." 
 
 Teacher. " What do you infer from this ? " 
 
 Pupil. " That he must raise his lower arms much." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, I believe we may safely say that. Now, 
 let us repeat connectedly what we heard and mention all the 
 points gathered." (This is done, and with the aid of the 
 numerous notes on the board done very handsomely. These 
 reviews occurred frequently, and they served to " take up 
 loose stitches " here and there.) 
 
 Teacher. "He walks erect generally, but has a drag- 
 ging gait because he has no knee-pans. When pursued he 
 climbs on high trees and hides himself in the foliage. He 
 is not as skillful as other monkeys in climbing, but rather 
 clumsy. He feeds on fruit and birds' eggs. He is here 
 pictured with a stick in his hand, which he seems to use 
 5
 
 48 DUSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 as a cane. It is likely that the orang-outang is often 
 found walking with a stick, perhaps owing to his inability 
 to stand erect long. He makes his nest on high trees, se- 
 lecting strong branches. On these he lays smaller ones, 
 with thick foliage to make the couch soft. Being very shy, 
 he is not often found. He changes his couch frequently and 
 is unsociable." 
 
 Pupils repeat the several new statements and seem to en- 
 joy them. They are again repeated by some in a connected 
 manner. 
 
 Teacher. "His home is on the islands of Borneo and 
 Sumatra." (These are looked up on the map.) " The people 
 there of course I mean the aborigines say of the orang- 
 outang, that he could talk if he wanted to, but keeps quiet 
 because he is afraid that he would have to work if he be- 
 trayed the fact that he could talk. The Europeans know 
 better. His voice is heard in shrill screams and angry 
 howling. It is said, but has never been observed by Euro- 
 peans, that he drives elephants with a stick. These are 
 probably legends. He can not stand our climate, and if 
 caught and brought north on board of a steamer he gener- 
 ally dies before he reaches Europe. Very few specimens 
 have ever been seen in zoological gardens." (This new 
 batch of statements is treated like all the foregoing that 
 is, repeated, sketched in shortest expressions on the board, 
 and rounded off and polished to secure good style.) 
 
 Teacher. " That the orang-outang is an animal of higher 
 type may be seen from his quickness of perception and his 
 skill in imitation. There was one in a zoological garden 
 who had been fastened to a chain. At certain stated peri- 
 ods the waiter came to loosen his chain and take him out 
 walking. Of course, the waiter opened the padlock which 
 fastened the chain to the cage. The ape saw him use a key, 
 and one day he took a little chip and tried to open the pad- 
 lock himself. So, you see, he had not only seen something, 
 but remembered it, and now wanted to make use of this 
 knowledge." (These stories were reviewed.)
 
 A LESSON IN BOTANY. 49 
 
 Now followed a repetition of the whole description and 
 an occasional reference to other monkeys, of which pictures 
 were exhibited. Then the order was given to write out a 
 composition on the orang-outang. I requested to be shown 
 some of these compositions, for which reason I returned to 
 this class after the lapse of an hour. I was not at all sur- 
 prised to find that the work was very commendable indeed. 
 A pupil of this age is always likely to express his thoughts 
 well, provided he has any. 
 
 In a conversation with the teacher afterward I gathered 
 this thought, worth repeating : " As in the history of the 
 nation or human race it is desirable to group the knowledge 
 around individuals, in other words, make biography the first 
 historical course, so in natural history a single specimen 
 must suffice to group the knowledge of a whole class of ani- 
 mals, plants, or minerals. Now, this orang-outang is a cen- 
 tral figure. Let the pupils see more monkeys and then ob- 
 serve and make inferences upon their dissimilarities with 
 the orang-outang. I doubt not they will gather more valu- 
 able knowledge, after having some definite knowledge with 
 which they can organically connect new cognitions. Natu- 
 ral history must be biographical in the common school. 
 We have neither time nor means to teach more than the 
 elements. A systematic scientific instruction must be left 
 to the higher schools." 
 
 I offer this to my readers as a thought worth thinking 
 about. If the lesson sketched above may not seem as brill- 
 iant as it was in fact, the fault is mine, owing to my inability 
 to write short-hand. I am afraid many a valuable stitch 
 was dropped. 
 
 5. A LESSON IN BOTANY. 
 
 In one of the schools of a large city on the Middle Rhine 
 I had the great pleasure of listening to a botany lesson, 
 which seemed to me worthy of being sketched for the bene- 
 fit of American teachers. 
 
 Simple forms of leaves was the subject of the lesson.
 
 50 DCSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 The pupils had provided themselves with leaves, either from 
 their own gardens or from the numerous parks in the city ; 
 and though every pupil had brought an abundance, there 
 was no litter of branches or leaves on the floor, which 
 proved that good discipline was maintained. I will, in 
 sketching the lesson, omit all introductory and other un- 
 important things said or done merely state the essential 
 features. 
 
 In the course of a few minutes the teacher made on the 
 blackboard the following figures, which were imitated by 
 the pupils: 
 
 FIGS. 63-72. 
 
 These forms were named, the terms attached, and the 
 work was accompanied by pleasant conversation, which led 
 to obtaining the proper terms. Frequent references to things 
 previously spoken of made this part of the lesson very inter- 
 esting. Thus, for instance, the spear-head gave opportunity 
 for referring to the Indians and mound-builders, of which 
 to my genuine astonishment the teacher had a little but a 
 correct knowledge. I must heartily commend the teacher's 
 dexterity and accuracy in sketching the above forms with 
 crayon.
 
 A LESSON IN BOTANY. 51 
 
 When the forms (Figs. 63-72) were recognized and appro- 
 priately named as well as copied, the order was given to find 
 leaves among those brought to school which had similar 
 shapes ; and now began a busy five minutes. Orderly and 
 quietly the pupils searched for the different forms and for 
 duplicates in order to exchange them for those of which 
 other pupils had plenty. At the close of the five minutes 
 the signal was given to have the work ready for inspection. 
 The teacher and myself went through the class-room and 
 saw how the pupils had arranged their leaves. 
 
 Most pupils had heart-shaped leaves ; only one a kidney- 
 shaped leaf; all had oval-shaped, both broad and narrow; 
 all had lancet-shaped ones, both ending in a point or in the 
 form of a heart. None had a spattle-shaped leaf, so the 
 teacher exhibited his specimen. All had spear- and arrow- 
 shaped leaves, but not one, not even the teacher could ex- 
 hibit a rue or rhomboid or diamond-shaped leaf, and so a 
 mere illustration on the board, hastily yet accurately drawn, 
 had to take the place of an object in natura. 
 
 Now the order was given to sketch on paper, first the 
 simple figure, then the leaf under it, and I was greatly 
 pleased with the result of the work. It was done quickly. 
 About twenty minutes sufficed for the slowest workers to 
 sketch all the leaves. Care was taken in bringing out the 
 characteristic feature of the leaves. I must say the leaves 
 looked very natural. 
 
 While I offer in the above figures my own copy of the 
 teacher's sketches, Figs. 73-81 will be found a pupil's work 
 which was given to me at my request. I hope the reader 
 will find this of sufficient importance to see why I have 
 the neat sketches accurately reproduced for the benefit of 
 those who might like to imitate the lesson. They will show 
 that in this lesson seeing, doing, and telling about it, went 
 hand in hand. They will also bear witness to the skill the 
 pupils displayed in drawing. 
 
 No incomprehensible Latin terms were used, much to my 
 delight. Reniformis means nothing to the child, while
 
 52 DUSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 kidney-shaped carries with it a meaning, appealing, as it 
 does, to a familiar form in the memory. 
 
 Now the leaves were traced to their origin. "What 
 plant has leaves like this one ? " " Where did you get 
 yours ? " " Was it a tree, a shrub, an herb, a grass ? " and 
 so on. What struck me in this lesson was the fact that the 
 teacher led the pupils in an opposite way from the one in 
 which I had seen another teacher lead his class. The other 
 had taken the natural leaf first, and then conventionalized it. 
 
 FIGS. 73-81. 
 
 This teacher gave the, so to speak, geometrical form first, and 
 led the pupils to recognize that identical form in the leaves. 
 Whether the one or the other may be used, both ways 
 seemed to come to the same point, namely, thorough ac- 
 quaintance with leaf -forms as well as skill in sketching. 
 Both teachers paid due regard to spelling and language, 
 taking care that the technical terms were duly impressed 
 upon the memory by being written on the board and in the 
 note-books, and by being pronounced in chorus and by 
 single pupils.
 
 IDEAL TEACHING IN GEOGRAPHY. 53 
 
 I find a great deal of sketching done in the schools of 
 Germany and France, and I take this opportunity to say 
 that this practice has a great educational influence, inas- 
 much as it develops the sense of form and creates a memory 
 for forms, not to speak of the skill it gives to the hand and 
 the ability to retain knowledge. 
 
 '' How did you manage to get them to do this sketching 
 so accurately ? " was my question. The teacher's reply was 
 characteristic, namely: 
 
 " Of course, when we began, many efforts of the pupils 
 were weak and their results execrable ; but we persisted, and 
 never let an opportunity for sketching slip by. Nearly every 
 day some sketches of forms are made, and the habit of talk- 
 ing with the pencil is easily acquired. It is just as it is with 
 learning to swim. Plunge in and courageously strike out. 
 Don't try to learn to swim by practicing the movements of 
 arms and legs on the parlor carpet. By persistent practice I 
 accustom my pupils to do this work of sketching. I make it 
 a duty, a pleasure, and even a second nature to them." 
 
 The result of such practical teaching is obvious. I see 
 no reason whatever why we should not be able to " go and 
 do likewise." 
 
 C. IDEAL TEACHING IN GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 It was in a preparatory school in the city of D where 
 
 I saw ideal teaching in geography. The school was pro- 
 vided with all possible means in form of maps. The matter 
 of instruction could be graded just as is done in arithmetic, 
 reading, etc. Geographical knowledge has for ages been 
 wrested from overstocked maps. The child had to search 
 painfully among a bewildering mass of data and facts for 
 those which were to be learned. A systematic or methodical 
 progress step by step was, if not impossible, certainly very 
 difficult. Just as little as a teacher would give into the 
 hands of a child a copy of Webster's "Unabridged" or of 
 Shakespeare's complete works when he begins to learn the 
 art of reading, just as little can it be rational in the teach-
 
 54 DUSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 ing of geography to place before him a complete map stocked 
 with a bewildering number of details. 
 
 FIG. 82. 
 
 This difficulty was removed in the school I refer to. Out- 
 line maps were used. First river-maps like the one above 
 (Fig. 82). All the water-courses and the ocean (A) were 
 colored blue, while the land (B) appeared black. Below 
 each map was given a profile, or longitudinal vertical sec- 
 tion on certain given lines, as on the above sketch on line a. 
 The pupils drew the map on paper and then inserted the 
 elevations. Then followed another outline map containing 
 the elevations and a few boundary-lines. By degrees more 
 items of information were added, such as cities, trunk-roads, 
 canals, etc. The principle of Father Pestalozzi, " One difficul- 
 ty at one time," was carefully heeded, and the pupils were not 
 bothered with maps such as we use in America, which blur 
 the children's mental picture by their multiplicity of detail. 
 
 Teachers are apt to labor under the misapprehension that 
 a map is a good one when it contains much. This is an 
 error. According to that argument a school reader would 
 be a good one only when it contained the whole literature 
 from Alfred's time to the present days Outline maps, sil-
 
 SILHOUETTE PRACTICE MAPS. 
 
 55 
 
 houette maps, and such means for teaching geography ra- 
 tionally, are coming into use here in Europe as well as with 
 us in America. 
 
 The school I i-eferred to was lavishly provided with maps 
 and charts. There were outline, silhouette, and complete 
 maps, geographical, historical, physiological, physical, and 
 astronomical maps and charts. What a wealth there was ! 
 And what a joy it must be to teach in such a school ! 
 
 7. SILHOUETTE PRACTICE MAPS. 
 
 The silhouette practice maps facilitate the grading of the 
 matter of instruction and present opportunities for the grad- 
 ual up - building 
 of geographical 
 knowledge as 
 gained item by 
 item by the child. 
 Upon these maps 
 (Fig. 83) may be 
 entered as upon 
 a blackboard the 
 data to be learned, 
 first by the teach- 
 er, afterward by 
 the pupils, and 
 thus an opportu- 
 nity is afforded 
 to the child to 
 become a self- 
 active participa- 
 tor in the lesson. 
 When the lesson 
 is completed, all 
 
 marks or names Flo 
 
 can be erased 
 with a moist sponge or cloth, and the map is ready for 
 a new lesson or a review.
 
 56 DCSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 The silhouette practice maps enable the instructor in 
 history to illustrate with colored crayon changes in political 
 boundaries at different periods. Students of ancient history, 
 as well as general and modern history, can use these maps 
 with great advantage. They do not make common wall 
 maps superfluous, but supplement them.* 
 
 8. CAUSE AND EFFECT m GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The " Popular Educator," of Boston, published in 1887-'88 
 some excellent contributions which offered in words and 
 pictures the present status of geography teaching in Ger- 
 many. Those articles leave me little to say on that subject. 
 One thing I can do though, and I do it willingly, namely, to 
 say that the statements made in those articles are correct. 
 German teachers, not only in Saxony, where the author 
 evidently gathered his information, but also in other parts 
 of the empire, do teach geography as there stated ; if modi- 
 fied somewhat, perhaps, essentially the same methods are 
 pursued, and that with wonderful results. 
 
 How I should like to transfer some of our American 
 teachers hither, who can not imagine a geography lesson 
 without verbatim memorizing of the printed text ! How I 
 should like to show them rational teaching ! I am fully 
 aware of the fact that we, too, have good teachers, and not 
 a few either; but it can not but please a visitor greatly to 
 find every teacher, good and poor ones, following well-estab- 
 
 * In connection with the foregoing description it may not be out of place 
 to call attention to an effort of my own which may aid teachers seeking for 
 better means of rational instruction than the overstocked and crowded wall 
 maps in use now. I mean the silhouette practice maps, published by 
 Messrs. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 
 
 These maps, of which the sketch in the margin gives an idea, arc printed 
 on heavy tack cardboard and covered with a durable water-proof, cleansalle 
 surface, adapted to receive a succession of markings and cleansings. The 
 shaded space represents the water surfaces. Oceans, lakes, and rivers ap- 
 pear in blue on these maps, the land in black ; hence their name, silhouette 
 maps. They are called practice maps because the pupil can on them practice 
 with crayon geography as he docs arithmetic.
 
 CAUSE AND EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 57 
 
 lished principles of method. That is the true state of affairs 
 
 here in the city of D . Even the poor teachers are not 
 
 without professional training-. There is, however, a deep 
 shadow on this bright picture. Many schools are very 
 poorly equipped with means of instruction, such as maps 
 and charts. 
 
 I listened to a lesson in geography lately in a German 
 school where seventy boys sat together like sardines in a 
 box. The teacher had nothing better than a medium-sized 
 wall map made by himself. His mode of marking elevations 
 was very simple and comprehensive, one which is well worth 
 imitating. With pencil or pen he shaded thus (Fig. 84) : 
 
 Thus he was en- 
 abled to represent the 
 topography of a coun- 
 try in a remarkably 
 accurate manner, and 
 this easy method en- 
 abled his pupils to 
 judge at a glance as 
 to the height of the 
 land. They saw why 
 certain rivers took' 
 such and such a course 
 and no other; why 
 certain cities were 
 
 cold, others warm; why a river was navigable or not, ac- 
 cording to the abruptness of the slope; why certain rivers 
 flowing from great heights had a straighter course than 
 those which had little fall and meandered through the plain ; 
 why certain lands are blessed with mild climates, being shel- 
 tered on the north side by high and steep mountain-ranges, 
 others had rough climate, being exposed to the north wind. 
 
 The teacher was well informed and gave information in 
 such a manner that it agreed with the children's mental 
 stomachs. Example : The Erz-Gebirge (Ore-Mountains) were 
 once full of silver mines. At the time of Martin Luther (at 
 
 HEIGHTS. 
 
 = 300 Ht 
 
 = 500 M. 
 
 = 1000 M. 
 
 3000 M. 
 
 FIG. 84.
 
 58 DUSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 the beginning of the sixteenth century) these mines drew a 
 great number of people to Saxony and particularly to that 
 range of mountains. When the mines ceased to yield, the 
 population, not being so fluctuating as it is now, was obliged 
 to seize upon other modes of occupation. The slopes of the 
 mountains being well provided with various kinds of wood, 
 offered material for a variety of wood-working industries. 
 The slopes being steep, the mountain brooks were turbulent 
 and gave an opportunity to build mills, which were first 
 used for various purposes. Lately, when the textile industry 
 grew, this water-power was utilized to serve that industry. 
 The woods soon disappeared on the Erz Mountains; they 
 were literally used up. So the people had to resort to manu- 
 facturing pursuits almost entirely, agriculture being impossi- 
 ble. To-day the population of the kingdom of Saxony is the 
 densest of all Germany, and, aside from that in Belgium, 
 the densest in all Europe. 
 
 It was cause and effect constantly, and the attention and 
 responsiveness of the boys were truly delightful. 
 
 One other hint I received in this school. When the 
 oral lesson closed, the teacher sent a boy to the blackboard 
 to make a sketch of the map which the other boys were told 
 to make on their slates. Then he showed that distances 
 which he could cover with the span of his hand should be 
 made one inch long on the slate or six inches on the black- 
 board. Now he measured off certain points on the map by 
 spans, and thus gave the pupils a simple scale by means of 
 which they could furnish a free-hand map which was not 
 out of proportion. This procedure leads the way to a more 
 accurate scale and to the thorough comprehension of scales 
 as such. Afterward even this measuring by spans would 
 be discontinued, I was told, and mere eye-measuring would 
 be substituted. It was a fine lesson, indeed a fruitful lesson ! 
 
 9. MAKING HISTORY AN EXPERIENCE. 
 
 I shall never forget the events of this day, and my read- 
 ers, I am sure, will enjoy an account of it. Pursuant to a
 
 MAKING HISTORY AN EXPERIENCE. 59 
 
 polite invitation I accompanied the teachers and pupils of the 
 
 Realschule of D , on an excursion to a neighboring hill 
 
 about four miles from the city. The school marched in com- 
 panies behind a drum corps, the teachers acting as captains. 
 The students all wore light grayish-blue flannel suits and a 
 cap, and carried suspended from the shoulders by a strap a 
 tin box called a botanizing drum. This contained a lunch, 
 small hammers for breaking minerals, pincers for dissecting 
 plants, cork and pins for securing beetles, and a drinking- 
 vessel. A few boys carried spades and shovels, ropes and 
 hammocks. 
 
 The " regiment " afforded a beautiful sight as it marched 
 from the school-yard between five and six hundred in num- 
 ber. As soon as the country road was reached, the music- 
 teacher began a patriotic song in marching time and the 
 whole school chimed in. Oh, the exhilarating influence 
 that song had ! When we came to the villa of a noted phi- 
 lanthropist who had recently given a large sum of money 
 to the school-fund, the regiment drew up in line and gave 
 him a serenade which wound up with three rousing hurrahs. 
 On we went, more singing followed, but never a break in 
 the ranks nor a case of disorder. 
 
 When we reached the foot of the hill a rest was taken at 
 an inn, where milk was served and lunch was enjoyed as 
 only youth can enjoy it. Then we plunged into the woods, 
 each class by itself, one botanizing, one looking for miner- 
 als, another studying geography, and so on. I joined the 
 history class. The professor took us to the summit of the 
 hill and there gave us a lesson on local history which was 
 interesting to a high degree. 
 
 " There it was," said he, " where Prince Ferdinand chased 
 the Frenchmen across the Rhine. Yonder castle is the an- 
 cient residence of the Dukes of Julich-Cleve-Berg, and in 
 that castle it was where the beautiful Princess Jacobea of 
 Baden was murdered. Far in the distance you can see the 
 towers of the Cathedral of Cologne, begun some time during 
 the thirteenth and finished during our nineteenth century.
 
 60 DUSSELDORF (RHEXISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 Yonder is the ancient convent built by the successor of 
 Bishop Boniface ; here the ruins of the ancient Falkenburg, 
 the feudal castle in which lived the owner of the land as far 
 as you can see." 
 
 Then he drew a vivid picture of the difference between 
 feudalism and modern institutions. The knights and barons 
 in their fortified castles were all robbers, swooping down 
 like hawks on the fords, on the highways, on the moorlands, 
 on the forests, on the little settlements below them, and 
 sometimes on the fortified cities, within the walls of which 
 were fostered the feeble germs of self-government, civil 
 rights, and civil virtues. It was a splendid lesson! The 
 students crowded around him with bated breath. Pencil 
 and note-book were brought into requisition, and within the 
 short space of an hour so many references were made to 
 points studied in the class-room that this lesson proved a 
 profitable review over a month's hard study. 
 
 A bugle-signal brought all the different classes together 
 in the Wolf gully. Here the professor addressed the whole 
 school and proposed to make this the scene of the battle of 
 Thermopylae. About fifty agile, strong boys were selected 
 to represent the Greeks who should defend the pass. Their 
 leader was a fine lad of noble bearing, who played the rdle 
 of Leonidas superbly. All the other boys were requested to 
 advance and retreat as Persians. The fight in the pass was 
 not rude, though pretty severe ; and the battle could not be 
 fought through with historical faithfulness, since not one of 
 the boys was willing to play the rdle of Ephialtes, the traitor, 
 so the teacher had to lead the Persians over the hill on a 
 secret path into the rear of the gallant Greeks, who were 
 disarmed after a most heroic resistance. The historical anec- 
 dotes, such as the answer of Leonidas to Xerxes about " fight- 
 ing in the shade " and others, were woven into the play. This 
 was doing history as pupils do arithmetic in the class-room. 
 
 The supercilious reader, if there be one, may smile over 
 this boyish enthusiasm. Let him ! The world owes all its 
 prizes to enthusiasts and nothing to callous men.
 
 MAKING HISTORY AN EXPERIENCE. Ql 
 
 After the battle a welcome rest was enjoyed, then vocal 
 music followed. Mendelssohn's " Farewell to the Forest " 
 and similar choruses were rendered charmingly. Now the 
 treasures found during the afternoon were brought forward. 
 Queer-looking specimens of petrifaction, animals, plants, 
 etc., were examined, classified, and disposed of. Gymnas- 
 tics, climbing of trees, and the tight rope, followed. Class 
 exercises and games occupied part of the time. Certain 
 daring feats were applauded and imitated. The teachers 
 were always among the boys, suggesting and advising, but 
 never showing then? authority except when an order came 
 by bugle-sound. 
 
 When the sun went down, we all assembled at the sum- 
 mit of the hill and enjoyed the grand sight of a sunset. 
 Then the regiment formed in line and marched toward home, 
 drum corps in front, and the whole school joined in singing 
 and shouting. Another lunch at the inn, and then the 
 march was taken up again. As we approached the city 
 gates perfect order and silence were established, the ranks 
 closed, and by. degrees the companies grew smaller, as the 
 boys would, singly or in small groups, leave the ranks, turn 
 into side streets, and go home. 
 
 There was never a break or a lull. Every change pro- 
 posed, every new move made, was so well suited to the occa- 
 sion, that the whole day resembled a kaleidoscope of beauti- 
 ful ideas and scenery. I have my well-founded doubts that 
 Young America could pass a day as delightfully and profit- 
 ably as these healthy German lads did. 
 
 The teachers remained together, following the invitation 
 of the rector, and spent the evening at his house, partaking 
 of his choicest vintage -and indulging in social and profes- 
 sional talk. I can think of no day in all my professional 
 life that so completely engrossed my attention as this one did. 
 
 10. THE STAR-GAZER. 
 
 I had the great pleasure of accompanying a class of boys to 
 the observatory in D , an institution which is under dif-
 
 62 
 
 DftSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 ferent management from that of the high-school of the city. 
 Here the whole class, about twenty-four young men, re- 
 ceived a lesson in finding the constellations a lesson given 
 by the astronomer, assisted by the teacher and the astrono- 
 mer's amanuensis. The class was placed in a row on a 
 veranda, and by means of an ingenious device all the stu- 
 dents were enabled to find the stars and constellations in- 
 stantly. Let me sketch the device. Its name is the star- 
 gazer. 
 
 It consists of a light rectangular frame, which is sus- 
 pended by a cord from a cross-beam, a tree, or any other con- 
 venient place. There were six 
 of these gazers in use. The 
 astronomer would step behind 
 the line of boys, and with the 
 frame lifted to the height of 
 his eye would look along one 
 side of the frame till he had 
 fixed his gaze on a particular 
 star. A student would then 
 look along the other parallel 
 side of the frame and soon see 
 precisely the same star which 
 appeared as the vanishing 
 point of the two parallels. 
 The student would keep his eye 
 on that star, the astronomer 
 would retire, and another stu- 
 dent take his place. In a few 
 
 seconds the whole class looked at the same star ; thereby a 
 fixed point was gained from which entire constellations 
 could be mapped out. Maps of the constellations were 
 spread out on a table and were consulted. 
 
 Now, the reader may perhaps think this of trifling im- 
 portance, but it struck me as being worthy of mention on 
 account of its simplicity. The device is also used by Dr. 
 Lander, of Williamston, South Carolina, where I saw it 
 
 FIG. 85.
 
 WHY SO FEW GERMANS CAN TALK ON THEIR FEET. C3 
 
 first. I might have forgotten it had I not met with it here 
 and seen its great usefulness for class instruction. Great 
 minds think alike. I hope Dr. Lander will not take me to 
 task for thus giving his invention to the public. 
 
 11. WHY so FEW GERMANS CAN TALK ON THEIR FEET. 
 
 I attended a meeting which was held to celebrate the 
 fiftieth birthday of a young ladies' school. It was a pomp- 
 ous affair indeed, but one which betrayed a failing hi the 
 German Government officers which could not and, I believe, 
 would not be tolerated in America. There was a privy 
 councilor, a high Government dignitary, who could not 
 speak off-hand without breaking down before he reached 
 the end of a sentence. Not one of his sentences was com- 
 pleted in the style or grammar in which it was begun. 
 When at the close of his miserable speech he decorated the 
 rector of the school with the insignia of the order of the Red 
 Eagle, several gentlemen covered their amusement with an 
 acute attack of violent coughing. 
 
 This speaker was followed by a school councilor, who 
 spoke a little more fluently, but mumbling his words wo- 
 fully, and the audience was heartily pleased when he re- 
 tired. Then we'heard the rector of a similar school and one 
 of a boys' high-school speak. They conveyed the congratu- 
 lations of sister institutions and dwelt at length upon educa- 
 tional questions. 
 
 Well, I must say these speeches caused me to compare 
 the admirable readiness with which American teachers, and 
 in fact average American citizens, speak in public and the 
 awkwardness of these German speakers. They were not 
 average teachers, but noted persons, men who had achieved 
 a reputation in literature and are looked up to as leaders in 
 educational affairs. Think of it that such men have an 
 abiding influence upon the future of the male youth of the 
 empire, young men who are called upon in future to guide 
 the affairs of the state ! Not one spark of that natural and 
 graceful eloquence which is one of the characteristics of the 
 6
 
 64 DCSSELDORF (RIIENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 public man in America was noticeable ; no brilliant rhetoric, 
 not even a commendable elocution. 
 
 However, comprehending everything means pardoning 
 everything. The causes are apparent to the naked eye. No 
 wonder our American citizens can talk fluently in public, 
 having so many hundreds of opportunities offered them for 
 public speaking and the practical training they get in their 
 high-schools and even grammar-schools; and then remem- 
 ber that the German "citizen," or, more correctly speaking, 
 the German " subject," has very few such chances and that 
 oratory is not known among the studies of the high-school. 
 Think also of the fact that English is a very easy language ; 
 it has no declensions to speak of, and its syntax is of the 
 most primitive kind. In fine, you may build your sentences 
 with unhewn stones ; they will, singular as it may seem, al- 
 ways fit well together. In German it is necessary to hew 
 every block before using it. A number of declensions and 
 conjugations and a rather complicated syntax make speak- 
 ing the language fluently very difficult. 
 
 But, despite all this, there are German orators of great 
 talent. When I returned to my hotel I accompanied a lady, 
 who spoke without reserve of this woful want of good 
 speakers in the schools, saying, " If that's a sample of elo- 
 quence taught in the Boys' High-School, I don't wonder that 
 the German Parliament is so tame an affair, and that so 
 natural and volcanic an eloquence as that of Bismarck's 
 crushes the men there as though they were mere reeds." 
 
 12. CLASS-BOOK OF PROGRESS. 
 
 Whatever you may think or say of the Germans, one 
 thing is indisputable: they are excellent accountants. Sys- 
 tematic in their habits, even in trifling things, as they are, 
 their success in business is not at all astonishing. This same 
 systematic, thoughtful way of doing business may be seen 
 in school. But the reader must not think that these born 
 accountants keep many account-books. A German teacher 
 has only two, or at most three books, which he keeps regu-
 
 CLASS-BOOK OF PROGRESS. 65 
 
 larly and methodically. The first is the daily register of at- 
 tendance ; the second a " book of progress," and sometimes a 
 journal is used to enter meritorious cases, or cases of punish- 
 ment. It is the second book of which I wish to speak. 
 
 Each teacher keeps a " book of progress," which contains 
 a broad, convenient column for each branch of study. After 
 each lesson he enters a statement, couched in the fewest pos- 
 sible expressions, of what he did, not of what he meant to 
 do, during the lesson. Let me copy a few items for the bene- 
 fit of my readers, to show how well the accounts are kept, 
 and with what little waste of time it is done : 
 
 GEOGRAPHY. Teacher: Mr. . 
 
 Oct. 17. Mountains of southern Germany, water-sheds and rivers. 
 
 " 18. Drainage of central Europe. 
 
 " 19. Importance of Rhine, Elba, Oder, Vistula, and Danube for com- 
 merce. 
 
 " 20. Commercial and industrial cities in central Europe. 
 
 " 21. States of Germany. Historical allusions. 
 
 " 22. Review. 
 
 " 24. Coast-line of Germany compared with that of England and other 
 countries. 
 
 " 25. Historical allusions regarding Venice, Trieste, etc. 
 
 " 26. Political boundaries of southern Europe. 
 
 " 27. The course of the Danube, physical and political geography. 
 
 " 28. Review, etc., etc. 
 
 As I said, every branch of study is thus treated, and the 
 teacher does not leave the class-room before he has posted up 
 this day-book. This book is of use to himself inasmuch as it 
 affords an easy reference to the ground gone over, and a 
 most convenient means of control on the part of the super- 
 intendent. But the curse of our American, schools, the daily 
 marking of pupils, the keeping of a class record, the weekly, 
 monthly term, and annual reports, these terrible but no, 
 there is no occasion to be bitter. Let me simply repeat that, 
 aside from the daily register of attendance and the above- 
 mentioned book of progress, no official accounts are kept.
 
 66 DCSRELDORF (RIIEXISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 Despite the absence of daily marking, I find the many pupils 
 of a class in the graded schools more on a level than I ever 
 found them in America. I can in no other way account for 
 this than by the thorough professional training of the teach- 
 ers, which is a conditio sine qua non of holding a position. 
 Do not blame me for mentioning this so often. It can not 
 be said too often, can not be emphasized too strongly. 
 
 13. PROMOTE THE TEACHERS WITH THEIR CLASSES. 
 
 Many of my readers will have observed how detrimental 
 it is to the progress of children that they have to change 
 teachers often. Their mental growth is stunted, though 
 every one of their teachers may be a good one. Before the 
 new teacher has acquainted himself with the peculiarities of 
 each pupil much valuable time is lost ; many vital errors are 
 committed, though unintentionally ; many points of hostile 
 contact are established, before he is aware of it. Even one 
 new teacher for every year is too frequent a change, as was 
 found by these thoughtful Germans. They hit upon a rem- 
 edy which, I am glad to say, is in vogue also in America in a 
 few places. It is this: 
 
 In the primary grades the teacher is promoted with his 
 class. He steps into the next higher class with all the little 
 ones prepared for promotion. When the second year is over, 
 he takes that class into the third year's work, and in some 
 cities even further up, into the fourth. After that he pro- 
 motes his class into the intermediate school and steps down 
 again to the new chart class which has just entered school. 
 Here he begins another cycle of three or four years. In other 
 words, he has the same pupils three or four years instead of 
 one year. 
 
 The same order of procedure is followed in the next four 
 years, or intermediate school. Here the teacher has his pu- 
 pils for three years. In this department there is a deviation 
 from the rule, namely, the principal is excluded from this 
 rotary movement. He remains in charge of the highest 
 grade always. I believe this is done to round off and polish
 
 PROMOTE THE TEACHERS WITH THEIR CLASSES. 67 
 
 the pupils' knowledge before they finish the course of study. 
 It seems hardly necessary to enlarge upon the advantages 
 connected with this practice. They are obvious to any ob- 
 servant witness, although I admit there are disadvantages 
 connected with it, also. On an impartial scale, however, 
 the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages. I am con- 
 fident of that. 
 
 NOTE. Connection cf Teacher and Pupils. In the " Journal of Educa- 
 tion," of April 26tb, Dr. L. R. Klemra points out the .loss to children from 
 frequent change of teachers, and considers how the change may be avoid- 
 ed. This very important question has not, I think, received the attention 
 it deserves. Speaking of the only schools in which I have worked viz., 
 the English I have no doubt that the progress of the cleverer boys is 
 checked by the frequent and sometimes violent changes in methods of 
 study as the pupil passes from teacher to teacher. An able or very hard- 
 working boy will " get his remove " three times in the year ; so no " form- 
 master " has the teaching of him for more than twelve or thirteen weeks. 
 Docs it not seem obvious that teacher and pupil are parted just when they 
 are beginning to understand one another ? 
 
 The Jesuits have, I believe, always adopted the plan recommended by 
 Dr. Klemm. With them the personal influence of the teacher is consid- 
 ered of the highest importance, and the teacher has to make a careful 
 study of the powers, the tastes, and the habits of each pupil. So teacher 
 and pupil must keep together. The same method is common in the great 
 Scotch schools, though without the same motive. This method, with some 
 advantages, must have many drawbacks. In all schools there are, most 
 likely, some weak masters. With us the harm done by this weakness is 
 spread over a large area, but it would be the intellectual and perhaps the 
 moral ruin of a boy to be handed over to such a teacher for the whole of 
 his school life. And how can the same boys be taught together year after 
 year, while the rate of progress of some of them is so much greater than 
 that of others ? 
 
 I am very glad Dr. Klcmm has started the subject for discussion. 
 
 R. H. QUICK. 
 
 REDHILL, SURREY, ENGLAND.
 
 G8 DflSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 14. A SCHOOL OF DESIGN. 
 
 Many months I spent in Germany, visiting schools al- 
 most exclusively. I passed thi-ough the fairest portions of 
 the empire, through the Free Cities, Westphalia, Rhenish 
 Prussia, Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg, etc. ; even crossed 
 the boundary into Holland and France, and studiously 
 avoided visiting industrial schools or any other special 
 schools. My first object was to see what could be seen in 
 the elementary schools. Hundreds of schools, more than five 
 hundred class-rooms and lessons I saw, many libraries, col- 
 lections, school museums, and wherever I found a pearl I 
 picked it up, deliberately appropriating it for the benefit of 
 my American colleagues. I addressed German teachers' 
 meetings, " culture clubs," and other societies, wrote down 
 iu leisure hours (sitting in hotel-lobbies, depots, or in my 
 easy-chair of a furnished room) on the spur of the moment 
 what I had seen during the day worth noting down. I 
 wrote, sketched, drew, and copied and now I am weary. 
 
 Though the work is very interesting and exciting, very 
 absorbing, indeed, a holiday occupation such as my wildest 
 dreams of happiness could not have pictured, I begin to be- 
 lieve in Goethe's words, " Nichts ist schwerer zu ertragen als 
 eine Reihe von schoenen Tagen " (nothing is more difficult 
 to endure than a number of fine days). Traveling from one 
 city to another, following suggestions to this and that point 
 in quest of improved teaching, and nowhere enjoying the 
 rest which home alone can offer, I begin to feel as though I 
 deserved a vacation. This I seek in visiting special schools, 
 and, being aware of the commotion in our country, caused 
 by the attempt at ingrafting manual training upon the com- 
 mon school, I begin with industrial schools. 
 
 The first one of these schools at my disposal, and. as I am 
 toldj one of the best in the empire, is a school of industrial 
 art (really called art -industry school, " Kunst - Gewerbe- 
 
 Schule ") at D . These institutions are a result of the fact 
 
 that the Germans had recognized the superiority of other
 
 A SCHOOL OF DESIGN. C9 
 
 nations in the domain of industrial art. In Philadelphia 
 (1876) they found themselves badly heaten by the French, 
 by the Americans, and partly also by the Italians and Aus- 
 trians. Heroically they set to work to win back the same 
 position in industrial ai't which Germany had during the 
 middle ages. With the revival in southern Germany of 
 models of the middle ages, a burning desire was felt not to 
 allow the trades to retrograde, but to give them a new im- 
 petus. This was found in better models and in more thor- 
 ough instruction in the industrial arts. 
 
 Thus all the industrial occupations were placed on a 
 higher level than heretofore. It was found that, with the 
 enormous extension of machine labor, manual labor was 
 liberated to better efforts and higher, nobler aims. The 
 Government saw that the hands thus liberated by machine- 
 power must be employed, and it did not hesitate a moment 
 in founding schools which directed much of this idle power 
 and talent into new channels. In all industrial centers of 
 the empire schools of industrial art sprung up. They are 
 found in Berlin, Cologne, Nuremberg, Biisseldorf, and many 
 other places, chiefly in South Germany, Saxony, and Rhen- 
 ish Prussia. These schools are maintained by communal 
 (i. e., local district) and state funds. 
 
 While in the common schools manual occupation is in- 
 troduced to offer the pupils a curriculum in which mental 
 exertion is counterpoised by manual exertion, these special 
 schools in Germany have a different object they are to per- 
 fect the boys in the trades after having gone through the 
 common school, and to give them that education which fits 
 them to play leading rdles in industrial pursuits. The com- 
 pletion of a common-school education is a condition of admis- 
 sion. No pupil is admitted before he has completed his four- 
 teenth year of age, and not even then unless he has entered 
 a workshop as an apprentice or joined an industrial artist in 
 his studio. In other words, he must be a bona fide artisan. 
 Academic instruction is only offered in geometry because 
 that branch is not in the course of the common school.
 
 70 DCSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 The Diisseldorf Industrial Art School is divided into two 
 distinct departments the preparatory and the professional. 
 No pupil can enter the professional department who has not 
 gone through a course in the preparatory department, though 
 special talent will enable him to absolve it in a few months. 
 He must submit to the rigid course which requires of him to 
 pass through all the different preparatory exercises so that 
 he may with wide-open eyes discover his calling and select 
 his trade. In his preparatory class each student draws some- 
 thing of everything designs for house-building and furni- 
 ture, designs for gun-, lock-, and tool-smiths and other metal- 
 workers, designs for machine-building and devices, for mod- 
 eling in clay and wood-carving, for embossing and chasing, 
 for decorative art and engraving, for glass and china paint- 
 ing, and Heaven knows what not. 
 
 There is a variety in this preparatory department which 
 at first puzzles many a pupil ; but soon he finds his favorite 
 occupation if he had not previously developed a special lik- 
 ing. Toward the end of a year a pupil of this department 
 usually has developed a very decided leaning in one direc- 
 tion, and the professors foster that by giving the pupil 
 work to do that will help him on in his chosen specialty. 
 The main object of this preparatory department is that 
 the student test his strength in all directions and with 
 the aid of the teachers' advice and mature judgment find 
 his calling. It is a process not of natural but of deliberate 
 selection. 
 
 Now the student is ready to enter the professional de- 
 partment. Sometimes a student is found to develop such a 
 variety of talents that the professors are obliged to repress 
 and curb him lest he should fritter away his strength in too 
 many directions. I saw many exquisite achievements in the 
 preparatory class; but one thing struck me as highly recom- 
 mendable there was no copying done. Copies were placed 
 before the pupil ; but they had to be reproduced on a larger 
 or smaller scale. If a student is found copying, he is sum- 
 marily dismissed. Let me say also that a boy who is absent
 
 A SCHOOL OF DESIGN. ft 
 
 without cause is dismissed without appeal. " We don't want 
 any lazy-bones here," said the rector. 
 
 Most of the pupils of the preparatory department are ap- 
 prentices who ply their trade after school hours ; hut when 
 they enter the professional department they give up their 
 work in the shop for three years, at least do not work in 
 them steadily. Only models and designs drawn and calcu- 
 lated in school may be worked out in the home shops and 
 brought to school. The school itself has no shops, except 
 studios for wood-carving, modeling in clay and plaster, re- 
 pousse work, etching, engraving, chasing, and decorative 
 painting. No manual labor in joining and carpentering, 
 etc., is done in this school, but articles are made from mod- 
 els in natura, all done at home by the students and pro- 
 fessors after designs furnished by the school. These models 
 for joiner-work fill an entire room, and are very costly arti- 
 cles. 
 
 The professional department is divided into as many 
 classes as there are trades which can be benefited by designs, 
 the school being in reality a "school of design." I will 
 enumerate the classes : 
 
 Class I. Furniture-building (joiner and carpenter work). 
 II. Architecture. 
 
 III. Metal- work (locksmith, armorer, and toolsmith). 
 
 IV. Decorative painting (fresco-painting and textile 
 
 industry. 
 
 V. Figural drawing and painting. 
 VI. Ornamental modeling in clay and wax. 
 VII. Figural modeling. 
 VIII. Ornamental and figural wood-carving. 
 IX. Etching, embossing, and raising in metal. 
 X. Engraving and chasing (jeweler work). 
 And several classes of minor importance, chiefly subdivis- 
 ions. Classes I, II, III embrace instruction in drawing and 
 coloring designs which will further the industrial pursuits 
 of carpenters, joiners, architects, armorers, gun- and lock- 
 smiths, etc. New designs are invented under guidance.
 
 72 DtTSSELDORF (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 Models in " life-size " or in miniature are placed before the 
 pupils. Class IV offers instruction in designing, drawing, 
 and painting of decorations on the plane (surface decora- 
 tion). Water-colors are used. This class is also frequented 
 by landscape gardeners. Instruction in Class V is made 
 very interesting. Attendance is obligatory for all the stu- 
 dents, because the human figure is represented more or less 
 in the work of all trades. 
 
 Instruction in Classes VI and VII is perhaps more highly 
 developed here in Diisseldorf than elsewhere. Instruction 
 in Class VIII has special reference to joiner's work, while that 
 of Classes IX and X aims at imitating those costly and valu- 
 able drinking- vessels made during the middle ages, the man- 
 ufacture of which was for a long time almost classed among 
 the lost arts. No matter what class a student has chosen, he 
 is obliged to take part in exercises in perspective drawing, 
 in drawing from casts, and from the nude model. Every 
 student is obliged to listen to a course in anatomy. Par- 
 ticularly talented students are permitted to join several 
 classes. 
 
 The daily sessions are from eight to twelve, from two till 
 six, and from seven till nine total, ten hours. Only Sun- 
 day afternoon and evening are free. Tuition fees per an- 
 num are ten dollars in the preparatory class, fifteen dollars 
 in the professional department, and five dollars extra for 
 the evening lectures. The building, which was erected spe- 
 cially for the purpose, contains a very large museum of in- 
 dustrial arts, which is open to the students. In America we 
 should consider this school an art-school, but not so here. 
 An academy of fine arts is a totally different thing. While 
 in this industrial art-school everything done is done with 
 reference to industrial pursuits, the art-school confines itself 
 to painting in oil and water-color and to sculpture. 
 
 I met a young man from Chicago in the Industrial 
 School who was studying in the class of decorative painting 
 and in the modeling class. He confided to me that he had 
 gone through a similar school in America and then worked
 
 PROPER SCHOOL FURNITURE. 73 
 
 as fresco-painter. When he had earned a thousand dollars 
 he had come to Germany and entered this school, confident 
 that he could go through the entire course in half a year. 
 " Well," said he, " I am at the beginning of my fourth half 
 year now, and I am not nearly through yet. What a won- 
 derland this Germany is ! " he added, with a sigh. 
 
 I spent several hours in rummaging through the accumu- 
 lated work of the students after having gone through all the 
 classes, and was greatly pleased with what was accomplished. 
 The rector, a young man of great force, told me that the se- 
 cret of success of this school lay in the fact that the trustees 
 engaged as professors in this institution only men who had 
 proved incontestably that they were masters in their respect- 
 ive departments. " It is not a question of home talent with 
 us, but of merit alone ! " 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 I. PROPER SCHOOL FURNITURE. 
 
 IN the city of Elberfeld I came across another proof of 
 the careful consideration for the pupils on the part of the 
 authorities such as is not often found in our country. I 
 found a tin scale (see cut on next page) tacked to the 
 door-post with its lower end just one metre above the floor. 
 The pupils are measured frequently and rearranged on the 
 seats with reference to their sizes. Children who measured 
 110 centimetres are placed on benches numbered VIII. If 
 they measure 117 centimetres, they are placed on a bench a 
 size larger, namely, No. VII, and so upward. 
 
 If this is done three or four times a year, each child will 
 have a convenient seat, not too low and not too high. The 
 benches in the schools of that city are all made by one firm,
 
 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 and furnished in accordance with the scale. Some people 
 may consider this pedantic; but the scale being furnished 
 gratis and the arrangement taking little 
 time, there can be no objection to it. 
 I remember with ever-vivid sensation 
 the cramps in my legs and the pain 
 in my back when I as a small boy had 
 to sit on a high bench, my feet dangling 
 and my body swaying, because I could 
 find no convenient rest for the feet or 
 back. 
 
 The men in the Board of Education 
 who loftily dismiss any such proposition 
 of the superintendent as changing the 
 desk for hygienic purposes, ought to be 
 condemned to pass a day on such a 
 bench to get a taste of the inconven- 
 ience caused by improper furniture. 
 But, then, the schools of some Ameri- 
 can cities are " governed " by the people 
 for the benefit of political parties, and 
 it is simply ridiculous to expect mem- 
 bers of political school committees to 
 consider hygienic principles so long as 
 the question, " Which of the different 
 manufacturers of desks uses most of 
 my wares ? " is uppermost in their minds. 
 It is perhaps the very man who "sat 
 down " on a motion of the superintend- 
 ent to purchase more suitable desks 
 who will, when he gets home, claim 
 the most convenient arm-chair in the 
 Fjo gg house, lean back in it, and tell his wife 
 
 of the laborious duties of a school 
 committee-man, and expatiate upon his saintly conduct as 
 an immaculate servant of the people. O tempora ! O 
 mores! 
 
 CHILD'S 
 
 SIZE. 
 CENTIM. 
 
 SIZE OF 
 BENCH. 
 NO. 
 
 I. a 
 
 
 03 
 
 1X0 
 
 KB 
 
 MM 
 
 a 
 
 170 
 
 ma 
 
 5 
 
 in 
 
 mt 
 as 
 
 I. 
 
 : 
 
 ISO 
 
 mi 
 
 II. 
 
 i 
 
 110 
 
 m 
 
 III. 
 
 : 
 
 K!0 
 
 B 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 l:iO 
 
 B 
 
 a 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 1 
 r 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Mi 
 
 
 HI 
 
 I Of) 
 
 - 

 
 THE FIRST REFOEMED PARISH SCHOOL. 75 
 
 2. THE FIRST EEFORMED PARISH SCHOOL. 
 
 A historical spot of no mean importance is the school I 
 visited in Elberfeld. During the time of the great Church 
 Reformation this school was a parish school, and when the 
 entire parish severed its connection with the Roman Church 
 and joined the Protestants, this school, being property of 
 the parish, changed its character and name also. Through 
 all the vicissitudes of life during more than three hundred 
 and fifty years the school has remained unchanged save in 
 this, that it is now a city or communal school; but the city 
 authorities are so respectful to the historical reputation of 
 this school that they reserve for it the well-earned distinc- 
 tion of being called the First Reformed Parish School, while 
 all other city schools are called people's or communal 
 schools. 
 
 In front of the building, separated from it by a roadway, 
 is an ancient church-yard in which rest the remains of the 
 first Protestants, the first followers of Dr. Martin Luther in 
 this place. From the windows of the front rooms may be 
 seen the tower of the first Lutheran church in the valley, 
 the first church in which the purified faith was preached. 
 Though not a stone's-throw off stands a palatial new Catholic 
 school, a proof of the fact that we live in a different century, 
 this ancient parochial school has kept up its reputation as 
 the best school in town; indeed, a day spent in different 
 rooms of this quaint building convinced me of the powerful 
 influence of historical reminiscences. 
 
 I heard a lesson in mathematical geography in the seventh 
 grade (seventh from below), one in language in the sixth, in 
 singing in the seventh, in composition in the sixth, in or- 
 thography in the fourth, in reading in the lowest grade, and 
 must pronounce the teaching far superior to that of many 
 other schools. This first reformed school seems to be on the 
 road to reform yet. It protests energetically against all 
 transmitted errors in teaching. The most advanced methods 
 are applied. Thus, for instance, it does not teach to spell
 
 76 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 (to split words) for the sake of spelling, as is so frequently 
 done in our schools, but teaches orthography (correct writ- 
 ing) chiefly through the sense of sight. This is. done in a 
 way which would give an orthodox schoolmaster (or school- 
 mistress, for that matter) the horrors or make his flesh creep. 
 Let me state how it is done. 
 
 The children had read a piece containing a number of 
 difficult words. The teacher ordered these words to be 
 marked, picked out, and written on the board. They were 
 carefully looked at and the difficulties they contained were 
 pointed out. Then the teacher spelled (split) each word in 
 succession. After that a mark was made where the word 
 was divided or broken at the end of a line. Now they were 
 used in new sentences, and some pupils dispatched to the 
 board to write these short sentences. After this the teacher 
 proceeded to erase the words of the lesson, and had them in- 
 serted again by other pupils. 
 
 After all this was done the entire work on the board was 
 erased and the sentences were .dictated. While the pupils 
 wrote them, the teacher passed through the aisles and cor- 
 rected instantly what errors were met by her sharp, search- 
 ing eyes. After the work was done on the slates, the pupils 
 were told to erase certain words (the new difficult words of 
 the lesson) and to insert them again after spelling them 
 aloud. Thus an hour was profitably spent in seeing, divid- 
 ing, writing, erasing, and rewriting words, and the occupa- 
 tion this gave to the children was anything but tedious. 
 Words thus learned in proper surroundings are reviewed 
 next day by merely writing them in columns and using them 
 in sentences orally only. 
 
 New words are also taken from the matter in geography, 
 arithmetic, drawing, etc., not only from the reading matter. 
 Words which the pupils should learn, though they are not 
 contained in the reading matter, are purposely thrown at 
 their feet, so that they must either stumble over them or 
 pick them up. This is not done by presenting the pupils 
 with strings of words promiscuously selected, but with their
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 77 
 
 meaning in sentences, for instance, in connection with ob- 
 ject-lessons, so that they appear as garments of ideas. They 
 are thus organically connected with knowledge previously 
 gained. 
 
 Or, to generalize, a word is not given to find a definition 
 for it, but the thought and the definition are presented and a 
 fitting word is found afterward. First, the object, the phe- 
 nomenon, the quality, or whatever it may be, then the 
 thought or idea is established, and for that a suitable word, 
 a symbol, as it were, is formed. That word is then incor- 
 porated in the child's vocabulary and laid at anchor by see- 
 ing it and by writing it correctly. Of course, some words 
 are learned otherwise, but I feel disinclined to state excep- 
 tions. What I am after is the rule. 
 
 This may seem pale theory to some teachers ; but I assure 
 them it takes less time to teach orthography in this way than 
 to dictate incomprehensible words for the purpose of raising 
 a plentiful crop of mistakes. Children loathe incomprehen- 
 sible words. Spelling in the old-fashioned school was a 
 separate study, and as such no doubt it was a beauty and a 
 joy forever (?). To-day orthography is no separate study, 
 but appears as component part of practice in written lan- 
 guage. 
 
 3. A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOU DULLARDS. 
 
 A. Object and Organization. In such industrial cen- 
 ters as Elberfeld, Barmen, Cologne, Gladbach, Crefeld, Essen, 
 Diisseldorf, Solingen, Duisburg, Remscheid, and others in 
 Rhenish Prussia, the percentage of idiots, deaf-mutes, and 
 other kinds of Nature's step-children, is naturally greater 
 than at places of similar importance in America, where the 
 people do not live so close together. The number of these 
 unfortunates is always smaller where better hygienic condi- 
 tions admit of healthier life, and beautiful surroundings and 
 the influence of art generate a more moral atmosphere ; but 
 it is not of the idiotic children, to wit, those who prove un- 
 able to be educated, of whom I will speak. The state and
 
 78 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 community take care of them in well-regulated institutions 
 as generously as is done in America. 
 
 In every graded system of city schools there is a residue 
 of weak-minded children who can not be counted among 
 those unable to learn. In America such children are often 
 repulsed and got rid of by fair or foul means, a thing that 
 can not be done here, where a very severe law prescribes 
 obligatory attendance. The school authorities here deserve 
 the highest praise for not excluding these pariahs, but with 
 infinite care bringing them within the pale of school influ- 
 ence. 
 
 Let me have it distinctly understood that I do not mean 
 imbecile children, pronounced idiots, but intellectually weak 
 ones, children who, though in possession of the organic five 
 senses, are poorly endowed in perception, memory, reason, 
 etc., and are therefore unfit to stay among 1 normally en- 
 dowed children, partly because they deserve a specially slow 
 procedure on tfi'e part of the teacher, and are therefore a 
 hindrance to the class ; partly also because they are the 
 laughing-stock of their brighter schoolmates, and in conse- 
 quence of being ill treated lose the last spark of self-respect 
 and ambition. 
 
 Here in the district of Diisseldorf, which has more big 
 cities and industrial centers than any other Prussian pro- 
 vincial district, the idea has taken root that these mentally 
 weak children ought to be taught separately, lest in the 
 course of time they might become idiots, but chiefly for the 
 purpose of freeing the common school of a dead weight 
 which impedes its progress. 
 
 It was not easy to convince the school committee of the 
 necessity of such a school, but a few of the superintendents 
 took the matter in hand and urged its establishment with all 
 available arguments. Miinchen-Gladbach and Elberfeld are 
 the first cities in which such separate or special schools were 
 established. Other cities, such as Cologne, Crefeld, Diissel- 
 dorf, followed suit, and in several others the establishment 
 is contemplated, notably also in Basle, Switzerland.
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 79 
 
 Many prejudices of parents had to be overcome. When, 
 some ten or twelve years ago, I urged a superintendent in 
 Ohio to establish such a school, he answered me : " I have a 
 good mind to single out the morally unsound and danger- 
 ous elements and put them into an ungraded school by 
 themselves ; but I hesitate to single out the dullards." I 
 asked why. Said he, looking wise : '' A father or mother is 
 more easily persuaded that his or her boy is mischievous, 
 wicked, and even vicious, than that he is too stupid to make 
 the progress that his schoolmates make. Moral weakness 
 may be attributed to street influence and bad example of 
 others, but the accusation of mental weakness touches the 
 parent to the quick." Similar difficulties had to be over- 
 come here. 
 
 One of the rules under which this special school here in 
 Elberfeld operates is that a child can only be admitted after 
 it has attended a public school for two years, and during that 
 time has given ample evidence of its inability to keep up with 
 other children. These are the children that cause anxiety in 
 family and school. They can not be promoted with their 
 schoolmates, but lose courage and finally settle back into a 
 state of hopeless indifference unless placed in the care of 
 a teacher who is particularly well adapted to such work. 
 These children are slow in perception, slower still in reason- 
 ing, wofully weak in memory; and their imagination, hav- 
 ing been left without food in form of percepts and con- 
 cepts, is stunted. They can not apply thoughts, and will 
 remain helpless creatures unless special instruction is given 
 them, which will, coupled with infinite patience, awaken 
 thought, nourish the power of abstraction, train the power 
 of application, and generally treat them as objects of tender 
 care. 
 
 Some nine years ago a beginning was made here in El- 
 berfeld with twenty-five pupils. A teacher who was re- 
 markably well adapted for this kind of work was sent to 
 special schools for idiots to learn the methods applied there. 
 All desirable means of instruction were placed at his dis-
 
 80 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 posal, and the authorities with rare and commendable wis- 
 dom gave him free elbow-room that is, did not hedge him 
 in with a prescribed course of study. No object was fixed 
 in view except to do the best that could be done under the 
 circumstances. The selection of this teacher was a very 
 happy one. 
 
 The trial of one year established the indisputable fact 
 that these children were not hopeless cases, but that they 
 could be taught and that they could learn. Some wealthy 
 parents who had children with weak intellects observed the 
 results of this effort and sent their backward children to this 
 school. That removed the reputation of its being a school 
 for outcasts. Poor, prejudiced people thought, "If Mr. 
 Privy Councilor, and Mr. General Agent, and Mr. Banker, 
 and such people, send their children to this school, it can't 
 be a school for outcasts, and we will send ours " ; and they 
 did. Soon a second class was started, and the school graded 
 in primary and intermediate class. Still better work could 
 now be done and was done. At the beginning of the fourth 
 or fifth year the opening of a third class was found neces- 
 sary, and ever since the school has exercised a beneficial in- 
 fluence directly within its walls, and indirectly by freeing 
 the other schools of impediments. 
 
 At present (November, 1887) this special school has very 
 commodious quarters, and works according to a curriculum 
 which has been developed slowly as circumstances would 
 permit a curriculum which is subject to changes as the na- 
 ture of the pupils may dictate. There is no rigid require- 
 ment, no cast-iron rule. Course and method are as elastic 
 and flexible as the individuality of the pupils make it neces- 
 sary. Some pupils stay beyond the fourteenth year of age. 
 Teachers and inspector keep an eye on those who have com- 
 pleted the course, and help them to enter life to carve out a 
 future. The attendance at present is about ninety pupils in 
 three rooms. If we consider that Elberfeld has one hun- 
 dred and twenty thousand inhabitants, the number of ninety 
 pupils in this special school is not exorbitant. In the next
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 81 
 
 sections I shall describe the results and the methods ob- 
 served. 
 
 B. Results. It is obvious that this school must in no 
 way be fettered down with rigid rules and regulations, or 
 with a course of study prescribed in schools for normally 
 endowed children. Though it has in due course of time 
 been able to set down in writing what is possible and attain- 
 able, its only true guide is try to attain what is within reach 
 of the individual pupil. The teachers are obliged to change 
 the course and the method frequently so as to adapt them to 
 each individual pupil. If we consider that this school has 
 hardly any models to go by except institutions for idiots, 
 deaf-mutes, etc., and that this is literally a pioneer school, it 
 is easily seen how great must be the difficulties that beset the 
 path of its teachers. 
 
 I have, in all my wanderings through schools in America 
 and Europe (and this is my twenty-fifth year of experience 
 in the school-rooms), not found another set of teachers who 
 can compare with these three in inquisitiveness and eager- 
 ness to gain information useful to them in their Sisyphus 
 work. One of them told me that he had been sent to a school 
 for deaf-mutes to study methods, and had noticed that, bar- 
 ring the one defect, the children there were normally en- 
 dowed and had that inspiring desire to learn which flows 
 from ambition. " But look at these young ones," said he ; 
 " there is no ambition. All we can awaken at first is a kind 
 of dull or blunt interest in bright pictures. All abstraction 
 is impossible. Many can riot conceive of such numbers as 
 3, 5, 7, and it takes the patience of ten Jobs to ' generate ' 
 such concepts." 
 
 I find in use here some of Froebel's occupations ; not all, 
 but the simplest ones, and even these are modified. I find 
 adapted here methods used in blind asylums, schools for 
 deaf-mutes, and schools for idiots. Suggestions are taken 
 from every source, and readily acknowledged. Of course, 
 the school is not considered a model school of its kind, but I 
 am confident it will be in time to come. Just as carefully
 
 82 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 as the mind is trained the other powers of the soul are at- 
 tended to. The emotions, though sluggish, are stimulated ; 
 volition, in most cases entirely wanting, is awakened, not 
 crushed ; order and discipline are maintained, and thus the 
 foundation is laid for a further development of the moral 
 sense. The pupils' good qualities are lovingly nursed ; 
 their bad tendencies are repressed, not violently, yet firmly 
 and consistently. 
 
 Pupils who have skill in manual occupations are special- 
 ly trained in them, so that when they leave school at the age 
 of fourteen years they may be apprenticed to some trades- 
 man; and charitably the school keeps its hand over them 
 for many a year to come until the children are either well 
 enough advanced to carve out their own future or prove in- 
 capable of developing further what the school had awakened 
 in them. In the latter cases the State is called upon to take 
 the care, and it rarely hesitates. I have not the least doubt 
 that some day a genius whose mental constitution differs 
 vitally from that of normally endowed children will be 
 found to deserve special treatment in such a special school 
 and find it here. History tells of some such cases who 
 became famous, not on account of their school education, 
 bat despite of it. They might have had proper training in 
 such a special school for dullards. Nature is a very queer 
 woman. Who knows but that some of these children may 
 bloom out into full-fledged geniuses who will leave others 
 behind them, astonishing the world with ideas not commonly 
 conceived by the " normally endowed " ? According to the 
 established idea, a genius is an abnormally endowed person. 
 
 Up to May 1, 1885, thirty pupils were dismissed from this 
 school and sent into the world. May I be permitted to give 
 a few highly interesting statistical data ? 
 
 I. Number of children who passed the examination for 
 dismissal at fourteen years of age : 
 
 Upper Class. Sixteen boys, six girls. 
 
 Lower Class. Four boys, four girls. 
 
 Three were sent away or transferred who proved idiotic ;
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 83 
 
 five were sent back who proved well enough endowed ifco get 
 along in the common school ; one moved away from town ; 
 one died. Total, forty. 
 
 II. Duration of attendance : 
 
 Two of these forty children attended this special school 
 one year; three children one and a half years; one child 
 two years ; five children two and a half years ; two children 
 three years ; one child three and a half years ; five children 
 four years ; three children four and a half years ; six chil- 
 dren five years ; two children five and a half years. 
 
 III. Results of the school : 
 
 Of the thirty who passed the examination twenty-three 
 could read well with proper emphasis, seven only mechan- 
 ically. 
 
 In writing seven could only copy ; ten could write from 
 memory and dictation ; and thirteen could write short com- 
 positions, letters, bills, etc. 
 
 In arithmetic six children could only reckon within the 
 circle of 1 to 20, three within 1 to 100, two within 1 to 200, 
 seven within 1 to 1,000. Three worked with unlimited num- 
 bers, and eight succeeded in reckoning with denominate 
 numbers readily and quickly. Only one child learned to 
 work readily with fractions. The reader will please notice 
 that these are results up to May, 1885. To-day the upper 
 class works with fractions, both with common and decimal 
 fractions, and does it well. 
 
 In religion instruction is given regularly, but only twen- 
 ty-two of the above-mentioned thirty were admitted to the 
 annual confirmation, three to the first communion, so that 
 of five it must be said that they could not pass the examina- 
 tion in church and were set back. 
 
 IV. What became of the thirty children ? The following 
 carefully gathered facts will answer the question: 
 
 3 locksmiths, 1 clerk in a store, 
 
 1 house-painter, 1 messenger, 
 
 1 mason, 1 spool- worker, 
 
 1 tinsmith, 1 factory -hand (boy),
 
 84 ELBERFELD-BARMEX (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 1 baker, 4 factory-hands (girls), 
 
 1 tailor, 6 servant-gii Is, 
 
 1 ribbon-weaver, 3 bodily weak, not working, 
 
 1 bookbinder, 3 still undecided. 
 
 In other words, twenty-four of the thirty have become 
 useful members of society and possibly three more will be, 
 while three are ill. This certainly is an admirable showing. 
 
 C. The Methods pursued. The reader, I believe, will un- 
 derstand why I bestow much attention to this special school. 
 It is something new ; perhaps not new in theory, but cer- 
 tainly new in practice. A body of men and women who are 
 looking for modern ideas and advanced methods in teaching 
 must take cognizance of a trial like this, and hear a truthful 
 account of the working of a school which to my mind is 
 destined to cause a revolution in the organization of the en- 
 tire common-school system in no far-distant time. Follow 
 me, candid reader, and dismiss all prejudice. Let us enter 
 this school for dullards. Rest assured, you will pick up a 
 suggestion here and there which may be of value to you. 
 
 We enter the lowest grade. The children here are be- 
 tween eight and ten years of age, but as undeveloped as 
 other children at four. They attended the common school 
 two years, were found unable to learn by means of the 
 methods pursued there, and are treated here with special care. 
 A great number of preparatory exercises are needed which 
 are deemed unnecessary in other schools. There they sit at 
 a Kindergarten-table, nearly all bearing the unmistakable 
 stamp of stupidity on their faces. Some are neatly dressed, 
 being evidently children of wealthy parents ; some are 
 clothed raggedly. But the teachers insist upon cleanliness 
 scrupulously. Some have fine features and skulls, but slob- 
 bering mouths; others are tall and well built, but have small 
 and abnormal skulls; still others have beautifully chiseled 
 features, but a dull stare in their eyes. 
 
 They are learning numbers. Before them lies a heap of 
 pegs of ebony and boxwood about an inch long and half an 
 inch thick. Teacher. " See what I do." (Taking three pegs
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 
 
 85 
 
 in his hand and placing them in the groove of a frame such 
 as is shown in the cut.) "Do as I do." Pupils take three, 
 one takes four, another two, without seeing their error. 
 
 ' FIG. 87. 
 
 This exercise is continued. Its ohjcct is to take and set up 
 as many as are shown. After the number has been recog- 
 nized, the fingers are used in counting. Other objects are 
 used for the same purpose. One little boy thought that 
 three meant three pegs always. He could not see instantly 
 that the number three might be applied to other objects. 
 When a number has been recognized, counting it one at a 
 time, of course, it is analyzed that is, its component parts 
 are found. 
 
 Teacher and pupils converse without restraint. Some of 
 the pupils have to be urged to action, being apt to sit in dull 
 contemplation of distant objects. While the teacher is thus 
 busy with the beginners, the other division is working with 
 numbers on their slates. These pupils work aloud, heedless 
 of the disturbance they are causing in fact, not knowing 
 that they are noisy. The teacher tells us that it is useless to 
 prohibit whispering and talking, simply .because the pupils 
 would forget the order, and it does not disturb him in the 
 least, being occupied with the little ones in the farthest 
 corner of the spacious room.
 
 86 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 When the lesson is concluded the teacher shows us the 
 means of exemplification he has in form of beans, peas, hut- 
 tons, sticks, etc. A large cupboard is full of the most in- 
 genious devices, nearly all well known to teachers who be- 
 lieve in approaching the mind through the avenues of the 
 senses. This being the hour for arithmetic, we repair to the 
 middle grade, where the Russian numeral frame is used, and 
 here we find the children pondering over such questions as : 
 " How many times is 9 contained in 28 ? " " Is 28 a table 
 number ? " (That means, Is 28 one of the numbers in the 
 multiplication-table of 9 ?) " No." " What is the nearest 
 below ? " Child, beginning with 9, says, " 9, 18, 27," and, ah 
 yes, " 9 is found three times in 28." u Is there nothing left 
 if you take 9 from 28 three times ? n Again a moment's hard 
 thought and u No " is the answer. Again the whole work 
 has to be repeated, till finally the complete answer comes, 
 " 9 is contained in 28 three times and 1 over." A look of 
 joy brightens the child's face, and from the fairly beaming 
 countenance of the teacher he reads his reward and falls 
 back, to let some other child try his luck. 
 
 " How many times is 7 in 19 ? " A dead halt. " Nearly 
 three times," comes the answer at last. " How many are 
 wanting ? " " Only two." " Then it isn't three times. How 
 many times is it ? " Again the child contracts its brow and 
 studies. At last it says with the air of conviction, " Three 
 times " ; and again with Job-like patience the teacher goes 
 over the same ground till the child gets the answer correctly. 
 There is no prompting done by the teacher. All he does is 
 to assist the child in thinking, and approach the mind 
 through the avenues of the senses. 
 
 It was in this grade where I detected an error I had fre- 
 quently heard in German schools. The teachers of this 
 special school being almost faultless methodicians, I venture 
 to mention the error, hoping that it will not be interpreted 
 as hypercritical on my part. I heard the teacher ask, u Tell 
 the ninth part of forty-eight." Answer, " Five and three 
 over." The ninth part could only have been five and one
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 87 
 
 third, for such parts are equal parts. But, fractional expres- 
 sions being out of the question in this school, he ought to 
 have asked, " How many times is nine contained in forty- 
 eight ? " However, this is trifling, and I almost hlush for 
 having mentioned it. In all the arithmetical exercises in 
 the two lower grades I find that no abstract example is of- 
 fered and solved. The pupils see the example first in objects 
 as given by the teachers in balls, pegs, sticks, etc., then do 
 it, handling the objects that is, solving it in reality, and, 
 lastly, tell about it. Every lesson in this school is a lan- 
 guage-lesson. 
 
 The singing which followed was rather discordant and 
 inharmonious ; but it proved that the school attempts to 
 awaken every latent talent in these children. 
 
 Then followed a lesson in biblical history. In the lowest 
 grade this instruction is assisted by beautiful mounted pict- 
 ures of great artistic value. The narrative under discus- 
 sion was "Samuel and the High-Priest Eli." I did not 
 enjoy this lesson as much as others, because I saw that 
 these intellectually weak children were unable to im- 
 agine themselves back in the time of Eli. This lesson 
 in its incongruity with the circumstances resembled a 
 great bowlder on a smooth prairie. It had no business in 
 this school, and was evidently a mere concession to the 
 intensely religious sentiment of the town. Elberfeld, as is 
 well known, is the stronghold of Protestantism in Rhenish 
 Prussia. 
 
 One of the teachers stated that this day was an unlucky 
 day, because the pupils were more than any other people un- 
 der the influence of the moon, and the moon had just begun 
 its first quarter. I had too often noticed this cause of dis- 
 turbance in my own schools, to smile incredulously. As long 
 as I had schools to supervise I nerved myself particularly at 
 the time of the moon's first quarter, for invariably at that 
 time pupils were referred to me for correction. The teachers 
 seemed to be more irritable and the youngsters more per- 
 verse than at other times.
 
 83 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 D. Means of Instruction. " It seems that every thought 
 in these children must be assisted by instruments to come to 
 light," said the teacher. " We can not presuppose a stock 
 of ideas in these children as may be done in other schools. 
 We are obliged to begin in the most elementary way possible. 
 Many of them can not even ' talk straight,' articulation being 
 impaired. Here is a set of charts of simple pictures. See 
 how we use them." Placing a chart on the easel before the 
 class he says, " What is this ? " Child, " Chow," giving the 
 c a guttural sound. "No, child, say cow." Child, "Cow." 
 "Again, cow, once more." "Tow." " No, child, look how 
 I say it, cccow." "Chow." "Look again, Cow." Child, 
 " Tow." " Try again, cow." Child, " Tow." 
 
 Turning to me the teacher said : " Notice that this is not 
 perverseness, but want of volition. The child has no com- 
 mand over its vocal organs. Anna may say a word cor- 
 rectly ten times. All of a sudden she changes a sound and 
 pronounces it incorrectly and perseveres in it." The charts 
 used were twenty -four in number, each having some sixteen 
 representations of objects, the names of which were arranged 
 with regard to the difficulties offered by the phonic elements 
 of which they were built. 
 
 Another set of charts or tablets in use was for the purpose 
 of developing the sense of color. The tablets contained the 
 different shades of color from the brightest hue to the faint- 
 est tint. Pieces of pasteboard colored similarly had to be 
 laid on and matched in color. Some of these children did it 
 very nicely, but others were found indifferent to finer shades 
 of color, if not color-blind. A third set of pictures were 
 used to illustrate zoology, another botany that is to say, in 
 other schools they might be used thus ; here they could bo 
 employed only for the purpose of stimulating tho children 
 to talk a little. 
 
 Pictures illustrating the trades, tho seasons, biblical his- 
 tory, Hey's fables, and geography, were shown. Most were 
 very costly affairs, true masterpieces of art. " Why don't 
 you hang them up and decorate these dreary walls with
 
 A SEPARATE SCHOOL FOR DULLARDS. 89 
 
 thorn ? Would it not interest these children and quicken 
 their imagination ? " I asked. " My dear sir," was the reply, 
 " every visitor asks me the same question, and invariably I 
 answer, We must not dissipate the attention of these children, 
 must concentrate it upon one point or nothing will he gained. 
 If you could see with what patience we are obliged to pro- 
 ceed, you would understand how anxious we are to keep the 
 children's minds bent upon one thing. Some things can not 
 be comprehended at all, and must be acquired mechanic- 
 ally." 
 
 One shelf of the spacious cupboard was filled with a gfeat 
 number of little objects, such as bells, cubes, marbles, keys, 
 bottles, and cheap playthings, each of which is there in dupli- 
 cate. Specially dull pupils are asked to find a duplicate of 
 an object shown him, and he sometimes hesitates before he 
 decides which to take. After like things have been matched, 
 the pupil is set to find others of the same class. Here the 
 first attempt at generalization is made. Keys of different 
 sizes and shapes are nevertheless all keys, etc. Building- 
 blocks are used to match sizes. 
 
 During an articulation lesson I heard, a pupil was found 
 to stutter seriously. He was told to breathe deep every time 
 ho had to answer a question. He did so, and it was success- 
 ful. In order to prove to me that a deep breath taken before 
 the mouth was opened for speech prevented stuttering, the 
 teacher asked this boy several questions in quick succession, 
 and the advice proved good always. Then I took the boy 
 aside and conversed with him without giving him the sign 
 to take a deep breath, and lo ! the boy stuttered so that it 
 was painful to behold. 
 
 (It may be said, in parenthesis, that the efficient school- 
 inspector, Dr. Boodstein, contemplates the establishment of 
 a special school here in Elberfeld for children with defect- 
 ive speech. He has recently issued a circular inquiring 
 about the number of such cases in the common school, the 
 kinds of defect, length of school attendance, and home con- 
 ditions. This inquiry has special reference to stuttering
 
 90 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 children. Elberfeld is destined to become an educational 
 Mecca if it perseveres in its laudable efforts at establishing 
 separate schools. There is no danger of its going too far in 
 this tendency, for the financial difficulties to be overcome 
 are much too great, and most of these Prussian cities are 
 deeply in debt.) 
 
 The children are induced to bring to school whatever 
 gives them pleasure, and the little treasures are well treated 
 and kept in the class museum. Some of these things require 
 paper boxes to keep them in. These are made by the older 
 pupils, who thus get a little practice in industrial pursuits. 
 Lace-work, paper-folding, " figure-laying " (by means of lit- 
 tle colored pieces of pasteboard), are done to keep the chil- 
 dren busy and profitably engaged between lessons in reading, 
 writing, arithmetic, and religion. 
 
 Drawing is hardly attempted; singing is very difficult. 
 Very few of these children are musically inclined. Geog- 
 raphy does not extend beyond the nearest hills, simply be- 
 cause this is a study which requires greater imaginative 
 powers than these children possess ; indeed, it may be said 
 that in nothing are they so deficient as in the power of ab- 
 straction and imagination. The girls learn a little of 
 needlework from the principal's wife, who comes at stated 
 hours. 
 
 A form-lesson greatly interested me. I will merely state 
 the results : 
 
 "This is a straight line. (The 
 
 term horizontal is out of the ques- 
 tion.) A point is in the middle of 
 
 the straight line. It cuts the line into two halves. The two 
 halves are equally large. (It was found too deep a thought 
 to see that one half must be as long as the other, or it could 
 not be a half.) 
 
 " There is a point on cither end of the line. These are the 
 end points. One point cuts the line 
 
 i 1 1 1 1 into halves, and each half is cut into 
 
 two equal parts.
 
 A VERY PRACTICAL DEVICE. 91 
 
 "If these lines are lengthened, they will touch and cross 
 each other. One is a slanting line. Oh, yes, both are straight 
 lines. (It was a most laborious task 
 to make the boys see that a straight 
 line is the shortest distance between 
 two points ; but at last the truth 
 seemed to dawn upon them.) 
 
 " A slanting line 'hits' the straight 
 line. It does so below the line. 
 
 " A slanting line 'cuts' the straight 
 line. It cuts it in the middle, etc." 
 
 These are the results obtained by many minutes of pa- 
 tient questioning and applying the crayon. Many answers 
 had to be corrected and polished before they could be ac- 
 cepted and repeated in chorus. 
 
 Verily, thought I, when I left this school for dullards, 
 the patience of ten Jobs is needed to teach here, and that 
 would not suffice sometimes. Not for any amount of money 
 could I be persuaded to try my hand at such Sisyphus work ; 
 but all honor to those teachers who attempt what, as Schil- 
 ler says, the gods do in vain, to wit, fight with stupidity. 
 
 4. A VERY PRACTICAL DEVICE. 
 
 A very animated discussion regarding the influence of 
 school attendance upon the eye-sight of the pupils has been 
 filling school journals and scientific magazines in Germany 
 for a number of years. A similar discussion is now being 
 carried on in America. It is a timely topic in America, 
 where the evil influence of small type in text-books and of 
 deficient light has been recognized promptly, although it had 
 not been prevalent. Here in Germany the discussion was 
 opened several years ago by Dr. H. Cohn, of Breslau, and 
 has come nearer a final solution than the discussion in 
 America, where some unripe opinions are still uttered and 
 reverently listened to. I had no intention of entering into 
 the discussion, nor have I now ; but I must be true to my 
 present vocation, that of a reporter. Dr. Cohn, of whom it
 
 .92 ELBERFELD-BARMEN (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 may be said that he was the instigator of the agitation, has 
 made the most practical suggestions. His last and most 
 practical of all, I believe, will be welcomed in America. 
 
 The suggestion has a truly American flavor about it. Its 
 simplicity and practicability are obvious at the first glance. 
 
 FIG. 
 
 He has issued a tablet printed on cardboard, nine by nine 
 inches, which has four brass loops, one on each side, so that 
 it may be hung up on any of the four sMes. This tablet is 
 placed on the wall, near a window where the light will bo
 
 A VERY PRACTICAL DEVICE. 93 
 
 strong 1 . Care is taken to hang it at an average height of the 
 pupils' eyes. The tablet contains the following marks. I 
 send them in their original size, as published by Dr. Cohn, 
 for reproduction by an artist, and hope to see them copied in 
 that size exactly, so that they may be used in the schools of 
 America. I trust some enterprising publisher will reprint a 
 separate edition on immaculate white Bristol cardboard, with 
 a broad margin all around the thirty-six signs. I find the 
 device in use here everywhere. 
 
 Tablet to Test the Vision of School-Children. Dr. Cohn's 
 instructions how to use the tablet: 
 
 1. The tablet is to be suspended on the wall near the 
 window, on a level with the average pupil's eyes. 
 
 2. The pupil whose eyes are to be tested is placed at a 
 distance of six metres (about six and a half yards). He 
 is asked to state quickly in what direction the figures or 
 signs are open, namely, above or below, on the right or left 
 side. 
 
 3. All guessing or committing to memory may be pre- 
 vented by turning the tablet, which is easily done, each side 
 of the square being provided with a loop ; or the order may 
 be given to read the figures backward or downward or up- 
 ward. 
 
 4. In order to test each eye separately, the pupil should be 
 ordered to keep one eye closed. 
 
 5. He who can read the thirty -six signs correctly in 
 thirty seconds at a distance of six metres possesses good 
 eyes that is, he has the strength of vision called unity of 
 vision : visus = = 1 (according to the authority of Snellen). 
 
 6. A pupil who can read them correctly at a distance of 
 seven metres has a vision of strength ; at nine metres, f or 
 1 ; at twelve metres, - 1 /- = 2, or double strength of vision. 
 
 7. He who can recognize the signs and read them aloud 
 in thirty-six seconds at 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 metre has |, (or f), $ 
 ( r i)> I ( r i)i an< l i strength of vision. In such cases a re- 
 liable optician will furnish suitable glasses for near-sighted- 
 ness, being guided by these figures.
 
 9i CREFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 8. The weakest concave glasses with which the signs can 
 be seen at a distance of six metres indicates the degree of 
 near-sightedness. The strongest convex glasses with which 
 they can be seen at a distance of six metres indicates the de- 
 gree of far-sightedness. 
 
 9. If a pupil of normal vision (see section 5) can not see 
 the writing on the blackboard at a distance, of six metres, 
 the light in the room is insufficient. 
 
 10. It is desirable to keep the tablet covered when not in 
 use, to keep it clean. Cn cloudy or gloomy days it should 
 be hung up or uncovered to test the strength of the light in 
 the room, a pupil of normal sight being the tester at a dis- 
 tance of six metres. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CEEFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 1. How ENGLISH is TAUGHT IN GERMANY. 
 
 FOR more than one reason I had studiously avoided 
 teachers of languages ; but, in a city where I was well ac- 
 quainted with the principal of the gymnasium, I inquired 
 about the present status of the method of teaching modern 
 languages, and struck a rich field. I was ushered into a 
 class-room where the boys of " Tertia " were taught English. 
 The Tertia represents the eighth school year or the fourth in 
 the high-school. The teacher had been a tutor in England, 
 and spoke English very fluently. His method did not re- 
 semble the ancient Ollendorfian method, nor had it much in 
 common with Sauveur's method. He proved once again 
 that the truth is not found in extremes, but in the middle. 
 It was a decidedly instructive and "fruitful lesson. Let me 
 give a meager outline of it : 
 
 A pupil told in English the historical anecdote of the 
 Spartan mother who had two sons in the war. When a
 
 HOW ENGLISH IS TAUGHT IN GERMANY. 95 
 
 messenger came to her to announce that both her sons had 
 been killed in the battle, she interrupted him, saying, "I 
 want to know whether the battle was won by the Spartans." 
 " It was," was the reply. " Then," exclaimed the mother, " I 
 rejoice in the death of my sons who have died for the benefit 
 of their country." 
 
 This anecdote was repeated several times in the pupils' 
 own English. Errors were instantly corrected. Questions 
 then followed, which caused a different construction of the 
 sentences and idioms. While in the story, as told first, the 
 sentence reads, " I want to know," variations now came, such 
 as, " I wanted to know, I want to find out, I need to know, I 
 do want to know, I shall want information," etc. " I rejoice 
 in the death " was changed to I am proud of, I am de- 
 lighted with, I am glad that, etc. 
 
 Now, idiomatic expressions, such as, to be delighted with, 
 glad o/, to rejoice in, to be exultant over, were treated and 
 similar cases looked up, as, for instance, in the fields, in the 
 yard. After the idiomatic part of the story was finished, the 
 story was repeated orally, and a greater smoothness and ele- 
 gance of expression was noticeable in its rendition. Now 
 followed a grammatical analysis of certain sentences, nota- 
 bly with reference to the position of the adverb. This part 
 of the lesson was conducted partly on the board with dia- 
 grams. 
 
 The pupils' familiarity with Latin and German grammar 
 enabled them to compare the rules of the language they 
 were studying with those of others: indeed, they discovered 
 and formulated rules in English grammar which will for- 
 ever remain a book sealed with seven seals to our American 
 children, who aim at a common English education only. 
 Not that I think these grammar rules are needed to become 
 a good citizen. I am far from claiming that. I only wish 
 to emphasize that in rational instruction one branch of study 
 should assist the other, as the grammar of one language did 
 the study of another in this lesson. 
 
 After this exercise in syntax, one in etymology followed, 
 8
 
 96 CREFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 and here it was where the beautiful simplicity of the English 
 language came to light, while in a discussion of the orthog- 
 raphy its darkest spot was revealed. 
 
 After the anecdote mentioned above was thoroughly 
 u squeezed " and nothing new could be gained from it any 
 more, the boys were told to get their English readers. Their 
 reading was fluent as their talk was comparatively correct; 
 but the best and most notable feature of this whole lesson 
 was that teacher and pupils conversed almost exclusively in 
 English. Except where new rules had to be formulated, 
 English was the medium of instruction throughout. 
 
 2. A PRIMARY LESSON m MENSURATION. 
 
 In one of the largest cities on the lower Rhine I was 
 deeply impressed with the excellent work done in the 
 schools. Nowhere had I seen such harmony between the 
 different teachers and schools. Comparisons are odious; but 
 from the bottom of my heart I wished to have friend B 
 (my eternal opponent in the discussion of modern methods 
 of teaching, and withal my dearest friend) with me to show 
 him the results of rational application 
 of the developing method. Among the 
 lessons I heard was one in measuring. 
 The pupils could not have been older 
 than eleven or twelve years on an 
 average. I will endeavor to sketch the 
 lesson from notes taken on the spot. 
 
 The teacher drew a square on the 
 FIG. 90. blackboard and divided it into four 
 
 equal strips; then the strips into four 
 equal parts each, as in the margin. During the entire lesson 
 the pupils drew on their slates the same figures which they 
 saw their teacher draw. 
 
 Teacher. " How many of these little squares are there in 
 one row ? " 
 
 Pupil. " There are four of them in one row." 
 
 The pupils always answered in complete sentences, but for
 
 LESSON IN MENSURATION. 
 
 97 
 
 brevity's sake I will not repeat their complete answers. The 
 lesson was one in drawing, arithmetic, and language. 
 
 Teacher. " How many of such rows ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Four." 
 
 Teacher. " Have they all the same number of little 
 squares ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Yes." 
 
 Teacher. " Then if there are four in one row, and there 
 being four of such rows, how many must there be in all ? " 
 
 Pupil. "There must be four times four, or sixteen in 
 all." 
 
 Teacher. " Suppose you turn the square so that the top 
 is on the left side, could the measuring be done in the same 
 way ? Try it on the slates." 
 
 Pupil. " Yes, sir ; it makes no difference which way I 
 hold the square." 
 
 Teacher. "Now tell me how you measure this figure 
 which is four inches each way." 
 
 Pupil. " If there are four inches on one side, it means 
 that there are four square inches in a row ; and, there being 
 four of such rows, there must be four times four square 
 inches, or sixteen square inches 
 in the large square." 
 
 Other squares of different 
 dimensions are drawn and 
 measured in the same way. 
 
 Teacher. " Now measure 
 this four-cornered figure" (Fig. 
 91). 
 
 Pupil. "It has six square 
 inches in a row and four of 
 
 such rows ; then it must measure four times six or twenty- 
 four square inches." 
 
 Teacher. " Count them and see whether that is right." 
 
 Pupil. "It is." 
 
 Teacher. " Turn your slates so that the long sides of this 
 figure are the side lines. How do you measure now ? " 
 
 FIG. 91.
 
 98 CREFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 Pupil. " The same way, only that there are only four in 
 the first row; but then there being- six of such rows gives 
 the same result. Four times six is equal to six times 
 four." 
 
 Teacher. " Is it necessary every time to lay off the whole 
 figure in little squares in order to measure it ? " 
 
 Pupil. " No; all you would need to do is to measure two 
 sides and multiply the two numbers." 
 Teacher. " Then let us do it." 
 
 Other parallelograms of different sizes are drawn and 
 measured, the pupils rapidly sketched the figures, as the 
 teacher did it on the board. 
 
 Teacher. " Let us go back to our first square. Draw a 
 line across it from one corner to the opposite corner. What 
 does that line do ? " 
 
 Pupil. "It divides the square into two three-cornered 
 figures or into two halves." 
 
 Teacher. " Well, if the square measured sixteen square 
 inches, what will one of these triangles 
 measure ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Eight square inches." 
 Teacher. "Now, let us divide the 
 square thus. (See figure in the margin 
 and dividing line from left to right.) 
 Is this kind of a half as large as the 
 triangular half ? " 
 
 .. 
 
 \ 
 
 FIO. 92. (Pupils hesitate.) 
 
 Teacher. "If your mother had a 
 
 gingerbread cake of this shape, and you were told that you 
 might take one half of it, how would you cut it ? " 
 
 (Pupil indicates that he would cut it on the diagonal.) 
 
 Teacher. " Why thus ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Because I can begin to eat it better." 
 
 (A ripple of laughter follows, but it causes no disorder : 
 Proof that the pupils are quite at ease.) 
 
 Teacher. " Well, children, what kind of a half would be 
 larger ? "
 
 LESSON IN MENSURATION. 
 
 99 
 
 Pupil. " They must be alike. A half can not be smaller 
 or greater than the other half." 
 
 By going over the two figures the pupils soon see that it 
 is immaterial which way the cut is made, and that the tri- 
 angle measures one half of the square. 
 
 Now the diagonal is drawn through the parallelogram, 
 and the same truth is discovered. Then follows the rule 
 that such triangles are measured by multiplying the two 
 sides of the rectangular figure and dividing the product by 
 two. 
 
 Then the rhombus (Fig. 93) was drawn, and the pupils were 
 told that multiplying the 
 two sides would not do. The 
 teacher demonstrated this 
 in an ingenious way. He 
 took an empty slate-frame 
 (Fig. 21) and pressed it into 
 the form of a rhomboid. 
 When the pupils still doubt- 
 ed, he pressed it still more, so that the height was only one 
 inch, and thus showed them that the area of a rhombus 
 made of the four equal lines of a square was smaller than 
 that of the square. 
 
 N. B. No such technical terms as parallelogram, rhom- 
 bus, etc., were used, except square and triangle. 
 
 The measuring of the rhombus was performed as the 
 dotted lines in the figure indicate, and the rule, that it is 
 
 FIG. 93. 
 
 measured by multiplying one of the long sides by the 
 height, fell like a ripe fruit from the tree of experience. 
 Just then the bell rang and the class was dismissed. The 
 teacher told me that next day he would take the trapezoid
 
 100 CREFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 also. That, however, was as far as he cared to go with these 
 young pupils. 
 
 General Walker's Echo in Germany. Being asked why 
 he refrained from using any technical terms, the teacher 
 said : " No ; we don't burden the memories of our pupils 
 with technical terms such as trapezoid, rhomboid, parallelo- 
 gram, parallelopipedon, etc. We call a rhomboid a four- 
 cornered figure and are done with it. The child in the com- 
 mon school is no happier, nor wiser, nor better prepared for 
 life when he has learned these Latin and Greek terms. If a 
 boy enters a technical or a high school and studies geome- 
 try, the terms will be given him there. The common school 
 has no business to burden its course with ballast." 
 
 Further conversation with the faculty of the school re- 
 vealed the fact that they all entertained the same view which 
 General Walker in Boston urged lately, namely, that the 
 study of arithmetic had in the course of time become over- 
 burdened with matter of a nature unsuited for the pupils of 
 a common school, and that efforts were being made every- 
 where in Germany to eliminate such things. Said the rec- 
 tor of the school, to whom the assistant teachers all looked 
 up with great veneration, he being a fine-looking, white- 
 haired man: "We sound the battle-cry, 'Elimination,' all 
 along the line. We want to eliminate much from an over- 
 crowded course of study in geography, grammar, and arith- 
 metic, and add more literature and history so as to counter- 
 act the vicious influences of bad reading-matter smuggled 
 into the hands of our pupils by, Heaven knows, unscrupu- 
 lous publishers. We want to do more in manual training, 
 more in the so-called accomplishments, drawing, music, etc., 
 introduce a little of book-keeping, and thus make the com- 
 mon-school education what it ought to be practical. We 
 want to teach less for oblivion than hitherto." 
 
 I need not assure my readers how heartily I agreed with 
 him. I felt quite at home among this earnest and enthusi- 
 astic body of teachers.
 
 INDIVIDUALITY IX TEACHING. 101 
 
 3. INDIVIDUALITY IN TEACHING. 
 
 During my frequent visits to schools here in Germany 
 one fact claims my attention with greater force every day. 
 It is the absence of that uniformity in methods so often no- 
 ticeable in American city school systems. A school super- 
 intendent in America, if he be a man of strong principles, 
 firm convictions, and practical experience in teaching, will 
 often unintentionally impress his personal views, his own 
 modes and manners of doing, upon his subordinates. Since 
 the great majority of teachers in American cities are women 
 who have no individual opinion on educational matters, 
 but passively obey instructions without discriminating, and 
 slavishly copy models given them, it is easily seen that 
 the superintendent very often becomes the motive power, 
 or at least the fly-wheel, of the whole machine, the soul 
 and spirit of the entire corps of teachers (particularly of the 
 "corpses"), the domineering character who fashions the 
 instruction of his subordinates according to given patterns. 
 Individuality is in the most perilous situation in such a 
 " system." 
 
 No such thing is scon here in Germany. A most refresh- 
 ing variety in methods is noticeable here, partly owing to 
 the fact that every teacher has professional training, and 
 partly owing to the absence of local supervision. This gives 
 the teachers who are judged by their merits wide elbow- 
 room. It is true, however, that more experimenting is go- 
 ing on here, and perhaps more waste of time and energy 
 upon fruitless attempts ; but I can not repress my astonish- 
 ment at the solid results this great liberty of action has. 
 The German school everywhere has at least one class-room 
 in which an experimental station is established, where new 
 ideas are nursed into full bloom. Germany has been from 
 time immemorial a mine of information on subjects of edu- 
 cational theory and practice a mine which to me appears 
 inexhaustible. 
 
 My note-book is full cf sketches and memoranda, and I
 
 102 CREFELD (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 can scarcely find time enough to work them out and make 
 them presentable. How it would cure a stiff-necked con- 
 servative American schoolmaster who believes in " keeping 
 school, hearing recitation, setting tasks, assigning lessons," 
 to come to these schools and study them as minutely as they 
 deserve it! But, then, they are not English, you know. 
 
 4. FRENCH PUPILS IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 Despite the bitter hatred Frenchmen entertain against 
 Germany, they are fully alive to the superiority of the Ger- 
 man schools and try to profit by them. It is now nearly 
 ten years since the French national school authorities re- 
 solved upon a direct acknowledgment of that superiority by 
 sending annually several graduates of French high-schools 
 to attend the last two years of the course in German high- 
 schools. No indifferent material is sent, to be sure, but only 
 boys who have won the first prizes. As I have stated else- 
 where (in the article, " A Distinction with a Big Difference "), 
 the German secondary schools are well adapted to talented 
 pupils, while weaker ones are weeded out. These French 
 boys, then, coming as they do like " picked nines," are not 
 objected to by German school authorities. They say there is 
 no reason whatever to refuse them admittance, inasmuch as 
 they conduct themselves properly, and usually are a credit 
 to the schools they attend. 
 
 These boys are directed to stay a half-year or a year at 
 one school and then go to another. They are not allowed to 
 stay two full years in one town, lest they might enter into 
 ties too close to suit the French Government. They are di- 
 rected to take board and lodging in private families, and to 
 live exactly as the pupils of German gymnasiums do. The 
 Government pays all expenses during their stay in Germany. 
 At the close of each year the students are required to send in 
 a report of what they experienced and of the manner in 
 which they utilized their time. Of course, the frequent 
 changes of schools and place of habitation are inconvenient, 
 but they enable the young men to sec a good deal of that
 
 FRENCH PUPILS IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 103 
 
 country which ignorant Frenchmen before 1870 thought 
 lay near the north pole ! 
 
 I had opportunities to learn something of the contents of 
 the reports sent home to the Minister of Instruction, and must 
 confess that they are mostly true to life and tally with my 
 own observations. Most of the young men are very much 
 pleased with the reception they find among the people, the 
 teachers, and fellow-pupils. They praise the delicacy and 
 tact of their German hosts, a fact which the wounded spirit 
 of Frenchmen is apt to appreciate. Some admit that the 
 senseless agitation in France concerning " revenge for 1870 " 
 makes their stay in certain places unendurable. All, how- 
 ever, are loud in praising the instruction they get in school. 
 
 They are unanimous in saying that the German high- 
 schools are far superior to the French lycees. Especially in 
 mathematics, they think, the German schools prove supe- 
 rior*. The way the students are made to work out problems 
 in geometry, trigonometry, oral arithmetic, etc., the self- 
 activity to which the pupils are led, and the independence 
 and self-dependence in thinking, are commended. Instruc- 
 tion in the sciences also is thought superior to that in 
 France. Particularly enthusiastic are the reports about 
 gymnastic drill. This is not astonishing if we consider that 
 the indulgent French youth is not drilled much at home in 
 bodily exercises. An equal share of praise is given to the 
 teaching of music. In referring to this the young French- 
 men speak with animation of the German songs, which they 
 consider very melodious. 
 
 As far as instruction is concerned they have but one 
 opinion ; but they do not like the rigid discipline exercised 
 in German high-schools. Why, they are not even permit- 
 ted to smoke, not even in the sanctum sanctorum of their 
 own bedrooms! The slightest deviation from the straight 
 road of virtue is punished severely. They are " not treated 
 as gentlemen," but *' as boys," are obliged to doff their hats 
 when they pass a teacher, and are generally treated as un- 
 ripe youths. Though I can not myself like the rough treat-
 
 COLOGNE (KIIENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 mcnt I noticed here and there, I must admit that the German 
 teachers are consistent in regarding no school-boy a gentle- 
 man. However pretentious he may be, he is a minor, and as 
 such can not lay claim to the dignities of a full-grown man. 
 Of course, I full well understand that in a republic this is 
 considered heresy ; but we may admit the consistency prac- 
 ticed in German schools where the treatment of pupils is a 
 reflection of the mode of government, monarchical govern- 
 ment, in which respect for authority is "learned by doing." 
 In one particular the German high-schools find con- 
 demnation on the part of these French students. They say 
 Germans pay less attention to show that is, to legitimate 
 show. For instance, they care naught for rhetorical polish, 
 and their recitations are considered good when the essential 
 facts are brought out correctly. The garment of thought is 
 neglected. Their teaching of drawing also is less refined 
 than that in France. This may be true in the high-schobls, 
 but I can testify to a wonderful improvement in drawing in 
 the lower schools which has not reached the upper grades 
 as yet. I trust, though, that in ten years that branch of the 
 curriculum will be fully up to the French standard. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 1. CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM. 
 
 A SPECIAL and very politely worded invitation from the 
 school authorities of Cologne led me once more to this 
 famous city. Things worth reporting, though not in every 
 case worth imitating, are going on here in the shadow of 
 the finest cathedral in the world, a marvel of the middle 
 ages which our nineteenth century was destined to com- 
 plete. In order to fully comprehend what I shall say about
 
 CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM. 1Q5 
 
 the schools here, I must ask my patient readers to bear cer- 
 tain things in mind. 
 
 Consider, first, that this city has a past of nearly two 
 thousand years, having been a German settlement before 
 the Romans fortified the place in 59 B. C. Its name is a 
 corruption of " Colonia Agrippina," as it was called by the 
 Romans afterward in honor of the Empress Agrippina. In 
 a city of that age there is naturally a dense mist of historical 
 reminiscences to overcome. At every movement forward a 
 huge mass of prejudices that have their roots in time-hon- 
 ored customs and laws must be removed. Effecting reforms 
 here is very much more difficult than in American and even 
 in other German cities. Goethe's words, " Es erben sich 
 Gesetz und Rechte wie eine ewige Krankheit. fort," are ap- 
 plicable here if anywhere. 
 
 Bear in mind also that recently the ancient fortress has 
 been widened, that the old walls are torn down and new 
 fortifications are erected a mile or more farther out, that all 
 this new space is laid out according to the latest most ap- 
 proved styles of European city building and exquisite archi- 
 tecture. Consider the great influx of new elements to the 
 community in consequence of this opening and the applica- 
 tion of modern ideas which clash with ancient creeds and 
 meek habits. 
 
 We have in all America no such interesting picture of 
 conflict between conservatism and liberalism, no such tur- 
 moil of ancient and modern ideas, no such refreshing results 
 of modern exertion side by side with moss-grown, decaying 
 institutions. Though Cologne is the most devoutly Catholic 
 town in Em-ope, and people here are honestly trying to be 
 more Catholic than the Pope in Rome, yet they are the most 
 light-hearted of all the gay Rhinelanders. 
 
 To live here a week with eyes wide open, to be conducted 
 through schools of varied types and characters, through 
 museums, galleries, old churches, new fortifications, dilapi- 
 dated city gates, crooked lanes of houses built a thousand 
 years ago, and hotels and residences of startling magnifi-
 
 1()G COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 cence, new .stores and factories only finished yesterday, 
 through ancient crypts and modern zoological and botan- 
 ical gardens, from statues of Bismarck and Moltke of bronze 
 to those of questionable saints in crumbling sandstone is 
 like going through wonderland, or, to speak in terms of a 
 modern writer, is a liberal education. 
 
 I am painfully aware that this is not a " practical " dis- 
 course. The American average teacher is supremely indif- 
 ferent to impressions, and expects in a book like this ideas, 
 suggestions, sketches, etc., all of which are to be immediately 
 applicable in the school-room. I grieve over it, for I am sure 
 I might furnish some readable matter ; but I must come to 
 the point. What I said in the foregoing paragraphs was 
 necessary to set in relief what I shall say about the schools of 
 Cologne. 
 
 2. INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS. 
 
 The School Inspector of Cologne, Dr. Brandenberg, a 
 most accomplished gentleman and an energetic leader, is en- 
 gaged at present in reforming the organization of the schools. 
 There are a number of schools here called "poor or free 
 schools," being intended for and frequented by the poor; 
 another number called " district schools," intended for the 
 children of the middle class who can pay tuition fees. Now 
 here in the stronghold of moss-backed conservatism the idea 
 has gained strength that all the schools below the high- 
 schools should be made " common schools " ; that tuition 
 fees should be done away with ; that the upper grades of an 
 eight years' course should be made into what is known in 
 America under the captivating but misleading name " gram- 
 mar-schools." 
 
 Middle or intermediate schools is the name given them 
 here. Among the cities I have seen so far, only Hamburg, 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main, and Duisburg, have intermediate 
 schools. That Cologne should take such a step from which 
 so liberal-minded a city as Diisseldorf shrinks timidly is a 
 proof of the go-aheadness of the citizens of Cologne. It re-
 
 PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS. 107 
 
 minds me of the man who heroically pulled himself out of 
 the mire by his own cue. 
 
 3. PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS. 
 
 Another praiseworthy step, and, I believe, one worthy of 
 imitation, is the establishment of a school for boys called 
 preparatory school. Boys and young men who intend to 
 become teachers and to enter one of the royal normal schools 
 (of which there are more than a dozen in the province) are 
 invited to go through a regular course of training in this 
 school. This course lasts three or four years. The students 
 here get thorough academic instruction, and are trained in 
 music, drawing, manual occupations, and gymnastics. Peda- 
 gogics and didactics are not taught. These branches are left 
 to the normal school with its three years' course and its 
 practice department. 
 
 I was curious to see the working of this preparatory 
 school, and was much pleased to meet there the principal of 
 one of the royal normal schools who had come on his tour 
 of inspection to examine the students. There was a great 
 diversity in age and accomplishments among the boys, some 
 having come from higher schools, others from the people's 
 school ; some being fifteen, others eighteen years of age. 
 
 I heard a music-lesson, one in the theory of music, and 
 practice on the violin. This instruction was very success- 
 ful, for the solos and quartets which these boys played were 
 very acceptable performances. No ancient or foreign lan- 
 guage is taught in either preparatory or normal school, 
 though the teachers admit that it would have a good effect 
 upon the mother-tongue if the students could take up the 
 study of a foreign language for comparison's sake, if for no 
 other purpose. 
 
 A geography -lesson I heard was another indication of the 
 thorough preparation the boys get here. All the matter 
 given was offered in a style and in doses which would 
 indicate how such matters might be presented to other pu- 
 pils. Though no pedagogical principles were preached, they
 
 108 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 were practiced. Then followed a grammar-lesson which 
 would have pleased even an Alexander Bain. I intend to 
 sketch this lesson in a subsequent chapter. Now, think that 
 after the students have finished this course they are expected 
 to go through a regular course of three years in a normal 
 school ! No wonder Prussia has good teachers ! 
 
 The principal of the normal school who had come to in- 
 spect the institution was a rather irritable man, who after 
 the boys were dismissed criticised the teachers severely ; in- 
 deed, as I thought, much too severely, harping on trifles and 
 overlooking decided merits. But so well were the teachers 
 disciplined by having served in the army, that they did not 
 change a muscle in their faces while this tirade against 
 trifles was poured over them. No American teacher would 
 have stood this unjust criticism without at least claiming 
 "audi alterant partem." I could not help feeling sym- 
 pathy for one of the teachers, who evidently felt the gross 
 injustice of being thus treated in the presence of a guest. I 
 turned away. 
 
 4. FEMALE TEACHERS' SEMINARY. 
 
 In another direction Cologne offers an example worthy 
 of imitation. If I am informed correctly, royal normal 
 schools in Prussia do not admit women. Young ladies who 
 desire to become teachers must get their professional educa- 
 tion in a private way as well as they can afford; but the 
 Government examines them " just the same " that is, sub- 
 jects them to the same rigid and searching examinations as 
 the students of the normal schools. This, it seems to me, is 
 a glaring injustice perpetrated by the state. The city of 
 Cologne is wiser than the state. It has established a normal 
 school of its own for young ladies. The school has a course 
 of four years, and very creditable work is done there, as I 
 hope to show in my next letter. 
 
 This school is conducted by the school inspector (or su- 
 perintendent) himself, who spends an hour a day teaching 
 psychology, logic, and history of education. The first two
 
 FEMALE TEACHERS' SEMINARY. 109 
 
 years are entirely given to academic studies ; the third is de- 
 voted to theory and practice as well as academic studies ; the 
 fourth year is almost exclusively devoted to psychology and 
 experimental teaching. I listened to a lesson in history 
 given by a young lady to a fourth-grade class of girls (the A 
 Primary). Don't shake your head, fair reader; they begin 
 history early in German schools. 
 
 Queen Louisa, of Prussia, the mother of Emperor Will- 
 iam, was the subject. The following was the rather limited 
 amount of histoi'ical facts offered and learned, but they were 
 learned well : *' Our present emperor and King of Prussia 
 was born in the same year in which his father became king. 
 The father's name was Frederick William III. The mother's 
 name was Louisa. She was and is still considered the most 
 beautiful queen who ever graced a throne. She was very 
 kind and lovable, disliked pompous court festivals, and de- 
 voted her time to her family. Queen Louisa was passion- 
 ately fond of her sons, the elder of which was Frederick 
 William, who afterward became King of Prussia and died 
 in 1861. The second son was William, who followed his 
 brother on the throne. When the boys were still young 
 the queen wrote to her father one day, ' If I am not very 
 much mistaken, William will be like his father, simple in 
 his habits, true, faithful, straightforward, and sensible.' In- 
 deed, if ever a mother prophesied right, it was Louisa when 
 she wrote these words. When Prussia broke down under 
 the strokes of Napoleon, Louisa had to flee to the extreme 
 eastern end of the kingdom. She comforted her family, 
 completed the education of her two elder sons, and died of a 
 broken heart. Her husband redeemed the old glory of his 
 kingdom when he entered Paris at the head of his victorious 
 army side by side with the Emperors of Russia and Austria, 
 and her beloved son William defeated another Napoleon 
 even more disastrously than his father had done. The 
 Prussian people can never forget that their beautiful Queen 
 Louisa had been personally insulted by Napoleon I." 
 
 I give these results only. They may sound rather like
 
 HO COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 Bj r zantinism in America; but let us be just and acknowl- 
 edge that a biography of Martha Washington would be 
 flavored similarly in our schools. " To comprehend every- 
 thing means to pardon everything." The mode of pre- 
 senting this historical matter was crude ; but the young lady 
 showed that she knew the principles of method, and a 
 teacher who knows them is sure to gain skill. 
 
 I also heard lessons given by the professors in mathe- 
 matical geography. Never did I enjoy as keen a logical 
 train of thoughts in a girls' school as was deduced here; 
 never in a college did I observe better results, or greater dili- 
 gence either. The most delightful thing I saw here was the 
 course of instruction these young ladies get in industrial oc- 
 cupation, such as drawing, knitting, crocheting, embroider- 
 ing, sewing, mending, and patching. I shall make that the 
 subject of a special chapter. 
 
 A teachers' library of several thousand professional 
 books on general pedagogics, on psychology, on didactics, on 
 methods, on history of education, on special branches of 
 study, etc., graces this seminary. The library is open to 
 all the teachers of the city, and is used frequently. One 
 spacious room is filled with physical, chemical, anatomical, 
 geometrical, etc , apparatus and preparations, and all were 
 in exquisite order, though they are used every day. 
 
 5. SPECIAL INSTRUCTION TO TEACHERS. 
 
 One would think that teachers who have enjoyed so 
 thorough a professional preparation as I indicated on page 
 37, and who have passed all the severe examinations pre- 
 scribed and conducted by the Government, would be left 
 alone to secure their own success in the class-room ; but 
 far from it. By governmental decree the course in draw- 
 ing had been changed recently, prescribing that ornamental 
 drawing should be brought into close connection with fe- 
 male home industry. Forthwith the women teachers were 
 called together to spend an evening twice a week in going 
 through a special course in ornamental drawing. It is true
 
 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION TO TEACHERS. m 
 
 this course is free of charge ; but think of the hardship of 
 coming from their distant homes after dark to attend les- 
 sons, and late, at nine o'clock, go home perhaps unattended ! 
 This course is to last all through the winter. 
 
 Another governmental order had come making gymnas- 
 tics an obligatory exercise in a certain grade of schools 
 where it had not been heretofore. Some of the old teachers 
 were not prepared to conduct these exercises. Forthwith 
 the city provided for a special course in gymnastics under 
 the direction of the inspector of gymnastics ; and the aston- 
 ishing fact is that these teachers come and spend their even- 
 ings for several months to learn exercises on the horizontal 
 bars, the rope, the parallel bars, the leap-rope, the iron rod, 
 the dumb-bells, etc. Take it all in all, there is a devotion to 
 professional duty here in this modern German Empire which 
 it is gratifying to behold. 
 
 When, in the presence of the school inspector, I ex- 
 pressed my astonishment at the munificence the city author- 
 ities show in favor of professional training, he said : " Yes, 
 sir, these things may seem strange in the shadow of those 
 ancient churches ; but don't forget that that wonderful 
 cathedral lay unfinished for centuries until our energetic 
 nineteenth century took the matter in hand and finished it. 
 It is so in everything. Side by side with the most intoler- 
 able reactionary .endeavors our city exhibits the truly heroic 
 spirit of the modern age. Every street here with its modern 
 palaces and old crumbling houses is an example of the dual- 
 ism of Cologne's institutions. God be devoutly thanked for 
 it that sound modern doctrines take the upper hand in all 
 matters pertaining to the schools. The re-establishment of 
 the German Empire has had a rejuvenating effect upon 
 many institutions, but none has been more benefited by it 
 than the school. Our horizon is wider, our former dream- 
 life has taken a practical turn, and, take it all in all, we now 
 live a life worth living.'' 1
 
 112 
 
 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 6. Two CONVENIENCES. 
 
 Here in Cologne I find in general use a kind of wooden 
 blackboard of excellent finish wbich consists of two leaves 
 hanging on hinges. They can be closed like the leaves of a 
 book. If closed, the board presents only one side ; but the 
 two (or three) leaves can be turned easily, so that all four 
 (or six) sides may be used. If the teacher wishes to preserve 
 the sketch of a lesson or illustrations, etc., he can do so by 
 turning the "leaf." For the conven- 
 ience of smaller pupils the board (or 
 boards) may be lowered, it being set 
 
 CLOSED 
 
 FIGS. 95, 96. 
 
 FIGS. 97, 98. 
 
 into a groove and held by an iron pin. This contrivance 
 can be made cheaply, and its great practicability led me to 
 sketch it (Figs. 95, 96). 
 
 Another convenient apparatus is a map-stand which can 
 serve several purposes. The upper rod of a wall map is 
 laid into the trough marked a, then a spring in the back is 
 touched and the rod marked 6 is lowered and presses on the 
 map-rod, thus holding the map securely. The map may be
 
 A LESSON IN PHYSICS. 113 
 
 raised to any height one wishes, and can be placed so as to 
 avoid a glare from direct sunlight. Reading, music, and 
 number charts, copies for drawing, etc., can be suspended 
 by the hook without further adjustment. A music-holder 
 may be attached to the stand also. The whole is made of 
 rod steel, and is light enough to transport it easily. I trust 
 some enterprising American firm will profit by the sugges- 
 tion this sketch offers (Figs. 97, 98). 
 
 7. A LESSON IN PHYSICS. 
 
 It was a grade corresponding to our sixth school year, or 
 second year Grammar, where I listened to an interesting les- 
 son in physics. Optics was the subject. Of course, it would 
 be carrying owls to Athens to repeat the lesson in a book 
 published in America, a country where natural philosophy 
 is taught so well; only I wish to call attention to the fact 
 that it was in a class of the sixth school year, not a high- 
 school, where I heard the lesson. 
 
 As we can easily imagine, the teacher proceeded by 
 means of objective teaching and used experiments and illus- 
 trations which lay near at hand ; as, for instance, when he 
 brought up the question why the sky was blue, he did not, 
 as many a better teacher might have done, explain this by 
 referring to fact of which it was reasonable to suppose that 
 they were knqH^; but, knowing the kind of pupils he had 
 to deal with, JSRield up a clear pane of glass and placed it 
 against the'window. Then he added several more panes, till 
 about a dozen of them stood upon edge, one in front of 
 another. Now he gave the pupils time to deduce the truth 
 from the fact before their eyes. It was literally impossible 
 to see through these twelve or more panes of glass. From 
 that fact to the other, namely, the want of transparency of * 
 the great cloak of atmosphere surrounding the earth, was 
 easy. The color in the glass led them on to find the cause of 
 the color of the sky. It was a fine way of teaching, making 
 knowledge experience, to be sure. 
 
 Another very taking illustration was suggested by the
 
 114 COLOGNE (RIIENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 question how the color of the evening red was produced. 
 The room was darkened, a light and the janitor's steaming 
 tea-kettle were brought in, and again the boys^saw the truth, 
 which was crude as yet and had to be refined by means of 
 leading questions and much critical analysis ; but the begin- 
 ning of the truth had been discovered without telling it to or 
 imposing it upon the pupils. When the teacher asked how 
 it came that we saw the morning red much less frequently 
 than the evening red, his face did not betray the fun ; but 
 the boys inferred from his question that the morning red 
 occurred less frequently than the evening red. It was a 
 poser. At last a small boy, who must have noticed my 
 smile, suggested that the reason was simply because we lay in 
 bed too late to notice it. What a revelation and what fun ! 
 Let me add briefly but emphatically that no text-book 
 was used, neither had the teacher one in his hand, nor were 
 the pupils required to purchase any. When the lesson was 
 closed, the home task was given out to write a composition 
 on what they had just heard and learned. I venture to be- 
 lieve that the boys had something to say. 
 
 8. A LESSON IN GRAMMAR. 
 
 The lesson in grammar which I promised to sketch (see 
 page 108) treated syntax and as much of etymology as could 
 be touched conveniently without leading the- pupils astray. 
 A simple sentence was taken, such as "Father called." 
 First the essential elements of the sentence, subject, and 
 predicate were mentioned. 
 
 Teacher. " What question does father answer to ? " 
 Answer. " To the question, Who called ? " 
 Teacher. " If I say father came, would the question be 
 the same ? " 
 
 Answer. " No, sir; it would be, Who came ? " 
 Teacher. " Is not the interrogative, the questioning word 
 who, the same in both questions ? " 
 
 Answer. " Yes, and that word is always answered by the 
 subject ? "
 
 A LESSON IX GRAMMAR. H5 
 
 Teacher. " We will note this in the corner of our black- 
 board thus : Subject answers to the question who ? But is 
 that the only question the subject may answer ? " 
 
 Ansiver. " If the subject is an animal or inanimate thing, 
 we can not ask who does this or that, but must say what 
 does ? As, for instance, the water bubbles. What bubbles ? 
 We can therefore add the word what to the rule, so that it 
 reads, Subject answers to the questions Who or What ? " 
 (Teacher does so.) 
 
 Teacher. "Why do you say who or what? Why not 
 who and what ? " 
 
 Answer. " Because it can not do both ; it can only do 
 one of the two." 
 
 Teacher. "Are there any other questions to which the 
 subject of a sentence may answer ? Let us see. Open your 
 readers on page 17. Read, John. " 
 
 John reads : " The sun shines. Sun, the subject, answers 
 to what shines ? " 
 
 Fred reads: "The physician hurried to the spot. Here 
 the subject answers to the question Who ? " 
 
 Other sentences are looked up. All the pupils agree that 
 who and what are the only questions to which a subject may 
 answer. 
 
 Teacher. "Then we have found a means by which we 
 are able to detect the subject of any sentence/' 
 
 Pupils are then led to state that the nominative case is 
 the Who or What case, and that the subject is invariably in 
 that case. A note is made of the fact. 
 
 Teacher. " To what question does the predicate give an 
 answer ? " 
 
 Answer. " It answers to the question, What did father do ?" 
 
 Teacher notes in the corner of the board : u Predicate an- 
 swers to What does or did do ? Are there any other ques- 
 tions to which a predicate may give answer ? " 
 
 Answer, after a few leading questions : " Yes, it may an- 
 swer to the question What is 1 as for instance in this sen- 
 tence: My father is a carpenter."
 
 116 COLOGNE (RIIENISII PRUSSIA). 
 
 Teacher. " Well, we will make a note of that, too. Any 
 other question." 
 
 Answer, after some searching : " Yes, it may answer to 
 How is ? as for instance in the sentences, My father is well ; 
 the violet is fragrant; the door is open." 
 
 Teacher. " To prevent loss of time by useless searching-, 
 let me say that these three questions (1) What does, (2) 
 What is, and (3) How is ? are the only ones a predicate can 
 answer. Such questions as, What did, or has done, or will 
 do, etc., are only variations of what does, being merely 
 changes in the tense or mood of the verb." 
 
 Pupil. " Do I understand you to mean that the question 
 What does ? is always answered by a predicate consisting of 
 a verb ? " 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, my boy, I meant to come to that. Now, 
 having found that much yourself, tell me of what the pred- 
 icate must consist, if it answers to What is, and to How is ? " 
 
 Answer. " A noun and an adjective." 
 
 Teacher. " In what case must the predicate noun be ? " 
 
 Answer. "In the nominative, because it answers to what ?" 
 
 Teacher. " Then we have a new rule. What is it ? " 
 
 Answer. 4< That the predicate noun, like the subject noun, 
 is in the nominative case." This is verified by examples. 
 
 Teacher. " Change the sentence, The emperor is William, 
 so that the predicate becomes the subject, thus, William is 
 the emperor ; are the cases the same as before ? " 
 
 Answer. "Indeed, they are." Several other sentences 
 are thus twisted, and the rule is confirmed and noted down. 
 
 Teacher. " Let us see : some one said that the predicate is 
 an adjective when it answers to How is ? Is blue an adjec- 
 tive ? " 
 
 Answer. "Yes, sir." 
 
 Teacher. "Then the rule, I am afraid, does not hold 
 good. I may say, My favorite color is blue. Blue here an- 
 swers to What, not to How." 
 
 Answer. "In this case blue is not an adjective, it is a 
 noun."
 
 A LESSON IN GRAMMAR. 117 
 
 Pupil adds with some satisfaction : " I believe you may 
 leave that rule as it is; it is well enough." 
 
 Teacher, laughing: " As you please. Let us go on. Our 
 original sentence may be enlarged by saying, John's father 
 called, or my father called ; what addition do I make ? " 
 
 Answer. "You state Whose father called." 
 
 Teacher. " Does this in any way limit or modify the pred- 
 icate ? " 
 
 Ansiver. " No, it modifies the subject and states definitely 
 whose father called." 
 
 Leading questions reveal the truth that John's and my 
 are attributive elements, or, briefly stated, attributes. 
 
 Teacher. " Can you think of any other attributes which 
 are not nouns like John's in the possessive case, or posses- 
 sive pronouns* like my ? " 
 
 Answer. " We might further limit the subject by saying, 
 My old father called. Old answers to the question What 
 kind of t" 
 
 Teacher. " Find the attribute in this sentence, The cathe- 
 dral of Cologne took six hundred years to build." 
 
 Answer. " Of Cologne is the attribute. It answers to the 
 question Which cathedral ? " 
 
 Teacher. " Then we will note down, attributes answer 
 to the questions Whose* What kind of ? Which?" (The 
 teacher confided to me afterward that in the next course he 
 would further enlarge this topic by drawing in cases of ap- 
 position.) 
 
 Teacher. "Now, if you had a long sentence, such as, 
 1 Yesterday at eight o'clock in the morning the sixty-ninth 
 regiment of the Prussian army marched through our toAvn 
 with waving banner and a brass band, ' how would you find 
 out the subject, predicate, and attributes ? " 
 
 Now followed an application of the tests which had been 
 learned. Other sentences were treated likewise, and the rule 
 was put to the proof in many ways. 
 
 * My readers must not forget that this was a lesson in German grammar.
 
 118 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 A statement was formulated which fixed the fact that an 
 attribute answering to whose? and consisting of a noun, 
 must be in the genitive case. Also another, that an attribute 
 may consist of a noun in the dative being dependent upon a 
 preposition governing that case. But all such considera- 
 tions must be left out here in view of the fact that I write 
 for people who speak an almost grammarless tongue, accord- 
 ing to Superintendent Sill. I will do justice to the teacher 
 by saying that he did not once forget his end in view. 
 
 Teacher. " Suppose, now, that we enlarge our sentence 
 still further, so that it reads, ' John's old father called the 
 dog.' What shall we call this new element ? " 
 
 Now followed a statement as to the questions which ob- 
 jects may answer ; in what case they are found ; of what 
 words they may consist. My readers may imagine, with the 
 aid of the foregoing, how this part of the lesson was con- 
 ducted. 
 
 Then followed a similar consideration of the adverbial 
 elements, and that brought the lesson to a close. At the end 
 of the lesson the blackboard contained these notes, which 
 were copied by the boys : 
 
 I. Subject answers to Who or What 1 always nominative. 
 
 II. Predicate answers What does ? What is ? or How is ? 
 if a noun always nominative. 
 
 III. Attribute answers to Whose ? What kind f Which < 
 If a noun possessive, or with a preposition which governs 
 its case. 
 
 IV. Object answers to Whom or To Whom ? What or To 
 What ? In answer to the first dative ; in answer to the 
 second, accusative case. 
 
 V. Adverbial answers to [ (a) Time ] : When ? Since 
 When ? and How long 1 It states present, past, or future of 
 an action. [ (6) Place] : Where ? Whither ? Whence t [ (c) 
 Condition] : How 1 Degree, intensity, and other adverbials 
 were omitted for want of time. [ (d) Cause] : Why 1 What 
 fort 
 
 The home lesson given out was to furnish a sentence from
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. H9 
 
 the history or reader which would illustrate these rules. For 
 a lesson to beginners in grammar it was a very fruitful les- 
 son indeed, rather too fruitful, as I suspect ; that is, it offered 
 too much for one lesson. " Less would have been more," I 
 believe. Still, I must say I enjoyed it, and the boys did so, 
 too : that was obvious. 
 
 9. GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 
 
 I. Every city I have visited here in Germany, has its own 
 local flavor, its own peculiar bias caused by its history. A 
 German city can not shake itself free from its reminiscences 
 and strike out into new domains of human exertion. It is 
 commonly thought that America has cause for congratula- 
 tion because it has no ruins and no history. But the oppo- 
 site idea is worth defending. The inhabitant of Cologne, for 
 instance, though he be a beggar, resembles the descendant of 
 an ancient family, while the most respected citizen of one of 
 the Western mushroom cities in America is like unto the 
 man who " has no grandfather." 
 
 While thus it would seem as though I envied the fate of 
 a Neapolitan, or Cologne, or Parisian beggar, I beg to state 
 emphatically that for myself I prefer the fate of that highly 
 respected citizen in yonder Western mushroom settlement, 
 for reasons too obvious to mention. But my individual predi- 
 lection, and your fancy, my dear reader, are not questions 
 to be considered here. I mean to show in this letter that 
 a glorious city history dating back through the middle 
 ages, and farther back into antiquity, must of necessity in- 
 fluence school legislation, and the action of executive officers 
 and teachers of such a city. Even if it be desirable to free 
 instruction of all such influence (which would be heresy), 
 the very stones here in Cologne would speak out and protest. 
 
 Imagine yourself back in the middle ages, and think of 
 the exquisite altar-covers, embroidered by the wives and 
 daughters of the famous citizens of Cologne. Think of the 
 splendid garments with which they used to adorn their saints 
 in church and home. Think of the splendor of silken gowns
 
 120 COLOGNE (RHEXISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 of bright colors worn during the middle ages. Think of 
 the costly points and laces of those times, and of the knitted 
 jackets worn by the men under their armor. Think of the 
 close confinement of the women formerly, and their endeav- 
 ors to beautify and adorn homes in their own inimitable way, 
 and then bear in mind that these ancient customs are trace- 
 able in the churches, in the museums, in public and private 
 houses of Cologne, even to this day. 
 
 It stands to reason that among such surroundings female 
 manual occupations are considered at par in importance with 
 intellectual training. And though, under the high pressure 
 of our "modern age of ready-made clothing," the ideals, 
 customs, and laws of Cologne have changed, we still perceive 
 their influence. There is a causal nexus between the past 
 and the present which, though subtle and indefinable, is 
 none the less strong and determinate. 
 
 Thus we see the women teachers of Cologne teaching 
 the girls knitting, crocheting, embroidery, weaving, sewing, 
 lace-making, mending, and patching not only as I saw it 
 done in other cities that is, in a sort of practical crazy-quilt 
 fashion, but under the direct influence of beautiful models 
 and according to the best pedagogical principles and meth- 
 ods. With mute astonishment I followed them (teach- 
 ers and students of the girls 1 teachers' seminary) through 
 their " stores." A whole, good-sized room was filled with 
 things finished in one year's course. Every object was neat- 
 ly wrapped and labeled with the pupil's name, and the dates 
 at which it was begun and finished. Everything was scru- 
 pulously clean. This exhibition proved the admirable me- 
 thodical skill of the teachers, to say little, and the profound 
 wisdom of him who had framed the course so as to bring 
 this department to so high a degree of perfection. 
 
 Although I can, under high pressure of necessity, sew on 
 buttons which will stay on, and mend a seam, I am afraid of 
 betraying a woful ignorance with woman's accomplishments 
 if I attempt to sketch the course laid down and carried out. 
 I will therefore merely say that the course begins with knit-
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 
 
 ting with two needles a broad strap about a foot long. On 
 this strap are taught the various stitches plain, double, re- 
 versed, etc. This is the work of the first year's course. The 
 course begins in the second school year at the age of seven. 
 It ends within six years with embroidery, lace-making, and 
 sewing shirts, chemises, and artistic bedclothing. It in- 
 cludes a complete garniture of tidies, embroidery of letters, 
 point-lace-making, and thorough instruction in cutting out. 
 
 While the course is inflexible as to the what is to be 
 done and as to the number of pieces required to be finished, 
 it affords ample elbow-room for the employment of the pu- 
 pil's own taste and ingenuity in designing. I was deter- 
 mined to follow the saying nil admirari, and refrained 
 from praising except as much as could be fittingly expressed 
 by a satisfied grunt ; but when I came to the mending and 
 patching department I forgot my resolution. That loosened 
 my tongue. Imagine, my fair reader, square patches, star- 
 shaped patches, circular patches, laid on the sleeve of a shirt, 
 patches that looked as handsome as though they were not to 
 hide a defect, to wit, a vulgar tear, but to beautify the sleeve. 
 A tear in the common form of a Roman V I saw mended 
 with such exquisite exactness, by following the woof and 
 web of the linen, that I could not help expressing my deep- 
 felt gratification. The teachers laughed heartily and said : 
 " How like a man ! Things that cost a hundred times more 
 ingenuity and skill than that leave him cool as a cucumber, 
 but when he sees this patching and mending he breaks loose 
 in high praise." 
 
 Well, I acknowledged my resolution and was absolved. 
 I have seen many beautiful school exhibitions, but none that 
 was so genuinely true an expression of what is actually done 
 in school daily, hourly. Though most of these things were 
 very beautiful, there was nothing there among all those 
 treasures which had 110 practical bearing and could not be 
 made use of in any household, rich or poor. White yarn is 
 used in knitting, bright colors in embroidering, white linen 
 in sewing, so as to accustom the pupils to the most scrupu-
 
 122 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 lous cleanliness, for it is a rule that no finished thing is to 
 be washed. In case it gets soiled, it must be renewed. 
 
 Side by side with each year's course goes a course in 
 drawing and designing of patterns which lifts this instruc- 
 tion from a mere practical, bread-and-butter exercise to a 
 study of no mean importance. In this study and practice of 
 drawing can be traced with infallible certainty the models 
 of former ages, the influence of beautiful surroundings, and 
 of a culture of centuries. This secret power of the beautiful 
 has an ennobling influence, one that can not be overrated in 
 America and must not be underrated. 
 
 I argued with the teachers, saying, " Many of these 
 things need not be learned in our age of machines and 
 ready-made linen and clothing." The answer came: "Just 
 as much as the artisan stands in need of a complete knowl- 
 edge and a great deal of skill to understand the entire bear- 
 ings of his trade will it benefit our girls to be able to make 
 all the things you see here. Think of the many thousands 
 of girls who make a living by working for shops. Suppose 
 them to be trained like so many miserable, discontented ma- 
 chine-hands in shops only to do one kind of thing, to learn 
 one knack and nothing more. If they are dismissed, they are 
 at the mercy of Heaven knows whom! No, sir; knowledge, 
 thorough, systematic knowledge, and high artistic skill never 
 lose their value, be the conditions of life whatever they 
 may." 
 
 These female manual occupations are taught in some 
 schools in America, but nowhere so methodically as here. 
 As the children are disciplined by class-work in writing and 
 reading, etc., so are they disciplined by knitting. Whole 
 classes here knit as the teacher beats time. This exercise is 
 part of every lesson in manual occupation. Many a lady 
 teacher of manual training in our country is a good seam- 
 stress, can cut out, embroider, crochet, and knit well ; but, 
 having no professional preparation as teacher, she works 
 out her own course and method, usually a very erratic one, 
 to put the most favorable estimate on it.
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 123 
 
 But see these women teachers at Cologne and hear them 
 state principles for every action, every step of their six years' 
 course, quote authorities, reason with you from an unassail- 
 able vantage-ground of pedagogical authorities, with clear 
 insight into the conditions of life, with one eye in the future 
 and one in the past, and one can not but acknowledge their 
 superiority. 
 
 Being constitutionally free from envy and jealousy, I 
 can well afford to praise others, knowing that, though the 
 American school lacks this admirable and desirable accom- 
 plishment I have described above, it has other virtues which 
 redeem it in the eyes of every impartial observer. How- 
 ever, I respectfully suggest to school authorities to try and 
 lift this particular branch of instruction to a higher level. 
 It pays, as is seen in the thrifty industry of German women. 
 But if these manual occupations in school did nothing else 
 than temporarily lead the pupils from excessive brain-work 
 to something equally valuable, that alone would be a suffi- 
 cient cause to foster them. But first teach the teachers ! 
 
 II. On a previous page I referred to the fact that, side by 
 side with the course in manual occupations for girls, goes a 
 course in drawing which lifts this branch of the curriculum 
 to a higher level than it can otherwise reach. In previous 
 chapters I have paid attention to the boys' drawing, particu- 
 larly to their course in drawing from solids, and gave a 
 number of copies illustrating this, and I am confident that I 
 can in no better way illustrate the course in ornamental 
 drawing laid down for the girls than by offering a few sam- 
 ples which may prove: 
 
 1. The very systematic and thorough treatment the sub- 
 ject receives; 
 
 2. The practical bearings this kind of drawing has upon 
 the manual occupations; and, 
 
 3. That the results of free inventive drawing or adapta- 
 tion of elementary forms in complicated composition are not 
 to be despised. 
 
 Not being an artist, I am naturally constrained to select
 
 124 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 simple specimens, for I am utterly unable to follow the stu- 
 dents to higher ranges of art and produce copies of draw- 
 ings with many intricate combinations. What I offer in 
 the following cuts I saw done by pupils. Instead of giving 
 them in their " life-size," I copy them in reduced size from 
 
 SERIES I. Fios. 99-107. 
 
 a course laid down for the guidance of the teachers. This 
 work is used in several cities, and contains thousands of 
 models, all systematically arranged, following each other in 
 genetic order. I trust that my readers will readily see from 
 this scanty selection that the models are adapted to be ap- 
 plied in work with yarn, cloth, linen, lace. etc.
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 
 
 125 
 
 Another batch which follows this one may give evidence 
 to the development of the sense of beauty. But of that, 
 more anon. 
 
 Series I consists of polygons in the circle and the simple 
 stars that may be inscribed. These do not, by far, exhaust 
 
 SERIES l.Fias. 108-116. 
 
 the series. They are only a few selected ones. There are 
 still hundreds of possibilities for combinations. Of course, 
 in drawing them the ruler and compasses are used. The 
 compasses are introduced during the sixth school year. (See 
 Figs. 99-125.) 
 
 One of the objects of the teachers in the upper grades is
 
 126 
 
 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 that the pupils may be led to invent new forms from given 
 lines, curves, and measurements. This is not as hard as it 
 would seem. Children here display a great deal of ingenu- 
 ity. Of course, these invented forms are only reinventions, 
 
 SERIES I. FIGS. 117-125. 
 
 for there is hardly any ornamental form that has not been 
 produced before by others. But that does not lessen the 
 value of the pupil's own work. Such work is formative to 
 a high degree. I add two of such reinventions to show 
 the conceptive power of a developed sense of form and 
 beauty. (See Figs. 126, 127.)
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 127 
 
 . 
 
 yVi^rS 
 
 & 
 
 FIG. 126. 
 
 10 
 
 FIG. 127.
 
 128 COLOGNE (RIIENISB PRUSSIA). 
 
 Series II, which follows on page 129, is a reproduction in 
 miniature of drawings which I saw beautifully colored in 
 sepia, green, yellow, blue, etc. (See Figs. 128-135.) 
 
 I sincerely hope none of my readers will think it super- 
 fluous to have these specimens cut in wood. I trust they 
 will be heartily welcomed by the women teachers, especially 
 at a time in which manual training for the boys is so ably 
 and masterly defended. To reverse the proverb, "What's 
 sauce for the gander ought to be sauce for the goose." 
 
 Series III. The drawings I submit in this series are from 
 the same course to which the others belonged. From plain 
 geometrical figures the course leads over to a more inde- 
 pendent use of the curved line. The combinations are all 
 very fine. Conventionalized animal and plant forms are 
 brought in, and the way is paved to free invention of new 
 forms. The schemes of geometrical figures are the common 
 property of all the nations that ever tried to conventionalize 
 forms. But every civilized nation which has established a 
 national self-dependence turns to certain forw,s as its fa- 
 vorite ones, and develops these in vulgar as well as in fine 
 art, and often succeeds in opening new vistas into undis- 
 covered realms of art. Thus national styles originate. 
 Think of the straight line and the triangle, and you have 
 the ground-form of Greek architecture ; think of the half- 
 circle, and you have the Roman form ; think of the two arcs 
 meeting in a point, and you have the Gothic ; and so I might 
 go on through a chapter of the history of art. (See Figs. 
 136-138.) 
 
 But I fear that an essay on that subject would be written 
 pour le roi de Prusse, as the Frenchman says. The author 
 would have to let it die an ignoble and cruel death in the 
 waste-basket. Suffice it to say that styles are taught here in 
 school in a most practical way "by doing." Besides, every 
 one of the rosettes I copied may be found chiseled in stone 
 or carved in wood, by inspecting the Cathedral of Cologne, 
 or the elegant portico of the city hall, or the ancient tower 
 of that hall, or the stained-glaso windows found in almost
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 129 
 
 SERIES II. FIGS. 128-135.
 
 130 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 SERIES III. 
 
 FIG. 136. MODERN STYLE. 
 
 FIG. 137. GOTHIC STYLE.
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 131 
 
 every ancient building, especially in the cathedral. The se- 
 lections I offer here are so different in conception that they 
 indicate the vast variety possible. 
 
 I add also two applications of animal and plant forms, 
 representing two distinct styles, the one modern, the other 
 Gothic. I select these because I found them beautifully re- 
 
 FIG. 138. 
 
 produced in lace and embroidered tidies. If I find more 
 sets of such drawings I shall with pleasure copy and insert 
 them. 
 
 Series IV. The drawings submitted in this series are taken 
 from courses pursued in various schools of Germany. I in- 
 sert them because the forms, despite their eminent beauty, are
 
 132 COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 SERIES IV.-Fios 139-148.
 
 GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 133 
 
 SERIES IV.-Fio.s. 149-154.
 
 13i COLOGNE (RHENISH PRUSSIA). 
 
 SERIES IV. Flos. 155-160.
 
 THE OLD AND THE NEW. 135 
 
 simple and can be reproduced in crocheting and in other 
 ornamental needlework, as I saw it done ; also because few 
 hand-books for girls' industrial education in our country 
 contain models of this kind. Of course, I do not intend to 
 publish such a manual, but I sincerely hope that the models 
 here offered may be of service to teachers and give them a 
 standard with which to measure their own efforts. (See 
 Figs. 139-160.) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 1. THE OLD AND THE NEW. 
 
 FROM Cologne, the ancient, I went after a short interval 
 to Berlin, the modern city of the German Empire, and the 
 move proved a very happy one, for I could thus notice the 
 fundamental difference between the two cities and compare 
 the impressions they made upon me. In one thing Berlin 
 has the advantage over Cologne and many other old cities 
 of the empire : its school system is a rather recent growth. 
 Not that I mean to say Berlin has not had communal 
 schools as early as the beginning of this century, but the 
 city authorities had allowed the private-school calamity to 
 grow to an insufferable degree, so that the communal-school 
 system had degenerated to a system of poor or pauper 
 schools. But when, under the overpowering influence of 
 the rejuvenation of the empire, Berlin became an imperial 
 city, and Dr. Falk, the liberal-minded lawyer, was appointed 
 Minister of Education, soon after 1871, the city school system 
 took an upward start, such as can scarcely find a parallel, 
 unless it be the sudden establishment of a system of " board- 
 schools " in London. 
 
 Berlin has no more old school-houses. No such iniqui- 
 ties as dedicating an ancient, musty convent to school pur- 
 poses are tolerated by the Berlin city fathers. If, in any
 
 136 BERLIN. 
 
 part of the marvelously expanding city, a school-house is 
 needed, no old relics of former glory are used, but a new 
 house is built. The many private schools that used to nour- 
 ish like mushrooms have shriveled up and disappeared; 
 even tuition fees are a thing of the past in liberal-minded 
 Berlin. And the state encourages this with all its might. 
 Its own institutions in Berlin, the royal seminaries, the uni- 
 versities, the technical and art schools, are improved and 
 rebuilt on a grand scale. 
 
 One day I went to see the mausoleum of Queen Louisa, 
 at Charlottenburg, and on my way I noticed a building in 
 Florentinian palace style of graceful beauty, immense di- 
 mensions and exquisite finish, situated on a public boulevard. 
 I inquired of my " Murray " what great personage lived here, 
 and read to my delight that this was the new Polytechnic 
 University. Well, I had my passe-partout in my pocket, 
 and on my return from the mausoleum I entered this palace 
 (my pen hesitates to write school -house), was shown all over 
 it, and enjoyed the sight of what modern ideas of school 
 architecture had accomplished. It lies outside the province 
 of my reports to say anything of what I learned here or in 
 the university and museums of Berlin. It is but just, though, 
 to mention the proud efforts of state and community which 
 vie with each other in producing something that will mark 
 the time of the Emperor William as an era of unparalleled 
 exertion in all domains of education, art, science, industry, 
 and military defense. 
 
 Another signal difference between Berlin and such cities 
 as Cologne, Mayence, Strasburg, etc., is the absence of statues 
 of saints, popes, and similar personages in Berlin. One sees 
 here the heroes of the people : the Great Elector Frederick 
 William, King Frederick the Great, the famous field-mar- 
 shals and generals of the Prussian army ; the great men of 
 science, Humboldt and Leibnitz, the poets and painters, and 
 numerous symbolic statues, mostly formed after classic mod- 
 els, statues of rare beauty in bronze, marble, and sandstone. 
 
 Shall I generalize and say, Cologne and other old Ger-
 
 THE OLD AND THE NEW. 137 
 
 man cities offer reflections of the devout aspirations and 
 efforts of the middle ages ; Berlin, a child of the modern age, 
 exhibits hi all its doings a practical turn of mind. In noth- 
 ing have the two cities expressed their character better than 
 in their city halls: Cologne's quaint and incommodious city 
 hall, with its moss-grown old Gothic tower of rare architect- 
 ural beauty, a structure which seems to point upward ; and 
 Berlin's " brand-new " city hall, with its overpowering grand- 
 eur and square, massive, yet withal beautiful tower which 
 appears to plant itself squarely and say, " Here I am, and 
 I've come to stay." 
 
 My journey, with its many professional excursions, is 
 expensive, but I do not rue the cost. What a multitude of 
 ideas this journey is furnishing me at nearly every turn of 
 the road; what a world of scenery; what a taste for the 
 heautiful ! 
 
 Before I enter upon the individual work of the teachers, 
 I must mention the school-houses in Berlin. It is custom- 
 ary to judge from outside appearances. I do not wish to 
 fall into the same mistake, but I venture to say that in 
 houses well ventilated and warmed, well arranged and even 
 adorned, the educational influence of the school is more re- 
 fining than where all these desirable things are wanting. 
 Now it is but true to say that we Americans have not much 
 to learn, if anything, in regard to school-house architecture. 
 We are far ahead of the Europeans in the arrangement of 
 space, in ventilation and heating, but not in adorning the 
 school-houses. Our plain, whitewashed walls are ugly. 
 
 There is one othor consideration in which the Berlin 
 school authorities give their brethren of New York, Phila- 
 delphia, and other populous cities a shining example; it is in 
 the position of their new school-houses. This is so unique, 
 so well calculated to meet the circumstances of a large town 
 and the well-founded requirements of school, that it is worth 
 while to call attention to it.
 
 138 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 2. POSITION OF SCHOOL-HOUSES. 
 
 My readers who live in smaller towns, where the school- 
 house is the most prominent building surrounded by large, 
 shady yards, must understand that their standard of a school- 
 house can not be realized in a city like Berlin. Open spaces 
 are rare in Berlin, almost equally rare are trees. But the 
 
 STREET 
 
 Flo. 161. 
 
 school authorities have hit upon a solution of the difficulty 
 which is worth reporting. New school-houses are built in 
 the inner court-yard of a block of houses surrounded by four 
 streets. Two gateways lead to the school-yard. The above 
 sketch, made from memory, may explain the plan. 
 
 The dotted lines are to represent low walls which inclose 
 the courts belonging to the dwellings surrounding the square.
 
 THE TEACHERS OF BERLLY. 139 
 
 All around the yard is found a row of trees and flower-beds, 
 of which more anon. The school-houses are three-story 
 buildings built of pressed brick, but have the look of very 
 substantial architecture. The first and second floor each 
 contains six school-rooms; the third floor contains the ses- 
 sion-room (aula) of the school, which is used on festive oc- 
 casions and for meetings. Sometimes, when there is no 
 special building for the rector on the grounds, a dwelling is 
 found on the third floor. 
 
 Usually two buildings, one for boys and one for girls, are 
 found on these school-grounds. A third building, one story 
 high, is used for gymnastic exercises. This latter building 
 is never wanting. Hardly ever is a school-building found 
 facing a street, except in the older part of the town. One 
 may wander through many a street without seeing a school- 
 house. The market-halls are built in the same way, in the 
 inner square of a large block of houses. 
 
 In most of the yards of the schools I visited I found 
 flower-beds, and I heard that they were used by the teacher 
 of botany quite extensively. The children are here induced 
 to study leaf-forms and observe the growth of plants. If a 
 row of trees is planted, care is taken to select as great a vari- 
 ety as can be conveniently placed. The sense of ownership 
 which is fostered in the children with regard to these flower- 
 beds, shrubs, and trees, is perhaps the best protection that can 
 be applied. Compared with American school-yards, those in 
 Berlin are small, but that even on them a small portion is 
 set apart for a school- garden is laudable and deserves to be 
 imitated in large, crowded cities; in smaller towns of the 
 West, where every family has a garden of its own, it may 
 perhaps be superfluous, although in the interest of rational 
 teaching it may not seem so. 
 
 3. THE TEACHERS OF BERLIN. 
 
 I had not been in Berlin quite five days, when I had oc- 
 casion to compare notes with a colleague from Norway. I 
 told him I had seen six schools (three common schools, one
 
 140 BERLIN. 
 
 gymnasium, one higher girls' school, and a private school), 
 in each of which I had spent two or three hours; six mu- 
 seums (the National Gallery, the old and the new museum, 
 the wonderful armory with its Hall of Fame, and two school 
 museums) ; had heard two operas and attended three meetings, 
 namely, one of the Teachers' Social Club, one of the teachers 
 of the third school district, and a banquet. He thought that 
 was making a business of pleasure, but I assured him that 
 this was the only way which would enable me to accomplish 
 what I had come to do. 
 
 Mr. Olsen, the Norwegian School Councilor, agreed with 
 me that the teachers of Berlin are a remarkable set of men, 
 in aspirations, in skill, in results, professional as well as 
 social and political. Berlin has so many teachers who have 
 ideas and are not slow in giving utterance to them, that it is 
 worth associating with them. They have a number of clubs, 
 societies and so many official and private conferences, that it 
 was well-nigh impossible for me to attend them all. Some 
 urgent invitations I was sorry to decline, but circumstances, 
 such as great distance from my hotel, demanded it. 
 
 The teachers here maintain a daily paper of their own, 
 several weeklies, and support with literary contributions 
 many professional journals outside. Think of maintaining 
 and supporting their own press ! Yet they are not clannish, 
 only they stubbornly defend their professional interests, and 
 their esprit du corps has done wonders, for nowhere in 
 Germany are the teachers paid so well as here in Berlin; 
 nowhere do teachers occupy so high a rank in society as here, 
 where they support their demands by numerical strength 
 and claim respect by their talents. I assure my readers, the 
 teachers of Berlin are factors on which the city fathers 
 reckon. 
 
 How I should like to see the teachers of New York, 
 Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. 
 Louis, etc., maintain their rights with the aid of the ballot- 
 box and a press of their own ! How soon some miserable 
 wretches of political tricksters who find their way into the
 
 TWO SCHOOL MUSEUMS. 141 
 
 Board of Education would vanish from the surface ! As cir- 
 cumstances are now, his Satanic Majesty must have a broad 
 grin on his face, reaching from ear to ear, when he sees some 
 of the vilest of men, men who can not even write their names, 
 lifted by the grace of popular vote to the dignity of members 
 of the Board of Education ! 
 
 Comparisons are odious, it is said. That may be ; but 
 they are very instructive. When I see a school system 
 maintained by wise, conservative legislation, governed by 
 men of unquestioned wisdom and unsullied reputation, and 
 in that system a body of teachers every one of whom is a 
 professional teacher, I can not refrain from comparing what 
 is with what might be in our country. 
 
 I had only one fault to find with the teachers of Berlin. 
 Many whom I visited in their school-rooms soon after I ap- 
 peared dropped the lesson of the day and began to review, 
 bent on showing what their pupils knew and could do. Of 
 course, to see what could be accomplished was very interest- 
 ing, but it was not what I had come to see. So, one day 
 when I was called upon to address a gathering of teachers, I 
 took occasion to ask them to show me how they taught, not 
 what they had accomplished. 
 
 From that day my visits were more fruitful to me than 
 before, and, when I left Berlin after three weeks of hard 
 work and much sight-seeing, I had a note-book full of the 
 most interesting notes. 
 
 4. Two SCHOOL MUSEUMS. 
 
 In Cologne I had seen a well-stocked Exposition of Means 
 of Instruction, supported by private exertions. Here in Ber- 
 lin I found two school museums, one maintained by the city, 
 the other by voluntary contributions of the Berlin Teachers' 
 Association. The City School Museum is situated in the 
 hall of the forty-sixth common school, on Stallschreiber 
 Street. It contains many thousands of bound books on peda- 
 gogy and kindred sciences. The hall is very well adapted 
 for the purpose. The books are arranged on two rows of
 
 142 BERLIN. 
 
 black-walnut shelves neatly carved. The shelves aro found 
 all around the room. The upper row is approachable by iron 
 stairs and a balcony which leads all around the hall. On 
 the long side of the hall spacious alcoves or side rooms open, 
 which are filled with apparatus for physics and chemistry, 
 collections for the study of physiology, botany, zoology, 
 mineralogy, maps, charts, general and special maps and de- 
 vices for suspending them, apparatus for the study of geome- 
 try and drawing. In fact, it is a valuable collection, such 
 as every large city could well afford to have, but the like of 
 which, I am sorry to admit, can not be found in America. 
 
 The city pays four thousand marks every year for repair- 
 ing and new purchases. This is not much, but with good 
 management it goes a great way. Many a valuable book, 
 ctuffed animal, bust, map, etc., is presented to the museum, 
 and thus the institution can keep pace with the modern re- 
 quirements of our professional science and art. 
 
 The other museum is not as well supported ; but it is a 
 specialty such as can not be found anywhere else except, 
 perhaps, in Switzerland, where " The Pestalozzi-Stuebchen " 
 may vie with this museum. The peculiar charm of this one 
 is its unique arrangement prescribed by its object. The 
 owners emphasize the historical development of popular ed- 
 ucation. There is, for instance, one section which contains 
 every publication and device concerning the study of geog- 
 raphy, arranged according to historical stages of develop- 
 ment of that science so far as it comes within the pale of the 
 common school. Another section represents the methods of 
 teaching language. This contains only books and a few 
 charts which provoke a smile at the oddities into which hu- 
 man ingenuity can be misled. Again, another section has 
 reference to object-lessons. A very valuable section this is. 
 Another is devoted to arithmetic, and here I could not con- 
 trol myself. I broke out into laughter when I observed the 
 queer machines and contrivances made to assist the teacher 
 in arithmetic. Since most of these things are antiquated, it 
 does not pay to sketch them.
 
 CORRECTING COMPOSITIONS. 143 
 
 Of late the managers of this private museum have under- 
 taken the task of collecting everything available and obtain- 
 able with reference to Diesterweg, the Horace Mann of 
 Prussia. This is a most interesting section. At present a 
 Harkort section is being made. 
 
 Take it all in all, the Berlin common schools are any- 
 thing but a stagnant pool. There are life, exertion, enthusi- 
 asm, ambition, literary skill, successful teaching, and good 
 results. The administration is similar to that of American 
 schools. There is a school commission (a committee of the 
 City Council), a general superintendent (called school coun- 
 cilor), seven assistant superintendents (called inspectors), a' 
 rector at the head of each building, and many associate 
 teachers. Only those teachers who are not engaged defi- 
 nitely as yet are called assistants. These have to prove 
 their fitness during a probationary term. After that they 
 are fixtures and can not be removed except for cause. 
 
 5. CORRECTING COMPOSITIONS. 
 
 In a class representing the seventh school year of a dis- 
 trict (or communal) school in Berlin, I heard a lesson which 
 I shall not readily forget. The teacher had a stack of com- 
 position-books on his desk, and the boys sat with eager ex- 
 pectation before him. The compositions had been corrected 
 with red ink, and the teacher now took one after another 
 and discussed mistakes he had found several times. His 
 mode of criticism was very interesting. An error in orthog- 
 raphy was corrected by asking the offending party to spell 
 the word orally and write it on the blackboard. 
 
 The subject of the composition was Schiller's " Lay of the 
 Bell," which had been read and thoroughly treated. The 
 teacher was rational yet withal charitable in his criticism, for 
 he never needlessly wounded the spirits of his pupils till he 
 came to one where his patience seemed to forsake him. He 
 broke out, saying : " How could you be so stupid as to write 
 such things ? No," he added, " I'll take that back. Stupid- 
 ity is not your besetting sin, but criminal negligence." It 
 11
 
 144 BERLIN. 
 
 was a study to see the face, which showed defiance at the 
 accusation of being stupid, soften when the teacher did him 
 the justice to acknowledge that it was not stupidity but neg- 
 ligence which lay at the root of this worthless work. The 
 boy bowed his head in shame and said : " Please, sir, I was 
 hurried when I wrote this work. I'll do it over again if 
 you'll allow me. I am sure I can do it better next time." 
 
 Sentences which were faulty in construction were writ- 
 ten out in full after being corrected orally. Then they were 
 repeated in chorus, and thus the correct construction made 
 a more lasting impression. I nowhere find incorrect words 
 or sentences spread on the board in German schools, and I 
 am induced to think that this is more beneficial than the 
 sight of numerous mistakes. An error which had its root 
 in dialectic speech was weeded out thoroughly by making a 
 number of pupils repeat the correct form, while the incor- 
 rect form was heard only once. Thus the frequent repeti- 
 tion of the correct obliterates the incorrect form. Like the 
 teachers in Rhenish Prussia, those of Berlin have to fight 
 constantly with the wretched dialect of the lower strata of 
 the population. The teachers of Thuringia and the provinces 
 of Saxony and Hanover have an easy time of it compared 
 with the Sisyphus work of their colleagues in Berlin and 
 Cologne. 
 
 Well, this work of correcting went on, and the teacher 
 dealt out his commendation and reproof with the spirit of a 
 true educator who knows every one of his pupils and gives 
 his doses according to the nature of the disease. This lesson 
 closed, and at the stroke of the clock the next followed. It 
 was a unique one, to say little. On the programme it was 
 marked " Miscellaneous." The teacher explained that this 
 hour was reserved every week for the boys' " spontaneous 
 efforts." Each pupil was permitted to prepare a contribu- 
 tion of his own, the reading of a composition on a topic 
 chosen by himself, or the recitation of a poem of his own 
 choice, or an oral description of scenery viewed, or a narra- 
 tion of an event witnessed by himself, etc.
 
 MODE OF PROCEDURE. 145 
 
 This was a very instructive lesson to the teacher; yes, 
 instructive to him, for it gave him an opportunity of studying 
 his pupils. They unconsciously revealed their true nature, 
 partly by their choice of a subject, partly by their mode of 
 rendition, partly by the reception their work found among 
 their schoolmates. 
 
 " You see," said the teacher, " this is my special study- 
 hour, and the notes I take during this hour spent in listen- 
 ing to voluntary contributions are of incalculable benefit to 
 me." I spent a day in this school in several class-rooms, and 
 traced among the entire corps of teachers the influence of 
 this excellent rector. 
 
 6. MY MODE OF PROCEDURE. 
 
 I must not repeat myself, and can therefore not sketch 
 many of the lessons I saw in Berlin, because they very much 
 resembled the lessons I sketched on previous pages. This 
 time a statement of my mode of procedure may take the 
 place of a description. 
 
 Early in the morning, before eight o'clock, I call at the 
 office of the rector, hand him my passe-partout, and am re- 
 ceived with courtesy. He places before me his daily pro- 
 gramme, which contains a summary of all the daily pro- 
 grammes of the whole school that is, of all the class-rooms 
 in the house. Upon inquiry after special meritorious cases, 
 I get the information I want and select the lessons I desire 
 to hear ; but I am careful to select several for every hour of 
 the school day, so that, in case I may have made a poor 
 choice, I can retire to another class-room. If I "strike a 
 gold-mine," I stay; if, on the contrary, I find indifferent 
 teaching (which, to do honor to truth, happens rarely), I 
 usually advance some plausible pretext for retiring. Thus 
 I am enabled to see a good deal. Though it is exhausting 
 work, it lasts only till twelve or at most till one o'clock. 
 (For reasons, see No. 9 below on school sessions in Berlin.) 
 The afternoons are left to pleasure, sight-seeing, and attend- 
 ing teachers' meetings.
 
 146 BERLIN. ^ 
 
 One day I followed an urgent invitation to a private 
 school. I had spent about an hour in it, and had gone from 
 room to room without seeing anything that could entice me 
 to stay, when I took French leave and went in search of 
 another school. My usual luck favored me. I came to the 
 Coelnische Gymnasium, and was greatly elated at finding 
 that the rector was Prof. Dr. Kern, the famous grammarian, 
 a man who has recently published a number of books on a 
 new mode of treating grammar, and a text-book on pedagogy, 
 for young teachers. I had a charming interview with Prof. 
 Kern, and shall remember his school. 
 
 On the programme was trigonometry in Lower Prima, 
 taught by Prof. Hermes, author of well-known text-books 
 on mathematics ; and, since I was desirous to compare the 
 teaching of such a man with that of others I had seen, I ex- 
 pressed that desire. Prof. Kern said, " You seem to know 
 where you may expect something worth seeing." Well, he 
 took me up to that teacher, and I was very glad of it after- 
 ward. 
 
 The professor, a fine, old, white-haired man, took no no- 
 tice of us after the introduction, and I had the best opportu- 
 nity to observe him and his students. A very difficult and 
 knotty problem was given out, and a few moments were 
 spent in hard thinking. Then a student was called up who 
 began to demonstrate. At a deviation from, the mathemati- 
 cal logic, the professor followed up this thread and proved 
 its absurdity, then led the student back to where the break 
 had occurred, and again the student started out. He did not 
 rise from his seat, but, while solving the problem orally, 
 made the algebraic figures with astonishing velocity in his 
 note-book. 
 
 Another student was called who got through the whole 
 solution without a break. A third was called to the board 
 to demonstrate the problem by drawing the figure, and it 
 was a sight worth seeing as the boys sat there watching the 
 demonstrator. The professor was an excellent methodician. 
 He never did for the students what they might do for them-
 
 HOME-MADE CHARTS. 147 
 
 selves. His memory was simply prodigious. When, after 
 about ten minutes of demonstrating, a student mistook the 
 letter m for n, the professor, without looking at the board, 
 said, " Look again, you are mistaking one angle for another." 
 I was convinced that these students learned mathematics 
 thoroughly. 
 
 Though I heard many fine lessons in Beilin, I missed the 
 methodical skill I had found in some schools in the western 
 part of the kingdom. Herbart is not considered in Berlin 
 the great apostle which they make of him in Saxony and 
 Thuringia. 
 
 7. HOME-MADE CHARTS. 
 
 In a school in Berlin I noticed a number of charts that 
 had been made of common dark-blue packing or wrapping 
 paper. This paper had been pasted on a light wooden frame. 
 The teacher had then written on the paper or sketched his 
 illustrations with pointed white and colored crayons very 
 neatly (they had reference to botany, zoology, physiology, 
 physics, etc.), and then, in order to preserve them for future 
 use, he had covered the paper with fresh (unboiled) milk. 
 The soft, spongy paper had absorbed the fluid, but the milk 
 formed a sufficiently strong coat of varnish to preserve the 
 crayon-marks. The paper, when dried thoroughly, was 
 stretched tight, and lost its former flabbiness, so that the 
 charts when hung up for use would not collect dust any more 
 than any other smooth surface. The charts can be dusted 
 with a feather or hair dust-brush without injury to the 
 illustrations ; the only thing which will injure the charts is 
 moisture, for that will warp them. 
 
 I inquired whether the wooden frames were necessary, 
 and the reply was, " Yes, lest the paper become warped 
 during the process of drying after it is soaked with milk." 
 But one frame will do for a good many charts. After one 
 is thoroughly dry, it may be cut out of the frame and hung 
 up for use, or secured in a portfolio. Then a new chart is 
 mounted, covered with illustrations and writing, and then 
 " milked " to give it a coat. The milk must not be spread
 
 148 BERLIN. 
 
 over with a brush, but poured over the sheet. The teacher 
 who had hit upon this device was a handy draughtsman, and 
 had prepared a great number of charts for plant analysis 
 and other studies, and he adds a few charts to his stock 
 every year. Some of those I saw were ten years old, but 
 they were as fresh-looking as though made yesterday. 
 
 8. A MAP-SUSPENDER. 
 
 Sometimes a teacher neglects to hang up a map during 
 the lesson in geography, because it is inconvenient to handle 
 the large, unwieldy wall-map. To be candid, in some schools 
 no devices for suspending maps easily are found. In Berlin, 
 
 in a school for youngladies, 
 L ^ I found a device which 
 deserves to be mentioned. 
 
 Cj 
 
 _L 
 
 Here is a sketch of it : 
 
 MAP SUSPENDER. An iron rod is fastened 
 
 close to the wall ; from that 
 is suspended by two hooks 
 a tin cylinder, which has 
 a slit one third of an inch 
 in width. Into the cylin- 
 der is shoved the upper rod 
 of a mounted map while the map passes through the slit. 
 A handle soldered on to the cylinder affords an easy hand- 
 ling. The young ladies used the apparatus dexterously, 
 and changed the maps without loss of time. 
 
 9. LENGTH OF SCHOOL SESSIONS. 
 
 In Berlin the daily school session opens at eight o'clock 
 in the morning and usually lasts till one o'clock, rarely till 
 two. The primary classes are dismissed at twelve o'clock. 
 In the afternoon only such classes as were dismissed at 
 one or at twelve have one more lesson, but this is a lesson 
 in gymnastics, drawing, and industrial pursuits. No absorb- 
 ing brain-work is done in the afternoon. From eight till 
 one o'clock are five hours ; that is considered enough for
 
 NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES. 149 
 
 one day's brain- work. But notice that this five hours' work 
 takes place six times a week, the pupils having, as every- 
 where else in Germany, no whole holiday on Saturday, hut 
 are free on two afternoons, namely, Wednesdays and Satur- 
 days. Since the afternoons of the other four week-days are 
 occupied with gymnastics, manual work or drawing, the 
 fact remains that the pupils here do a solid day's brain- work, 
 of five hours each, six times a week. 
 
 It may be claimed that five consecutive hours is too much 
 for one session. That is true, but the difficulty is obviated 
 by giving the pupils a recess after each hour. There is a 
 short recess of five minutes at nine and at eleven o'clock, 
 and one of ten minutes each at ten and twelve o'clock. 
 These frequent recesses prevent an undue exertion of the 
 brain. Though the order which makes the boys do six days' 
 work is very ingenious, I doubt whether our independent 
 American youth would submit to the arrangement which 
 would virtually wipe out their time-honored privilege of en- 
 joying a holiday on Saturday. 
 
 As to vacations, they have here one week at Christmas, 
 one at Easter, one at Whitsuntide, and three weeks at har- 
 vest-time in the fall (usually in September) ; total, six weeks. 
 Deduct this from the fifty-two weeks of the year, and you 
 have forty-six school weeks left, as compared with our forty. 
 Few city schools in the United States have a longer school 
 year than forty weeks. It stands to reason that a school can 
 accomplish more in forty-six weeks of six days each, than 
 one in forty weeks of five days each, all other things being 
 equal. 
 
 10. NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES 'IN BERLIN. 
 
 A. The Building. My former connection with the Cin- 
 cinnati Normal School has left a special liking in me for 
 schools of similar character. I saw one in Cologne, and have 
 mentioned my experiences there in former letters. Here in 
 Berlin I had occasion to see and thoroughly inspect another 
 normal school for women. Comparisons are odious, and I
 
 150 BERLIN. 
 
 will therefore refrain from comparing this school with 
 similar institutions in America, though I am sure the com- 
 parison may in some instances turn the scale in favor of 
 American schools, notably if the munificence with which 
 they are founded and supported is taken into consideration. 
 
 The school I wish to speak of is not a city institution like 
 the one in Cologne, but is supported by the state exclusively ; 
 in fact, it is the first state institution of this kind in Prussia. 
 In one of my former letters I said that the state as such of- 
 fered no professional training to young ladies who intend to 
 become teachers. This is not quite correct. The state partly 
 supports a few such normal schools ; but their number is not 
 in just proportion to the number of normal schools for 
 young men. It is perhaps two or three to one hundred. 
 This seminary in Berlin, together with its extensive practice 
 department of over fourteen classes, is known as the " Au- 
 gusta School." It enjoys the " protection " of the Empress 
 Augusta, whose bust, in over life-size, adorns the large ses- 
 sion hall, of which more anon. 
 
 The school-house is a magnificent building which has 
 cost five hundred and fifty thousand marks, or about one 
 hundred and ten thousand dollars, to build. It consists of 
 an enormous main building and a wing. Pressed brick and 
 stone facings make the building look very handsome. A 
 fine vestibule and massive gates lead to a roomy stair-house. 
 Pillars of solid sandstone and a broad marble staircase, fine- 
 ly carved gates and doors, wrought-iron railings and par- 
 titions of exquisite workmanship, stained-glass windows, 
 fresco-paintings, and heavy cornices of immaculate white- 
 ness inside, make the school a thing of beauty and a joy for- 
 ever. The school-rooms are small as compared with what I 
 consider the proper size of a school-room. 
 
 The practice department of the Augusta Seminary is a 
 complete common school of nine grades (nine school years), 
 with several parallel classes, in none of which are found 
 more than twenty pupils, and the seminary proper has a 
 course of three years. The class-rooms for all these classes
 
 NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES. 151 
 
 are on the first and second floors. On the second is also 
 found the hall for physics and chemistry, with amphitheat- 
 rically arranged seats, the library, the school museum, the 
 office of the rector, and the conference-room of the faculty. 
 On the third floor is the art-room and also the " aula " or 
 session hall. This is the most splendid school-room I have 
 seen in twenty -five years. Think of frescoed walls, of a ceil- 
 ing of carved oak-wood, of stained-glass windows, of marble 
 facings and an inlaid floor, a grand organ and commodious 
 settees ! 
 
 The marble stairs and mosaic floors of the corridors are 
 protected by a strip of linoleum, and the cleanliness in this 
 school reminds the visitor of fairy tales. Not a speck of 
 dust anywhere a fine testimonial to the efficiency of the 
 janitor. The visitor, accustomed to criminal negligence and 
 dirt found in so many German schools, feels inclined to step 
 softly here. The system of ventilation and warming is so 
 perfect that no vitiated air is noticeable after several hours. 
 They have steam-heating and automatic ventilation happily 
 combined. O, happy children who can spend their youth 
 in such a school ! 
 
 B. The Practice Department. Having expressed my de- 
 sire to see the young ladies of the senior class teach, I was 
 conducted through the eight rooms of the four lower grades, 
 where I heard lessons in primary arithmetic. 
 
 The course I saw in actual operation was : First half- 
 year, operations in addition and subtraction of numbers be- 
 tween 1 and 10 and counting to 100 ; only oral work. Sec- 
 ond half-year, all the four fundamental rules applied to 
 numbers between 1 and 20 ; here begins written work. First 
 half of second year, all the operations with whole numbers 
 between 1 and 100, counting to 1,000. Second half of second 
 year, same with whole numbers and simple fractions; also 
 some denominate numbers. In this, the beginning of the 
 second half of the second year, I heard problems solved, such 
 as " Sixteen thirds, how many whole ones and thirds ? " The 
 answer came instantly, " Five whole ones and one third."
 
 152 BERLIN. 
 
 Fractions were also written by these children, who 
 handled them u with ease and elegance," as though they of- 
 fered no difficulties whatever. At the close of the second 
 year the children must have mastered the multiplication- 
 table, and they were just at work with the tables of eight 
 and nine, which they recited in this wise: 
 
 (a) 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80. 
 (&) 80, 72, 64, 56, 48, 40, 32, 24, 16, 8. 
 
 (c) 1x8= 8, 2 x 8 = 16, 3 x 8 = 24, etc. 
 
 (d) 10 x 8 = 80, 9 x 8 = 72, 8 x 8 = 64, etc. 
 
 This recital backward and forward made the pupils very 
 dexterous in the use of the tables. 
 
 The third school year completes multiplication and di- 
 vision with large numbers, and the fourth adds denominate 
 numbers and a more thorough treatment of fractions. In 
 the third year it was where I found such problems as "Find 
 one sixth of 68, one eighth of 91, one seventh of 86," etc., 
 solved very quickly. All this may seem to many of my 
 readers like a tale from fairy -land. Even I who had claimed 
 that more could be done in our schools if the fundamental 
 rules were treated from the beginning even I was dum- 
 founded when I saw the chapter of fractions completed in 
 the A Primary (or the fourth school year) ; but, when I con- 
 sidered the material these teachers worked with, I fell back 
 into my nil admirari. The pupils were children who came 
 from very refined homes, the so-called " Geheimraths -Vier- 
 tel," and spoke almost faultless German. The Sisyphus 
 work of correcting their mother-tongue or dialect did not re- 
 tard the teachers in their work. 
 
 In this school I found a very simple and useful apparatus 
 for illustrating the combinations in arithmetic between 1 
 and 100. It consists of a small blackboard two feet square 
 into which small smooth holes are bored. Into these holes 
 white ivory buttons were inserted, such as shown in the cut. 
 These buttons are easily removed and replaced, and can be 
 handled by the pupils. (See Fig. 164.)
 
 NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES. 153 
 
 The so-called Russian numeral frame also is greatly im- 
 proved in this school. On both sides of the frame is a strip 
 of black board, behind which 
 the balls that are not used 
 in an operation are hidden. 
 
 o o o 05 
 o o o o3 
 
 O O O O4 
 
 From the second half of 
 the first year a series of 
 blank books is used in arith- 
 metic, the leaves of which 
 are covered with a net of 
 lines intersecting each other 
 at right angles. The work 
 entered upon these pages 
 was remarkably neat and 
 very correct. FlG - 164 - 
 
 The students were well trained in teaching. I inquired 
 how that was accomplished. " Simply by thorough theoretic 
 preparation and by giving them much free elbow-room 
 that is, allowing them to remain in charge of a room for 
 several weeks. After the charm of novelty is worn off, they 
 are visited by their schoolmates and by the practice teacher, 
 and then their work is criticised," was the answer. 
 
 C. The Normal School-Work. "What preparation do 
 you require of these students before you admit them to the 
 normal school (or seminary) ? " " The results of a higher 
 young ladies' school, which has a course of nine years. 
 They may get that education anywhere, or privately, or in 
 our Augusta Practice School ; in fact, wherever they please. 
 But we admit none except those who pass the examination 
 for admission." 
 
 For once my customary luck forsook me in this school. 
 The rector, Mr. Supprian, well known in German educa- 
 tional circles as author of popular text-books and readers, 
 and a good speaker, was ill and off on a furlough; but he 
 was well represented by other men of the faculty. One of 
 these gentlemen gave a lesson to the students of the senior 
 class on the history of methods of teaching reading, which
 
 154 BERLIN. 
 
 lesson I wish all those American teachers had heard who 
 are now killing rational teaching in the bud by insisting 
 upon the pure, unadulterated word-method. 
 
 The students were very well acquainted with the en- 
 tire history of the phonic method, with all its phases of de- 
 velopment. Good old Ickelsamer, the first inventor of it, 
 would have chuckled in his grave could he have heard the 
 lesson. Stephani, the Bavarian school inspector, too, re- 
 ceived his full share of the fame as* rein ven tor and as pro- 
 moter of good teaching. The whole lesson was like an Ax- 
 minster carpet, rich in colors, exquisite in form and design 
 that is, full of interesting historical data, alternating with 
 arguments as to the merits of this, that, and another method. 
 The course in methodical treatment of sounds, open and 
 closed syllables, etc., was well established. All enjoyed the 
 lesson the teacher, the young students, and, more than all, 
 myself. 
 
 There was no difficulty in finding my way from room to 
 room, for in the corridors could be seen on every door what 
 class was engaged in the room, and the daily programme 
 was suspended under glass outside, so that one need not en- 
 ter the room to inquire what was going on inside. This 
 seemed to me so useful a thing that I resolved to mention it. 
 
 Well, I found my way to the art hall, in which drawing 
 was taught. It was a magnificent room, fully sixty feet 
 long by thirty wide. High windows with north light made 
 this room especially fit for the purpose. I will not go into 
 details, but only mention an idea I gathered here. The stu- 
 dents, about forty in number, represented the tenth school 
 year or the first in the normal school. Part of the lesson 
 was devoted to a class exercise in drawing from solids, the 
 same that I have described before. When that was con- 
 cluded, the teacher ordered the students to turn to their 
 individual drawings. Some drew from plaster casts, some 
 from relief ornaments, some from plain wooden geometrical 
 bodies, some even turned to plain copying and learning to 
 shade with the stub.
 
 NORMAL SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES. 155 
 
 I inquired after the cause of this variety. The answer 
 was characteristic and well worth recording : " The gifts of 
 nature, such as the sense of form, or the musical ear, or the 
 eye for color, the skill in working out forms by means of 
 modeling in fine, all those talents which may, perhaps, be 
 uniformly developed when the millennium approaches are 
 not, at the close of our nineteenth century, as yet the undis- 
 puted common property of everybody. Much variety is still 
 noticeable. Some human beings are far more gifted than 
 others in music and in the art of representing form on the 
 flat surface. Now, it would retard the progress of many of 
 these young ladies to keep them back in order to keep step 
 with their less gifted sisters. 
 
 " So, you see, I divide all my lessons by first giving class- 
 instruction in the course in drawing they will be called 
 upon to give to little children after some years ; but when 
 that part of the lesson is finished I give each student wide 
 elbow-room to turn to her favorite pursuit in art. This is 
 never without the most gratifying results, as you may see 
 by going through the aisles. You will have noticed that I 
 tied the students down to a rigid performance of duty so far 
 as the course prescribed is involved ; after that I say, let them 
 have the liberty to work out what accomplishment Mother 
 Nature has given them." 
 
 This was common sense, decidedly. That it was, besides, 
 obedience to the pedagogical maxim, " Individualize ! " did 
 not decrease the value of the common sense one iota. 
 
 During a lesson in physiology sketches of the circulatory 
 system were drawn on the board, and a very forcible dis- 
 tinction was made between sketch or schematic illustrations 
 and perspective copies from nature. I append a few sam- 
 ples, which will illustrate the distinction. (See Figs. 165. 166.) 
 
 Of course, the heart was there in natura also that is, a 
 perfect preparation of papier-mache. 
 
 The last lesson I heard was a failure, because it was a 
 lecture. Lectures are out of place in a young ladies' school. 
 The professor was a very learned man, but a poor teacher.
 
 156 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 His subject was the history of gymnastics. The young 
 ladies began to seek diversion in whispering, giggling, and 
 writing, while the worthy old man talked louder and louder 
 
 FIGS. 103, 106. 
 
 to overcome the increasing noise. The spectacle became so 
 unpleasant that I preferred to leave. This one unpleasant 
 experience could not, however, mar the deep impression I 
 received during the other lessons. I had spent a day most 
 profitably, as I hope to have proved in this chapter. 
 
 One word more: English and French are taught here, 
 and taught well, I assure my readers. Only, the English 
 th was a stumbling-block to some of the pupils, and will 
 perhaps always remain so, as the German vowel ue (ti) is to 
 Americans and Englishmen. 
 
 11. HOW NOT TO TEACH. 
 
 One day I was on my way to a school in the outskirts of 
 Berlin, when, riding on the tramway, I espied the sign, 
 " Royal Teachers' Seminary." On the previous day I had 
 inspected a similar institution for young ladies, and the de- 
 sire arose to see this one, evidently a normal school for 
 young men. A comparison, I thought, would be very in-
 
 HOW NOT TO TEACH. 157 
 
 structive. I acted upon the impulse and entered the build- 
 ing. The rector received me kindly and handed me over to 
 the next in command, because he himself had to leave the 
 building to conduct an examination in another part of the 
 city. This teacher was engaged in giving a lesson in church 
 history. I thought this a very good beginning, and was 
 about to pat myself on the back for my luck, metaphorically 
 speaking, when, lo ! I abruptly paused in my self -congratu- 
 lation, for the teacher was a scold ! 
 
 He was a massive man, a strong man, a man who exer- 
 cised a power of command which might have been better 
 fitted for military exercise than for the school-room. He 
 was utterly void of tact, and trampled upon the children's 
 dignity as though his massive foot stepped upon pebbles. 
 He made his importance felt so severely that he confused 
 his pupils. He intimidated them by his glance, by his mode 
 of questioning, and his seemingly compassionate smiles, 
 which seemed to imply, " I know you can't grasp this, but 
 I'll ask you, nevertheless, to make you feel your utter worth- 
 lessness." His reign was a reign of terror. 
 
 No answer was left without severe criticism, and every 
 time he got through with a boy, after severely squeezing 
 him (metaphorically speaking), and ridiculing him when oc- 
 casion offered, I saw the boy take his seat with a woe-begone 
 countenance that reminded me of Lady Jane in " Patience," 
 when she sighs, " Crushed again ! " When the substance of 
 the answer was correct, the teacher found fault with its form. 
 When the form was correct, but the answer did not fully 
 cover the subject asked for, or when the boy, in his anguish, 
 tried to branch out and reach over as much ground as he 
 could, to satisfy the teacher, sarcastic remarks followed, 
 which were positively ugly. The boys, on an average about 
 fourteen or fifteen years old, resembled so many sheep in a 
 thunder-storm . 
 
 But mind well, my patient reader, the teacher was not 
 coarse ; not a nickname, not a word escaped him which might 
 have been interpreted as a direct insult. But his manner of
 
 158 BERLIN. 
 
 applying reproof was so icy, so penetrating, so chilling, 
 and the reproof was given for such trifling things, that it 
 took my breath away. There was not a word of commen- 
 dation, not a look of approval during the whole lesson, not 
 one friendly, helpful glance it appeared as though the 
 teacher considered it beneath himself to waste such things 
 on a gang of criminals. I did not sketch the lesson. My 
 attention was entirely absorbed in studying how not to 
 teach. 
 
 It will ever remain true that we are apt to copy our own 
 teachers in our mode of teaching, and therefore the best 
 teachers and educators are barely good enough as normal- 
 school teachers. This lesson chilled me through and 
 through, and I left the building. From other teachers ? 
 upon very cautious and veiled inquiry, I heard that the one 
 I had listened to was an exception ; but I can not help pon- 
 dering about the anomaly that a man of his caliber should 
 teach the religion of love, Christianity. He certainly acted 
 like a veritable Peter Arbus in very transparent disguise. 
 I am happy to say I did not find another specimen of a cruel 
 scold like this one during all my visits in the schools of 
 Berlin or elsewhere, but I insert this description to point 
 out a glaring contrast. 
 
 12. " NATUSKTJNDE " KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE. 
 
 " The world do move," so the President of the Lime-Kiln 
 Club says, not to mention a more illustrious authority for 
 that expression. I was reminded of it when I saw here, in 
 Germany, the girls in the communal, or people's school, 
 study physics; here, where the people cling stubbornly to 
 the prejudice that women need not, nay, must not, rise to 
 the lofty realms of thought in science and art, that their 
 sphere precludes scientific pursuits, etc. (I will not repeat 
 the threadbare argument which American women have so 
 successfully refuted by ocular evidence.) Yes, "she does 
 move," thought I, when listening to a lesson in physics in 
 a girls' school in Berlin, in a class of the eighth school year.
 
 "NATURKUNDE" KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE. 159 
 
 Electricity was the subject, and the method pursued by the 
 teacher so rational that I resolved to sketch it. 
 
 The school was well provided with apparatus. A little 
 ball of elder pith, suspended by a linen thread from a brass 
 holder; another suspended by a silk thread; a gutta-percha 
 rod rubbed with a woolen cloth: a glass rod rubbed with a 
 silk cloth were the first objects viewed and used in experi- 
 menting. 
 
 After each part of the apparatus was well understood, 
 the teacher took the gutta-percha rod, rubbed it, and ap- 
 proached the little ball on a silk thread without touching 
 it ; after that, the one on a linen thread. The girls put in 
 words their observations, by simply stating the facts ob- 
 served. Then the teacher took the glass rod, rubbed it, ap- 
 proached the balls, one after another, and again the girls 
 simply but correctly stated what they had observed. The 
 little balls acted very differently. So far, in short steps, the 
 lesson had progressed, when some of the girls were about to 
 jump at conclusions. But the teacher cautioned them not 
 to do so, but await the results of further experiments. 
 
 Again he rubbed rod No. 1, and this time touched the 
 little balls. The results observed made those girls who had 
 worn a victorious smile on their faces, as though they had dis- 
 covered the reason of the ball's action, lean back with knitted 
 brows. The observations were again clearly stated. Now 
 the rod No. 2 was used in a similar manner, and the opposite 
 results were attained. Then all the eight different phenom- 
 ena were once more repeated in quick succession, and the 
 teacher summarized them, and after that " submitted the case 
 to the jury." 
 
 An insignificant-looking specimen of homo sapiens fe- 
 minini generis, but with a pair of eyes that seemed to be 
 able to look outwardly and inwardly, then said : " The fact 
 that the same rod acts differently upon the two balls can only 
 be explained by the difference of connection between the 
 balls and the holder. In other words, the electricity issuing 
 from the rods, and seeking its way through the balls to the 
 12
 
 160 BERLIN. 
 
 brass holder, finds a conductor in one of the strings and a 
 non-conductor in the other thread. Hence the opposite ac- 
 tions of the balls." 
 
 Space forbids to go into further details, save to say that 
 the fact of positive and negative electricity, also that elec- 
 tricity acts on the surface, not inside of bodies, and other 
 facts, were well established at the close of the lesson. I must 
 not forget to state that the teacher showed great presence of 
 mind when at one stage of the lesson an experiment failed, 
 to wit, one of the balls remained indifferent instead of being 
 attracted. He candidly stated that he was nonplused, and 
 proceeded to examine the apparatus. Seeing the brass rod of 
 the holder covered with a thick coat of dust, he quickly pol- 
 ished it, and tried the experiment again, this time success- 
 fully. A few remarks concerning the evil influence of dust 
 impressed themselves upon the girls' memories. The class 
 was large, but all the pupils participated and were frequently 
 called to repeat statements of observations or experiments 
 made before their eyes. 
 
 I inquired what difference, if any, the teacher noticed in 
 teaching science to girls and to boys. The answer was : *' The 
 girls are much quicker in coming to conclusions than the 
 boys. They almost jump at them, and do not sufficiently 
 investigate facts. The boys arrive more slowly at conclu- 
 sions; they insist upon trying various experiments before 
 they form a judgment. Another very decided difference is, 
 that girls forget scientific facts sooner than boys. It seems 
 as though the boys' power of retention is greater. And a 
 third (to me the most vital and significant) difference is found 
 in the fact that it is difficult to retain the girls' attention 
 lorg. They get tired much too soon. While the boys can 
 hold out a solid hour in physics without getting mentally 
 exhausted, I am obliged to branch oif into some different 
 subject to offer the girls a distraction from the severe strain 
 of continuous thought." 
 
 I offer these statements as they were given to me. Since 
 they come from a highly successful teacher, one who has
 
 A LESSON IX SINGING. 161 
 
 been rector of both a boys' and a girls' school for many 
 years, his words ought to have some weight. 
 
 13. A LESSON IN SINGING. 
 
 A lesson in vocal music that I heard in one of the commu- 
 nal schools of Berlin very vividly impressed itself upon my 
 mind. During the recess between two lessons, while prome- 
 nading with the rector in the corridor, I made the acquaint- 
 ance of a young man of great promise. I took a liking to 
 him, and followed him into the class-room, where at the 
 stroke of the bell two classes of girls filed in to take a sing- 
 ing-lesson. The teacher offered me the choice between 
 practicing songs that had been studied, and the study of a 
 new song. I chose the latter offer, and was well rewarded, 
 for what I heard was a model lesson. The rector selected a 
 song from a book not in the hands of the pupils a song 
 which was strange to the pupils and strange to me. 
 
 As quickly as possible the teacher copied the soprano 
 part on the boai'd which was ruled for music, and had this 
 part read by the whole class. The pupils read D, F sharp, 
 G, A, A, A, etc., then sang the notes thus. The length of 
 the notes was then marked, and the pupils beat time. Now 
 the words were substituted, and suitable places for breathing 
 were marked. Again a halt was made, and signs of expres- 
 sion were called for where the pupils thought fit to place 
 them. Thus the whole melody was treated. All the pupils 
 sang the melody, and the teacher, being rather a fine violin- 
 ist without being a professional musician, played the second 
 or alto part, thus accustoming the ear of his pupils to the 
 harmony. 
 
 Now the alto part was written, and the class called upon 
 to practice a few intervals, such as from the second to the 
 fifth tone of the scale, etc. When these preliminary exercises 
 were finished, the part was sung without the leading melody. 
 Though the part was not without difficult passages, the class 
 sang through it bravely. Now it was repeated, and the 
 violin took up the melody. This made the alto singing
 
 1G2 BERLIN. 
 
 easier. The pupils were seated in three groups soprano, 
 alto, and second alto. (Perhaps we might call them upper 
 and lower soprano and alto.) 
 
 Now the order came for the soprano voices to sing their 
 part and the alto voices theirs, while the violin played the 
 third part. It was interesting to see the girls who were to 
 sing the third part attend closely to catch the run of their 
 part which was not written yet. This was written last, it was 
 easy, and offered no difficult intervals. The signs of expres- 
 sion had to be the same in all three parts ; and after the third 
 part had been read and tried aloud, the three parts were sung 
 together. The song was rendered charmingly and without 
 the least error. Time of lesson, thirty-five minutes. 
 
 Many questions on the theory of music, on the length of 
 the notes, on signs of expression, on time, on signature, on 
 keys, etc., now followed, and I was highly pleased with the 
 results, for the pupils revealed considerable familiarity with 
 written music. The age of the pupils was twelve to thirteen 
 years, the class being on a level with our intermediate or 
 grammar grade. At the close of the hour a few songs 
 previously learned were sung. It was three-part music 
 throughout, and well rendered. The expression was fine, 
 the harmony exquisite, and it seemed as though the pupils 
 vied with the teacher in producing something that was 
 worth hearing. What pleased my rather fastidious musical 
 ear were the beautiful crescendos and diminuendos," the 
 voices swelled so evenly and gradually from the gentlest 
 piano to a strong forte, and again decreased to mezzoforte 
 or pianissimo, that I could have listened all day. What 
 a source of musical wealth their school must be to these chil- 
 dren ! And how they hung on the lips of their teacher ! 
 
 14. A LESSON IN ZOOLOGY. 
 
 It was in the same school that I heard a lesson in " de- 
 scription of nature " (not to call it zoology), which was very 
 pleasing. I will endeavor to give the gist of it. It proved 
 to me beyond controversy that, while in English and Ameri-
 
 A LESSON IN ZOOLOGY. 1(33 
 
 can schools much valuable time is spent in learning the 
 fabric of the garment of thought, the English language 
 (spelling, grammar, etc.), these German children get more 
 substance of thought. While we, perhaps driven by the 
 nature of our language, are making our pupils think about 
 the language, the German children think in their language. 
 They gain more knowledge, useful, practical knowledge in 
 physics, physiology, hygiene, natural history, history of 
 man, geography, etc., than we can offer our pupils. In 
 sketching the lesson I must confine myself to the essentials 
 as I noted them down. Subject, "The Whale." A large 
 picture of a whale was placed before the class. 
 
 After a description that was partly deduced from previous 
 knowledge and from the picture before the class, the teacher 
 entered upon a more instructive part of the lesson by pro- 
 posing, where occasion offered, questions about cause and 
 effect. 
 
 " How does it come so," he asked, " that the animal emits 
 vapor through its nostrils, and not streams of water ? " 
 
 " What is the most vital difference between the tail of 
 the whale and that of fishes ? " The answer, that " its posi- 
 tion is horizontal instead of vertical," led to the other ques- 
 tion : 
 
 " Have we an example of horizontal rudders on our boats 
 or skiffs ? " The boys all agreed that a boat's rudder must be 
 vertical. Then the question came, " Who knows what is 
 meant by sculling a skiff or canoe ? " Up went two hands 
 of boys, who described the use of an oar both as propeller 
 and rudder. 
 
 The teeth of the whale, especially their fringe, puzzled the 
 children. They saw that, if their own teeth were as soft as 
 felt on the edges, they could not last. It was soon decided 
 that the animal does not use its teeth to bite with, but as a 
 sieve. The teacher then explained what could not well 
 be seen on the picture that the animal turns these " teeth- 
 bones " on their axes after preparing to swallow. He 
 showed this by turning three rulers, which were first held
 
 164 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 with the edges toward the class, so that the broad sides 
 were seen. Thus the teacher taught objectively without 
 ostentation. He seemed to dis- 
 cover means for appealing to the 
 senses where others could not use 
 anything but the word of mouth. 
 A simple gesture of his often suf- 
 ficed to make things clear. 
 
 When the whaling or whale- 
 hunting was described, the ques- 
 tion, " Why are the whalers sure 
 === of catching their prey, if a single 
 harpoon has struck ? " led to a vi- 
 tal difference between whale and fish, namely, the organ of 
 respiration. The existence of parasites on the skin of the 
 whale led to the question why the animal permits them to 
 grow and lodge in his skin. This was a poser. At last a 
 pupil said : " I can understand that monkeys can pick off 
 their parasites ; that birds can free themselves of them by 
 means of their beaks ; that a buffalo or a dog can rub him- 
 self on the bark of a tree or other suitable object ; but I fail 
 to see what the unwieldy whale should do, having neither 
 hands nor beak to pick off his parasites, nor any hard sub- 
 stance in the sea on which he might rub himself." 
 
 Thus the lesson went on a lesson which furnished 
 knowledge and awakened thought. It wound up with a 
 neat description of the animal's mode of life, thus : 
 
 The home of the whale is in the northern seas, where they 
 are free of ice. Where the ocean offers food in abundance 
 they can be found in great numbers like herds of cattle. 
 Now they dive to considerable depths, and there move in 
 quiet majesty, like huge ship-hulls, and soon after appear on 
 the surface, " sailing " with the velocity of steamers. Now 
 they play like merry giants' children, rear like horses or 
 make somersaults and stretch their tails out of the water, or 
 whip the water with their tails till the surface is covered 
 all around them with white foam, and again float as though
 
 A MOST REFRESHING SIGHT. 165 
 
 dead on the surface, and permit water-birds to alight on 
 them. 
 
 It was a fruitful lesson fruitful in many ways to the 
 pupils. The harvest of language was rich, the exercise of 
 judgment in discovering the why and wherefore of things 
 very lively. Altogether the lesson was a proof of the fact 
 that a good teacher is not made but born. 
 
 15. A MOST REFRESHING SIGHT. 
 
 Berlin is a big city, no doubt my readers know that ; but 
 its size became very obvious to me one day, when I attended 
 a meeting of the teachers of Section III. Berlin is divided 
 into several (I believe, seven) school sections, each of which 
 has a section superintendent, called inspector, while the gen- 
 eral superintendent, called Schulrath, is the general-in-chief. 
 The rectors, associate and assistant teachers of this section 
 some two to three hundred in number had a conference 
 in the session-room of the one hundred and seventh commu- 
 nal school. The hall was magnificent, lofty, spacious, well 
 warmed and ventilated, and exquisitely decorated with fresco, 
 paintings, marble and plaster busts, and carved wood. It 
 was very obvious that I was in the capital of the German 
 Empire, in a city which is known for its inexhaustible col- 
 lections of art. An art-loving community like that of Berlin 
 can not leave the schools of the children unadorned, and if 
 we consider that many children attending the lower schools 
 never see a beautiful room unless it be in school it seems 
 like investing money well to decorate the school-rooms. 
 ^Esthetic education is not the result of teaching, but of 
 impressions. 
 
 The hundreds of teachers present on this occasion (I am 
 sorry to say there were no women among them) were a fine 
 body of men, indeed, I rarely, if ever, saw so many fine heads 
 assembled as I did here. I had an opportunity to see the 
 Reichstag (German Congress) assembled a few days after- 
 ward, and I was somewhat disappointed. Venerable as 
 many of its members were, I could not help seeing that as
 
 166 BERLIN. 
 
 far as intelligence, ready wit, oratory, and parliamentary 
 skill were concerned, the teachers of Section III surpassed 
 the members of the Reichstag. The inspector of this section 
 took the chair, and conducted the discussion in a very com- 
 mendable way. 
 
 The subject of the day was Efforts in reforming Instruc- 
 tion in Natural History. And again, as I had noticed in 
 Rhenish Prussia and Westphalia, the battle raged about Her- 
 bart pro and contra. Though the name Herbart was not 
 once mentioned, it was obvious to me that the views of the 
 two authorities Pestalozzi and Herbart were at the bottom 
 of the whole commotion. It may seem presumptuous to 
 render in English the theses which were discussed, but, since 
 they offer in synopsis the course of the whole discussion, I 
 will give them. So here are the theses: 
 
 I. In the study commonly called natural history our ob- 
 ject should be to lead the pupils to a better comprehension 
 of life in nature. 
 
 II. The present status of science should be considered, in 
 which the system is not the main point, but the train of 
 changes which culminated in the present artificial systems 
 of classification. It can not be urged too strongly that we 
 must not go beyond the pupil's faculty of comprehension. 
 
 III. Direct observation of life in nature, both in botany 
 and zoology, must take the place of description of absent ob- 
 jects. To this end class-excursions into the country should 
 be arranged, work in the school-garden and lessons in ob- 
 servation alternate with excursions. 
 
 IV. It is not sufficient to have the physiological organs 
 of natural objects named. Of greater importance is the re- 
 lation between the organs and their functions. 
 
 V. In order to get a clear insight into the life and growth 
 of plants and animals, it is necessary to observe and discuss 
 their characteristic momenta. Dead specimens may afford 
 opportunities for description and study of forms, but they 
 offer no chance for seeing the organs in action. 
 
 VI. The influence which the surroundings have upon
 
 A MOST REFRESHING SIGHT. 167 
 
 the peculiar development of the object in life should be em- 
 phasized so far as the children can comprehend it. This can 
 best be studied during excursions. 
 
 VII. Instruction in natural history has also a practical 
 object, to wit, to prove the importance of natural objects to 
 man in commerce, in industry, or as food and ornament. 
 This should be considered in the selection of objects for study. 
 
 VIII. In higher instruction this elementary observation 
 of forms, organs, and their functions should terminate in 
 systematic grouping and the observation of phenomena in 
 formulating biological laws. 
 
 The young teacher who was the chief speaker read a 
 paper first in which he defended these theses. He opened 
 the discussion formally. For three hours opinions, couched 
 in short, five-minute speeches, followed each other, and the 
 chairman selected the speakers always with a view toward 
 fairly dividing the time between the pro and contra sides. 
 
 The whole discussion was based upon a work of recent 
 publication called " The Village Pond " (by Fr. Junge, pub- 
 lished by Lipsius & Fischer in Kiel). Humboldt once said, 
 " Nature is reflected in every corner," and the village pond 
 was considered by the author the most convenient corner to 
 study nature. Botany, zoology, and mineralogy are studied 
 while studying the phenomena observable in and about that 
 pond. It is a wonderful book, quite in harmony with the 
 teaching of Herbart a book which has created a sensation 
 among the teachers of Germany such as can only be com- 
 pared to the sensation created by Pestalozzi's " Wie Gertrude 
 ihre Kinder lehrt. " If I had the time at present I should 
 translate the book for my American colleagues ; but I ap- 
 prehend that when I return home to settle down again I 
 shall find it on the market in America in English garb. It 
 is altogether a sensible book, one which is destined to mark 
 an epoch in science-teaching. 
 
 A few more remarks about the discussion. In all the 
 many addresses and impromptu speeches of the day there 
 was not an unpleasant word said directed at any one in par-
 
 168 BERLIN. 
 
 ticular, not a breath of suspicion as to the motives of any 
 speaker, nor an allusion which might hi any way have been 
 interpreted as containing a sting. All criticism (and there 
 was much of it, and severe criticism to boot) hit the system 
 or the method in vogue, never the person. All evidences 
 given in support of ideas and opinions were well selected 
 from personal experiences, and when at last a committee 
 was appointed to work out a plan for applying the princi- 
 ples and practice of Junge in city schools, the work of the 
 day left no bitter feeling not often the case after a heated 
 debate. No little of the success of the day was owing to the 
 masterly directive action of the chairman, who was what 
 every presiding officer should be a true moderator, not a 
 despot. 
 
 I had had the impression that parliamentary rules were 
 nowhere better understood and applied than in our land of 
 parliamentary government ; but I have had several occa- 
 sions to modify my judgment concerning that point. The 
 presiding officers of several meetings I attended had a knack 
 of disentangling conflicting questions, laying motions before 
 the assemblies, and a simplicity in deciding and taking votes, 
 which fairly astonished me and would have graced a legis- 
 lative body in America. Time was when parliamentary 
 usage was very rarely found in Germany ; but the granting 
 of universal suffrage has set into activity latent parliament- 
 ary talents which are not to be despised. 
 
 When the conference closed we repaired to a fashionable 
 restaurant, where a commodious hall was reserved for us for 
 a banquet. Think of this body of men on a Saturday even- 
 ing, after a heated debate, peacefully enjoying themselves 
 with songs, toasts, and something for the inner man! A 
 chorus of select voices rendered fine vocal music. The words 
 of the songs that were to be sung by the whole assembly 
 were passed around on printed slips. They had been com- 
 posed " especially for the occasion," and were full of happy 
 allusions to the events of the day. Th^e toasts were good, and 
 joy reigned supreme till the small hours.
 
 A DISTINCTION WITH A BIG DIFFERENCE. 169 
 
 16. A DISTINCTION WITH A BIG DIFFERENCE. 
 
 Generally I prefer to visit the so-called people's schools 
 here in Germany, because it is more probable that in them I 
 can pick up suggestions of value to our American common 
 schools. The gymnasiums and other secondary schools par- 
 take more of the nature of colleges and special schools. The 
 instruction offered in them is more scientific, the courses of 
 study much more rigid, and the schools as such too exclu- 
 sive to suit my taste. Still, for the sake of proper compari- 
 son, I go to see higher schools in every city in which I stay 
 longer than a day or two. 
 
 The general impression I received in these higher schools 
 is not a very favorable one. I find much more inferior 
 teaching in them than in the common schools ; but let me 
 not be misunderstood. The teaching would be very good 
 for mature minds who can and are willing to follow the 
 lecturing teacher with undivided attention. The instruc- 
 tion, be it demonstrative or not, is almost always addressed 
 to the best and brightest pupils. Weaker ones are merely 
 dragged along and go to the wall when the annual reckon- 
 ing takes place. 
 
 This is one of the causes why the higher schools have the 
 dropsy in the lowest and the consumption in the highest 
 grades. To see one or two graduates in a school of six or 
 eight grades (from the tenth to the nineteenth year of age), 
 with an enrollment of four to five hundred, is not a rare 
 case at all. It does not seem the object of the faculty to do 
 the greatest good to the greatest number, but to prepare a 
 selected few for the next higher grades and suffer the re- 
 mainder to stay and u try again " or drop out of school. No- 
 where is Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest more 
 forcibly illustrated than in German secondary schools. I 
 am aware that this is very harsh criticism, but it is based 
 upon " ocular inspection " and several private conversations 
 with noted school-men, who agree with me both as to the 
 fact and its causes.
 
 170 BERLIN. 
 
 They are not reticent about this weakness of the system, 
 but speak without reserve. One gentleman of national rep- 
 utation said, when I mentioned this anomaly: " It is only 
 too true that the improvement in didactic practice in the 
 higher schools does not keep step with that of the lower 
 schools. The state requires the teachers of the lower schools 
 to have attended a normal school, while those of the second- 
 ary schools are raw university men who may have learned 
 much but do not know how to teach. 
 
 " A normal school graduate may not know so much of 
 the sciences of mathematics, physics, chemistry, philology, 
 archaeology, history, etc., but he knows how to apply what 
 he did learn, and, what is of still greater value, he has 
 learned by actual practice in the school-room how to disci- 
 pline and educate, not merely how to teach. Many a young 
 university man addresses his immature pupils as though 
 they were college students. He can not stoop to their level 
 of comprehension, and it is a comparatively small num- 
 ber of these candidates who ever get to be good teachers. 
 Do you know, I invariably send my young university men 
 to some renowned teacher in the people's school that they 
 may observe how to teach methodically before I intrust a 
 class to their care ? " 
 
 Now, much of what this good man said is applicable to 
 American college graduates, I thought. Here in Germany 
 it is fashionable to send the boys to a secondary school 
 instead of allowing them to mix with "the rabble." So 
 long as social distinctions are as high here as they are, it 
 will be considered a privilege to attend a gymnasium, or a 
 Eealschule, or a Burger Schule, and, to be sure, it is a dis- 
 tinction with a big difference. 
 
 Before I close this criticism, I wish to have it distinctly 
 understood that I do not mean to say there arc no good, ex- 
 cellent teachers in the secondary schools. I am far from 
 saying that, for I have witnessed lessons in such schools that 
 were model lessons in every way ; but I mean to say the 
 good teachers are fewer in number there absolutely and rela-
 
 A RARE CASE. 171 
 
 tively than in the people's schools. I mean to emphasize 
 also that there is too much waste of good material and the 
 number of graduates in disproportion to the number of pu- 
 pils entering secondary schools. 
 
 Furthermore, I maintain it to be a lamentable error to 
 allow the pupils to begin a number of higher studies and 
 languages without ever being able to make any headway in 
 them when they could obtain a well-rounded elementary 
 education in the people's school which would fit them for 
 life much better than that half-and-half education which 
 offers a little of everything and nothing of anything. The 
 secondary schools in Germany are not so much educational 
 institutions as they are seats of learning. Therein lies the 
 distinction and the difference. 
 
 17. A RARE CASE. 
 
 In one of the communal schools of Berlin I confided to 
 the rector that it was so difficult to make the teachers under- 
 stand that I had not come to inspect the school with a view 
 toward ascertaining what the pupils knew, but how the 
 teachers taught. He was not astonished, and said : " We 
 rarely see visitors in our school. When an inspector or 
 school councilor comes, he is usually bent upon examining 
 into results." He suggested that he had several teachers 
 whom he could place at my disposal. He introduced me to 
 one of them who happened to enter Ihe office at that mo- 
 ment. One glance at him convinced me of his genius. The 
 rector asked him : " Would you kindly take a class in geog- 
 raphy instead of Mr. So-and-so on the spur of the moment ? "' 
 " Certainly," was the answer. " What subject shall I take ? " 
 "The class is studying the map of Asia." "Very well." 
 " Or would you mind taking my class in physics while I 
 take the other class ? " " With pleasure. What is the class 
 studying ? " " We are at the chapter of electricity." " That 
 would please me very much." 
 
 I engaged the young man in conversation during recess, 
 and found he had a perfect sample card of studies on his
 
 172 BERLIN. 
 
 daily programme. He taught natural history, physics, geog- 
 raphy, history, grammar, gymnastics, and music, and the 
 rector confided to me that he taught all these branches well. 
 " He is a most valuable man to have in a school," said he. 
 " He is obliging, always ready on the spur of the moment to 
 jump into the breach, a perfect mine of information, and a 
 most accomplished methodician. Every pupil in the school 
 likes him. Every teacher acknowledges his superiority. 
 Young as he is, he has already passed the examination for a 
 rectorship, and I am seriously afraid I shall lose him, for 
 the authorities will soon appoint him to a rectorship. What 
 a power he might be in a secondary school ! But, then, that 
 is out of the question, he being only a normal graduate. 
 Despite his profound learning he has something child-like 
 about him. He can play with the boys in the yard, and 
 laugh and romp with them to their hearts' content, yet in 
 the class-room he is a strict disciplinarian. He much resem- 
 bles the iron hand under a velvet glove. In all my thirty 
 years of experience I have never discovered so unmistakable 
 a born teacher as he is." 
 
 Well, I saw that teacher engaged in several lessons and 
 owe him many an inspiration. 
 
 18. "TOUT COMME CHEZ NOUS." 
 
 Cheating in examination. The " Berlin Gazette " recent- 
 ly published an account of an attempt at circumnavigating 
 the dangers of a final examination which deserves to be re- 
 printed in America. A paper one day contained the inno- 
 cent advertisement : 
 
 " Wanted, a young man who either has passed the final 
 examination in a gymnasium or is about to go through the 
 ordeal. Wanted for an innocent purpose. Employment 
 for two or three weeks. Salary, seven hundred marks. Ap- 
 plications, accompanied by a ' curriculum vitce,' to be sent 
 to this office addressed to A. P., No. 101." 
 
 A student of the university in Berlin who thought the 
 advertiser needed coaching to get ready for his examination,
 
 THE GEOGRAPHICAL HORIZON. 173 
 
 applied and received an answer of the following purport : " A 
 certain aristocratic young gentleman who intends to enter 
 the army as officer is required to pass the final examination 
 (which is a sesame for both the university and the army), 
 but, having been ill for some years, is too poorly prepared, 
 and desires to find a substitute who will under an assumed 
 name pass the examination for him. This is done easily, no 
 risk whatever." 
 
 In order to catch this cheat, the student entered upon his 
 plan, but notified the public prosecutor, who caused the 
 arrest of the young aristocrat after sufficient proofs were 
 collected. 
 
 Will my readers have a moral ? It is this : This one case 
 has made a profound sensation upon the people of Ger- 
 many. They ask with holy horror how it is possible to con- 
 ceive of such an infernal idea, and clamor for protection to 
 honest students by prohibiting the admission of any one to 
 the final examination in a high-school who has not been a 
 student in that school for a year at least. The Germans do 
 not hastily legislate, but, when they do, their laws go straight 
 to the root of evil. 
 
 19. CONCENTRIC EXTENSION OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL 
 HORIZON. 
 
 It is always attended with a feeling of satisfaction when 
 one observes an idea consistently carried through the differ- 
 ent stages of the curriculum, especially if that consistency is 
 in strict compliance with educational maxims and princi- 
 ples. Here in Berlin a truly refreshing example of consist- 
 ency is offered in the school-book used in the study of geog- 
 raphy, which book is an atlas pure and simple, not a text- 
 book. It may not be without interest to read an account of 
 what that book contains, for it is got up with undeniable 
 skill. The reader must kindly bear in mind that the atlas 
 is made expressly for use in the elementary (or communal) 
 schools of Berlin. The idea which is so consistently carried 
 through in it is expressed in the above heading.
 
 174 
 
 BERLIN 
 
 FIG. 118. 
 
 SCALE ^100.' 
 
 0x12. 4 5 Mct 
 
 Fia. 169. MAP-PLAN OF THE SCHOOL-ROOM.
 
 THE GEOGRAPHICAL HORIZON. 175 
 
 Page 1 contains six pictures and plans. The first (Fig. 
 168) is a perspective view of the inside of a school-room, and 
 side by side with it is a map-plan (Fig. 169) of that room. 
 This is nothing new in America. Many American text- 
 books of geography contain a similar illustration. It is here 
 reproduced for no other reason than to present an unbroken 
 chain of methodical links. Notice that the atlas does not 
 begin with the hemispheres. The picture, with its attendant, 
 the plan, represents the first circle of the pupil's geographical 
 horizon, and is drawn on a scale of 1 to 100. 
 
 Then follows a perspective view of the whole school- 
 house (Fig. 170) and a map-plan of the building (Fig. 171). 
 These form the second circle. Scale: 1 to 300. The bird's- 
 eye view of Fig. 171 is certainly an ingenious contriv- 
 ance. 
 
 This is followed by a perspective view of # portion of a 
 city and its map-plan. The school-house is again found on 
 this map. (See Figs. 172 and 173.) These form the third 
 circle of the pupil's horizon. Scale: 1 to 1,500. 
 
 Page 2 contains a larger perspective view of a landscape, 
 accompanied by a map-plan. The artist had to reduce this 
 view to adjust it to the size of the page. The original in the 
 atlas is much larger. The reader will find the same school- 
 house and portion of the town represented in Figs. 170 and 
 172. This forms the fourth circle. Scale: 1 to 7,500. 
 
 Page 3. This extension of the horizon is followed on 
 page 3 by a picture of an imaginary landscape which is in- 
 serted for the purpose of teaching the most vital topo- 
 graphical ideas. This picture also is accompanied by a 
 map-plan. 
 
 Page 4 contains a minute city plan of Berlin, which 
 forms the fifth circle of the horizon. Scale: 1 to 36,000. 
 
 Page 5 is Berlin and vicinity, the same city plan but 
 much reduced in size and surrounded by the many villages, 
 hamlets, etc., within a radius of twelve kilometres. This 
 forms the sixth circle. Scale: 1 to 100,000. 
 
 Page 6 is a map of the governmental district of Potsdam, 
 13
 
 Fio. 171.
 
 . 
 
 FIG. 172. 
 
 FIG. 173. MAP-PLAN OF SCHOOL-HOUSE AND VICINITY.
 
 178 
 
 BERLIN.
 
 THE GEOGRAPHICAL HORIZON. 
 
 179
 
 180 BERLIX. 
 
 in the center of which Berlin is situated, this being the sev- 
 enth circle. Scale: 1 to 1,000,000. 
 
 Page 7 is a physical map of the province of Brandenburg 
 (center Berlin). Eighth circle of horizon. Scale of map :1 
 to 1,260,000. Map contains also a local map exhibiting the 
 railroads entering Berlin. 
 
 Page 8 is a political map of the same province. Scale 
 the same. Local map of the city of Potsdam. 
 
 Page 9 is a physical map of Germany. Ninth circle of 
 horizon. Scale: 1 to 4,000,000. 
 
 Page 10 is a political map of Germany. Same circle, 
 same scale. Local map of the Thuringian principalities. 
 
 Page 11 is a, physical map of Europe. Tenth circle of 
 horizon. Scale : 1 to 15,000,000. 
 
 Page 12 contains the political map of Europe. Same 
 circle, same scale. 
 
 Page 13 contains the raap of Asia. Scale : 1 to 50,000,000. 
 
 Page 14 contains the map of Africa. Scale : 1 to 40,000,- 
 000. Local maps of the Nile-Delta, the Cape Colony, and 
 Cape Town. 
 
 Page 15 contains the map of North America. Scale 1 to 
 35,000,000. 
 
 Page 16 contains the map of South America. Same scale. 
 
 Page 17 contains the map of Australia and Oceanica with 
 local map of Victoria Land, and an illustration of the forma- 
 tion of coral reefs. Scale of main map, 1 to 50,000,000. 
 
 The foregoing five maps may be considered the eleventh 
 circle. 
 
 Page 18 is again a local map, namely, that of Palestine, 
 a map which is very useful to teachers and pupils in the 
 study of biblical history. 
 
 Page 19 contains the twelfth circle of geographical hori 
 zon, namely the Eastern Hemisphere. 
 
 Page 20. The Western Hemisphere. Scale not stated. 
 
 Page 21 directs the pupils' look upward to the heavens. It 
 contains a representation of the northern sky, with the most 
 important constellations and the milky way.
 
 THE GEOGRAPHICAL HORIZON. 181 
 
 Page 22, the last one in the book, is devoted to mathe- 
 matical geography. It contains illustrations of the eclipses, 
 of the earth's orbit, the solar system, the phases of the moon, 
 and various very useful devices of similar nature. 
 
 The whole book costs a mark, or twenty-five cents, which 
 price is a standing reproach to our publishers, who ask a 
 dollar and a quarter to a dollar and a half for a book contain- 
 ing on an average not any more maps than this one ; for 
 the useless ballast which makes them unwieldy and induces 
 ignorant teachers to make presumptuous prattlers of our 
 pupils, is not worth the paper on which it is printed. 
 
 These, then, are the contents of the elementary geography 
 in use in the city of Berlin. The reader will perhaps ad- 
 vance objections to this, that, or another item ; will object, 
 for instance, to the picture of the quaint city (which the art- 
 ist has minutely copied), as being foreign to our pupils' sur- 
 roundings. I repeat, for his benefit, that the atlas is not 
 made for American children, but for the children in Berlin. 
 I should think it might be possible to present a series of pict- 
 ures and accompanying map-plans which could be used in 
 large cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. 
 
 The reader may, perhaps, consider it somewhat of a 
 strait- jacket to be tied down to such a course, one which 
 will not give the precocious child a chance to look beyond 
 the "board fence of the circle." To him it may be said: 
 There is no objection at all for any precocious child to look 
 at the next pages and ask questions about them, but the reg- 
 ular, methodical course is here prescribed according to the 
 principle '' From the near to the remote." If he desires to 
 deviate from the course, he may skip a few pages, and return 
 to them whenever he sees fit. 
 
 But the consistency with which the principles of education 
 that presuppose concentric growth are carried out, deserves 
 commendation. We are too often talking of principles and 
 shunning to apply them. Here is a sample of that consist- 
 ency which does what it preaches. Whether we like it or 
 not, we may at least be just and find it praiseworthy as such.
 
 182 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 1. THE "FRANCKE STIFTUNGEN" m HALLE. 
 
 I MUST refer the reader to the history of education, and 
 ask him to look up Francke, and to read what heroic efforts 
 he made in charitable institutions. To-day two hundred 
 years after he began to look about for means to establish an 
 orphan asylum a small city looms up within the city of 
 Halle, built mostly by him without governmental aid; and, 
 though he has been dead for the last century and a half, his 
 work still lives and thrives, governed by almost identically 
 the same rules which ^Francke, the man with the large heart, 
 and active sympathy for the poor and needy, laid down. 
 Suffice it to say that he was the most noted benefactor thf 
 poor in Saxony and, in fact, all Germany, ever had. He 
 had no millions to bequeath, but, on the contrary, began with 
 seven dollars. According to a report of 1883, issued for the 
 benefit of the Emperor William, who during that year vis- 
 ited the institution, it embraced then : 
 
 
 Founded 
 in 
 
 No. of 
 pupils 
 ml883. 
 
 No. of pu- 
 pils since 
 beginning 
 
 1. A boys' elementary school 
 
 1695 
 
 221 
 
 9,300 
 
 2. A girls' elementary school 
 
 1695 
 
 225 
 
 9*00 
 
 3. A boys' intermediate school 
 
 1695 
 
 584 
 
 23 000 
 
 4. A girls' intermediate school 
 
 1695 
 
 469 
 
 15,700 
 
 5. A boys' preparatory school .... . 
 
 1845 
 
 239 
 
 1 743 
 
 6 A Latin school ... 
 
 1695 
 
 775 
 
 23 257 
 
 7. A high school for boys 
 
 1835 
 
 484 
 
 6,400 
 
 8. A high school for girls 
 
 1835 
 
 370 
 
 2,100 
 
 9. An orphan asylum for bovs 
 
 1695 
 
 115 
 
 5 276 
 
 10. An orphan asylum for girls 
 
 1695 
 
 16 
 
 1 501 
 
 11. A boarding establishment for outside pu- 
 pils of the high schools. 
 
 1607 
 
 285 
 
 10 000 
 
 12. Same for students of the Royal Pedago- 
 
 1696 
 
 54 
 
 4 387 
 
 13. A normal school for vounif ladies 
 
 1879 
 
 23 
 
 88 
 
 14. A " Seminarium Pracceptorum " 
 
 1696 
 
 12 
 
 A 395 
 
 
 

 
 THE "FKANCKE STIFTUNGEN" IN HALLE. 183 
 
 Connected with the institution which, is in fact, a small 
 town within a town are several undertakings, called " the 
 money-making additions," namely : 
 
 (1) A Publishing House, founded in 1698, with an annual 
 sale of 200,000 marks ; (2) a Printing House, founded in 
 1701, with an annual earning of 130,000 marks ; (3) a Drug- 
 Store, founded in 1698, with an annual sale of 45,000 marks ; 
 (4) a Bible House, founded in 1710, with a capital of 150,000 
 marks, 6,200,000 Bibles have been sent out since 1710 ; (5) an 
 East India Mission, founded in 1705, with a capital of 246,- 
 900 marks ; (6) the " Streit Fund," for the purpose of sup- 
 porting German Protestant congregations in Pennsylvania, 
 founded in 1755, with a capital of 29,900 marks. 
 
 The entire institution embraces seventy-five acres of land, 
 of which seventeen acres are covered with buildings. The 
 buildings are insured against fire to the amount of one mill- 
 ion and a quarter marks. 
 
 The reader may think these statements out of place in a 
 book like this. I insert them to show that a spirit which 
 succeeded in erecting, independently of state aid, such a 
 grand and imposing temple of charity, finds its expression 
 in independent educational enterprise. In our age of asso- 
 ciated charities, the original intention of gathering the or- 
 phans of the realm has become too narrow. The institution 
 has become the center of all efforts of reform in school edu- 
 cation in Germany an experimental colony, so to speak. 
 For it is not dependent upon the state funds or taxes, and is 
 therefore not governed by rules and regulations issued from 
 the governmental green-table, but has its own director, who 
 thinks it quite in harmony with Francke's principles and 
 charitable intentions to make these schools the pioneer 
 schools of Germany. 
 
 Director Dr. Otto Frick, since Prof. Ziller's death the 
 foremost leader of the Herbartian school, advocates Her- 
 bart's principles and Ziller's practice, and selects his teachers 
 exclusively with reference to their fitness to teach and edu- 
 cate. He is not tied down by narrow courses of study and
 
 184 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 regulations, nor are his tongue and pen tied by considera- 
 tions of state reason or bread-and-butter interest. Conse- 
 quently he is, to state the situation metaphorically, " the best- 
 hated pedagogue of Prussia, a vigorous pike in a carp-pond." 
 
 I spent several days in this " city within a city," and 
 more than once sat in speechless admiration at the manner 
 of teaching and the results I witnessed. Of course, I was to 
 some extent, prepared for what I saw ; but when I noticed 
 the absence of that rigorous discipline under which other 
 schools suffer ; when I saw the children converse with 
 their teachers as though speaking with a friend ; when I saw 
 them working with their hands, and giving intelligible ac- 
 counts of what they had seen, heard, and experienced ; when 
 I noticed that they learned as though by means of play I 
 felt as though the millennium was near at hand. And again, 
 when I considered that, after all, this band of teachers was in 
 the most hopeless minority, that there may be an approxi- 
 mation to this kind of procedure but never a perfect imita- 
 tion in the vast majority of teachers in the world ; that, after 
 all, this was a mere oasis in a vast desert I seemed to feel 
 the millennium recede. 
 
 I own frankly that I felt myself very small, a mere 
 mite in the presence of these men who so completely and 
 willingly lost their character as teachers, as it were, and 
 meant to be nothing but companions of their pupils. Yet, 
 despite this apparent disappearance of the teacher, he was 
 here, always suggesting movements, aiding efforts, leading 
 the way, feeding the imagination, directing invisibly the 
 education of the pupils under his charge. He reminded me 
 of the iron hand under the velvet glove. 
 
 It would have led me out of my way to visit all the 
 grades of school that are here represented up to the univer- 
 sity and beyond it. That would have necessitated a stay of 
 weeks, a condition which could not be complied with. Suf- 
 fice it to say, each class has its "Gesinnungs-Stotf " (matter 
 appealing to the sentiment). In the higher grades of the 
 elementary schools it was biblical history, in the lowest it
 
 CONCENTRIC INSTRUCTION ILLUSTRATED. 185 
 
 was a collection of " Maerchen " (popular tales), such as An- 
 dersen's and Grimms'. The principle of concenti'ic circles 
 in education is applied in every branch, every class, every 
 school. 
 
 I spent much time in a third grade (third from below). 
 Everything done there in the day was in organic connection 
 with the central topic, Robinson Crusoe. Geography was 
 learned by molding maps in the sand and tracing his jour- 
 ney ; by molding his island, etc. Manual work was linked 
 with the pupil's intellectual efforts. They made pots like 
 Robinson, wove baskets like Robinson, etc. The composi- 
 tions written on slates had Robinson's exploits for their sub- 
 jects. All seemed like a natural growth. All instruction 
 had a common center. Robinson Crusoe had to these chil- 
 dren both a centrifugal and a centripetal power, and wielded 
 them as Old Sol does his powers, unseen, unfelt, yet very 
 effectively. 
 
 2. CONCENTRIC INSTRUCTION ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 It would be tedious work to lead my readers through the 
 labyrinth of conflicting interpretations of the Herbart-Ziller 
 movement now stirring up the pedagogical world of Ger- 
 many as a leviathan does the quiet depths of the sea. I have 
 been spending my leisure hours in railroad-cars, in hotel- 
 lobbies, and by the light of my faithful student's lamp in 
 studying both sides of the question ; have seen lessons given 
 according to the prescription of these Jatter-day apostles, 
 have conversed with men of great experience, and young, 
 ambitious, and striving teachers; have heard lectures on the 
 subject in fine, I have honestly striven to climb up to a 
 point of view from which I might judge impartially. After 
 several months of intense study, I believe that I am ready 
 to pronounce judgment. But I will reserve it till I have 
 offered my reader a few more lessons which may illustrate 
 the principles. Perhaps he will then be able to form his 
 own opinion. 
 
 One thing I must note at once : We are apt to talk of a
 
 186 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 man's method of teaching. The disciples of Herbart shun 
 that word where they can consistently do so. They speak 
 of this or that principle, of this or that type of instruction, 
 and thus set an American schoolmaster wildly groping for 
 something to hold on to in the labyrinth of conflicting opin- 
 ions. One of these principles of teaching is, that each 
 branch of study should have a logical and, if possible, a tan- 
 gible, at any rate an organic connection with, if not a//, at 
 least with as many other branches of study as possible, to 
 make the whole course of instruction one organic growth. 
 This, it is claimed, will facilitate mental growth better, than 
 by keeping the different disciplines apart. Of this principle I 
 saw an illustration in print by Mr. Lehmann in Halle which 
 I will give in full, omitting all explanatory remarks which 
 he offers for the benefit of his readers. 
 
 The lesson was a lesson in drawing, entitled " The Ivy- 
 leaf." 
 
 Object. Boys, hitherto you drew leaf -forms from copies 
 in print, or from forms I drew on the board for you. To- 
 day the copy is wanting, and the natural leaf is given to 
 you to draw from. (Each pupil has an ivy-leaf on his desk.) 
 From what plant are the leaves taken ? If our former draw- 
 ing was called drawing from copies, what may we call this 
 kind ? If our object were merely to learn to draw the form 
 of the ivy-leaf, I should have given you printed copies ; but 
 we must learn something besides drawing. You know that 
 the leaves of different plants show in their outlines distinct 
 geometrical figures or forms. Mention a few. Now, what 
 geometrical form do you discover in this maple-leaf ? (An 
 irregular pentagon.) Yes, you might also find in it the isos- 
 celes triangle and the trapezium. Show them. You also 
 know that every plant has (aside from a few so-called root 
 or radical leaves) one form of leaves which is consistently 
 repeated, though showing slight variations. It is so with the 
 ivy. Our notion of an ivy-leaf is a very distinct one. It is 
 the type of ivy -leaf form. Among all the different forms of 
 ivy-leaves I have furnished you in natura, you will have to
 
 CONCENTRIC INSTRUCTION ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 187 
 
 find that type. This is the other object of our lesson. Our 
 objects, then, are (1) to find the typical ivy-leaf form, and (2) 
 to learn to draw it. 
 
 I. Since we have discussed and drawn other leaf -forms, I 
 suppose you can find some things yourselves. First, tell 
 whether the ivy-leaf belongs to the simple or complex leaves. 
 State the respective order. When is a leaf called simple ? 
 When complex ? When lobate ? Show that the ivy-leaf is 
 lobate. Describe the different lobes as to their number, rela- 
 tive size, and position. Repeat what we have said of the leaf 
 so far. (This is to establish connection with botany.) 
 
 II. What geometrical figure do you recognize in this 
 leaf ? (Holding up a perfect ivy -leaf.) Who has a leaf 
 which shows a perfect pentagon in its outlines ? Show a 
 leaf in whose outlines 
 
 a pentagon is only 
 suggested, not clearly 
 worked out. Has any 
 one an ivy-leaf which 
 does not exhibit the 
 geometrical ground- 
 form of a pentagon ? 
 There are but few. 
 What, then, seems to 
 be the typical form of 
 the ivy-leaf? What 
 kind of a pentagon is 
 it ? What leaf may 
 be said to be a regular 
 pentagon ? Describe the irregular pentagon your leaf rep- 
 resents : (a) the sides, (b) the angles. Who has found this 
 confirmed in his leaf ? In what way does yours differ ? 
 Now repeat in connection what we have so far said about 
 the ivy-leaf. 
 
 The irregular pentagon of the typical form shall be drawn 
 afterward. First we must take some measurements. Sup- 
 pose a straight line be drawn from the apex to the base of 
 
 FIG. 176.
 
 1>S HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 the leaf. Under what angle and in what point would that 
 strike the base-line which connects the two lobes ? In what 
 proportion is this base-line to the length of the perpendicular? 
 Now suppose the points of the two middle lobes connected 
 by a stright line. (See Fig. 176, points x and n.) What angles 
 would this line form with the perpendicular ? At about 
 what point would the two lines intersect each other ? Now, 
 one pupil may repeat what was said concerning the geomet- 
 rical ground form and the construction lines, while another 
 goes to the blackboard and draws the construction lines as 
 the other pupil dictates. As we found in the maple-leaf, we 
 may accept two geometrical forms, the trapezium and the 
 isosceles triangle. (This part of the lesson establishes con- 
 nection with geometry.) 
 
 The outlines or contours of the lobes remain to be 
 sketched. What do you notice on the large one ? It shows 
 a line on each side which is curved or waved ; especially in 
 the middle a large curvature outward is visible. Draw the 
 outline on the board as you see it in your leaf. You will 
 find it difficult to determine the outlines of the other lobes 
 from your natural leaves. Let us compare other leaves. 
 What did we discover in the leaf of the horse-chestnut ? 
 The contours of the lobes of that leaf are similar. Here is 
 the maple-leaf. In how many extremities of that leaf is the 
 similarity of form unquestionable ? But even in the two 
 lower ones we have recognized the ground form of the other 
 three. What alone could lead us astray ? 
 
 Hence it is apparent that it is a peculiarity of plant- 
 leaves that forms repeat themselves in them. Let us see 
 whether that is also the case in the ivy-leaf. Who has a 
 leaf in which the outer form of the middle lobe is found in 
 the side-lobes ? State how the outlines of the different lobes 
 are joined, whether in a sharp angle or a curved line. I 
 now add the outlines of all the five lobes to our sketch on 
 the board. 
 
 Here follows a review, which summarizes the points 
 gained.
 
 CONCENTRIC INSTRUCTION ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 189 
 
 III. Here you see three ivy-leaves (Figs. 177-179) . In what 
 particular does II differ from I ? Show the rudiments of the 
 lower lobes. Who 
 
 has a natural leaf III. IV. 
 
 that resembles 
 this one ? So, 
 then, it is evident 
 that in the ivy- 
 leaf the forms re- 
 peat themselves 
 also. II proves 
 it. Compare II 
 with part a?, y, z 
 of I. Only at one 
 place a difference 
 is seen. Where ? 
 Now you will also 
 be able to recog- FIGS. 177-179. 
 
 nize the contours 
 
 of a lobe in the imperfect leaves of III and IV. What part 
 of II is similar to IV ? Where would the fourth and fifth 
 
 FIGS. 180, 181.
 
 190 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 lobe be if they had developed ? How do you determine it ? 
 Who has a leaf similar to IV ? What part of I shows simi- 
 larity with III (r, y, x) ? Also in III the division into five 
 parts or lobes is suggested. How ? It is plain, then, that 
 the ribs of the leaves are important, that indeed they deter- 
 mine its construction or rather the construction of the single 
 lobes. 
 
 Now if I were to let side ribs go out from the main rib, 
 where would that be ? Then you understand the swelling 
 in the contours of the leaves. (Pointing to u in Fig. 176.) 
 What would develop in this place ? A new lobe ? This is no 
 impossibility indeed, but occurs frequently, as V and VI 
 (Figs. 180, 181) show. 
 
 FIG. 182. 
 
 IV. The perfect ivy-leaf is now shown in a copy and 
 compared with the natural leaf (Fig. 182), and the matter 
 discussed is thoroughly reviewed with the aid of this leaf.
 
 EXPONENT OF THE HERBART MOVEMENT. 191 
 
 V. After that the pupils draw the ivy-leaf from the natu- 
 ral leaves before them. Construction lines are permitted at 
 first ; they are discarded at a second attempt. 
 
 3. HALLE. THE EXPONENT OF THE HERBART MOVEMENT. 
 
 In previous chapters I have lightly touched upon the 
 great movement going through the educational world in 
 Germany known as the "Herbartian revival." Hitherto I 
 have studiously avoided to state my opinion as to the merits 
 of the so-called " Herbartian school." I reserved it until I 
 had seen some schools which followed Herbart's principles 
 and Ziller's practice. Even now, after having seen such 
 schools, I hesitate to decide. It is a case where fools are apt 
 to rush in though angels fear to tread. Not that I mean to 
 insinuate that I feel very angelic, but that I am not foolish 
 enough to jump at a conclusion. I sincerely doubt that the 
 Herbartian school offers the recipe which will improve our 
 schools without delay. I grant willingly that, if all our 
 teachers were like the brilliant teachers I saw at work in 
 the " Francke Stiftungen " at Halle, we might uncondition- 
 ally advocate the adoption of the principles and practices of 
 the Herbartian school. 
 
 A simile may help me to explain this. There are two 
 ways of smoothing a board the hand-plane and the plan- 
 ing-machine. I should trust my dexterity in handicraft to 
 make use of a hand-plane, but I should hesitate to use the 
 planing-machine with its destructive cutter-heads that make 
 three thousand to four thousand revolutions a minute. I 
 should hesitate to risk the board as little as my fingers to 
 that most efficient and useful device. It is even so with the 
 Herbartian practice. It is most intricate, yet withal so won- 
 derfully simple that one can not but stand in mute astonish- 
 ment when seeing it applied. 
 
 The essential idea underlying the practice is this : Every- 
 thing taught during a day, a week, a month, a year, should 
 all be organically connected. In the center of all stands a 
 " Gesinnungs-Stoff " (a matter appealing to the heart and 
 14
 
 192 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 interest). Thus, for instance, I found in the third school 
 year Robinson Crusoe as the central point from which is- 
 sued all the interest, and to which was referred back all else. 
 All language-lessons take their material first from the nar- 
 ration of the day, then from other sources. All written work 
 is in some natural or artificial way brought into some con- 
 nection with Robinson Crusoe. Arithmetical problems, I 
 thought, were excepted from this rule. But no, even they 
 primarily referred or alluded to him. As, for instance, Rob- 
 inson had so many sheep or goats ; he took sixty with him. 
 How many were left on the island to shift for themselves ? 
 He had been on the ocean so-and-so many days ; he counted 
 the marks that told him how many days he had spent on the 
 island and found them to be so-and-so many. How long 
 had he been away from home ? etc. In reading, the pupils 
 started with Robinson, and their interest in reading was 
 kept alive because each boy identified himself with Robinson 
 and thus read much and well. I do not mean to say that all 
 the children learned was saturated with the narrative of 
 Robinson ; but the teacher employed their intense interest in 
 that hero as a starting-point in nearly every lesson. 
 
 These Robinson Crusoe lessons were exceedingly fruitful 
 in many ways, for they gave opportunities for stimulating 
 self-activity which without them would have remained dor- 
 mant. Thus, for instance, they gave rise to a desire to imi- 
 tate Robinson in making pots of clay, ladders and furniture 
 of wood (all in miniature), fish-hooks, tools, and many other 
 things. The best specimens are preserved and serve as illus- 
 trations in review-lessons. I was present during the last 
 Robinson lesson of the year's course given in this class. 
 The subject was Robinson returning home. Something was 
 said about sailing-vessels and steamers, and the teacher re- 
 marked, " Well, you never saw a sail or an anchor, so I 
 must draw them for you." Ho did so, and next day several 
 boys brought sails in -natura and anchors made of lead. 
 (See ROBINSON CRUSOE LESSON, No. 5 below.) 
 
 Religion proper is not taught in this grade, but the nar-
 
 THE MISER AMONG THE ANIMALS. 193 
 
 ration of Robinson offers occasions in great abundance for 
 teaching morals. Moral precepts are thus very effectively 
 learned because they are drawn from the children's own ex- 
 perience, for they experience Robinson's trials and apply 
 them to every-day occurrences. 
 
 I asked Dr. Otto Frick, the director of the " Francke 
 Stiftungen," to what extent Herbart's principles and Ziller's 
 interpretations were adopted in the different schools of the 
 "Stiftungen." He replied: "We have absolutely no com- 
 pulsion with regard to the methods of teaching. I am not 
 autocratically inclined, and like to leave to each teacher the 
 choice of his methods. Of course, I advocate Herbart, and 
 in our own teachers' meetings we discuss his works thor- 
 oughly. His ideas have found their way into our schools 
 with the impressibility of truth. There is still opposition 
 among my numerous teachers against Herbart, and that will 
 perhaps not end so long as there exists a peg to hang an ar- 
 gument on ; but, while I am happy to be able to say Herbart 
 is gaining ground, I am rejoiced also in noticing that the 
 wholesome opposition (which, of course, never turns into hos- 
 tility) acts like a clarifying element in the Herbart camp." 
 
 4. THE MISER AMONG THE ANIMALS. 
 
 An ideal lesson in natural history I heard in the " Francke 
 Stiftungen " in Halle. It was in a school in which 1 least ex- 
 pected such a re- 
 sult, namely, in a 
 free school (school 
 for the poor) and 
 in a class of the 
 third year. The 
 subject was the 
 hamster, or G-er- 
 
 FIG. 183. THE HAMSTER, OR GERMAN MARMOT. 
 man marmot. A (Cricetus Frumentarius Pallas.) 
 
 stuffed specimen 
 
 was exhibited and also several chromo-lithographic pictures. 
 
 I will omit the description given both by pupils and teacher.
 
 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 it being much like the one I sketched in the article " Nature 
 Description." There was more in this lesson worthy of 
 note. The children, eight to ten years of age, spoke with 
 conviction, because they spoke of experiences, having been 
 out in the fields with their teacher and explored a hamster's 
 burrow. 
 
 It is a maxim of this teacher never to allow a positive 
 statement on the part of the pupils unless it is the result of 
 actual observation and experience, or of conviction, and as 
 such the result of correct reasoning. This will appear more 
 distinctly in the course of this sketch. The reader will 
 please bear in mind that I offer only a few phases of the 
 lesson. 
 
 "What is the reason the marmot is called a miser ? " 
 
 " All summer he gathers food and hoards it up in his cave. 
 He carries home grain in his spacious cheek-pockets/' 
 
 " How do you know that ? " 
 
 " We saw some grain in the cheek-pockets of the one AVO 
 caught, and his den was full of it like a barn." 
 
 " But it can not be right to call him a miser for collect- 
 ing food and providing for the winter. We do that, too, by 
 keeping potatoes in the cellar, flour in barrels, and so forth. 
 The bees, too, provide for the winter. I should think it un- 
 just to call the animal a miser for what appears to be noth- 
 ing but wise, provident saving." 
 
 " Ah, well, but a miser is he who saves for himself only, 
 and will not share his stores with others. We are expected 
 to share our provisions with others. The bee never gathers 
 for its own use, but for the whole hive, while the hamster 
 won't let anybody else have any of his hoarded treasures; 
 he lives alone, and eats the stored-up grain himself. Ws 
 call him a miser for that reason." 
 
 " Let us see whether we shall not find other reasons for 
 calling him a miser. Does a miser let everybody know that 
 he has money saved ? " 
 
 " No, he hides it in a safe place where no one but himself 
 can get at it. And that is exactly what the hamster does.
 
 THE MISER AMONG THE ANIMALS. 195 
 
 He hides his treasures in the ground, in a cave dug by him- 
 self. It is difficult to get at him and his treasures." 
 
 " Do you think a miser would fill his safe with copper 
 pennies ? " 
 
 " No, as soon as he has a hundred of them, he has them 
 changed to a silver mark, for that takes less room and can 
 be hidden better ; and when he has ten of them, he has 
 them changed to a gold piece, which is still smaller, and 
 worth as much as a thousand pennies. Copper and silver 
 would fill his safe too soon." 
 
 "Well said. The hamster does not fill his cave with 
 bulky potatoes, turnips, and roots, that take up much space, 
 but with yellow wheat and oats. But tell me what the 
 miser does if his money-safe is attacked ? " 
 
 "He defends it, and so does the marmot. Don't you 
 know, when I reached with my hand into the hole, he bit 
 me badly ? We had to use a spade to get at him." 
 
 " Hugo, you may tell us what you remember best of our 
 excursion to the hamster's cave." 
 
 " When we arrived at a place where fresh loose earth was 
 piled up around a hole, we thought it must be the entrance 
 of the cave of a pretty good-sized animal, at least as large as 
 a cat. After the animal inside had bitten Paul's fingers we 
 knew we should catch him. You thought it might be a 
 hamster. Some of us watched the holes the one on top 
 which we had some difficulty in finding, and the one we had 
 discovered first so that he could not come out, while the 
 
 other boys went for Mr. H 's dog. Oh, we could scarcely 
 
 wait for him we got so excited ! Once we saw the hamster 
 come to the opening, but he darted back. When Packan, 
 the dog, came (you'll remember it was the young one with 
 the crooked legs, called badger-legged dog), he was told to 
 enter the hole. He sniffed at the hole for some time, and 
 then boldly entered. Presently we heard a yelling and 
 snarling in the ground, and, not long after, Packan appeared 
 again with bloody snout at the opening of the tunnel, and 
 we knew he had killed the animal. Now you told us we
 
 196 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 might dig for the animal, but to do it carefully, lest the 
 earth should cave in and cover up what we were anxious to 
 see. So we dug and dug, following the tunnel, and I tell 
 you it was hard work ; some roots of a tree were in the 
 way." 
 
 " Yes," cried other boys, " it was hard work; we dug for 
 it till the sweat rolled down our faces ! " 
 
 " At last we saw the cave or burrow, and then you took 
 the shovel to open the hole carefully. Yes, there he lay, 
 Mr. Hamster, stone-dead. We laid him aside, for first we 
 wanted to see his house." 
 
 (Boy went to the board without being told, took the 
 crayon and sketched while he continued to tell the story.) 
 
 FIG. 1S4. 
 
 " The cave was almost egg-shaped, and had several parts 
 or smaller caves, nearly all filled with gold-yellow grain. 
 It was like a house with many rooms in it. The tunnel 
 through which the dog had entered was slanting and quite 
 long. On the top of the cave there was the second tunnel 
 which went almost straight up." 
 
 " Very well done, my son. Did you see that the little 
 dog found it difficult to squeeze himself through the hole ? 
 I wonder why he was not killed by the hamster." 
 
 " Oh, I suppose the tunnel was wide enough for the dog 
 to creep into. You see it must be pretty wide, for the 
 hamster has to turn around in it." 
 
 " Did you notice that, around the hole we saw first, loose 
 earth was piled up ? "
 
 THE MISER AMONG THE ANIMALS. 197 
 
 '' Yes, that was what called our attention to the opening." 
 
 " Was the hole B discovered as easily ? " 
 
 " No, we had to search for it for some time. At last we 
 found it, almost hidden and covered with dry leaves. But 
 there was no loose earth around it." 
 
 " That must have had some cause ; can you, or any one of 
 the class, think of it ? " Another boy says : 
 
 " The hamster must have begun to dig here " (pointing at 
 A), " and thrown the earth behind him. I believe he dug the 
 tunnel farther and deeper in a slanting way, till he thought 
 he had dug deep enough. Then he began to widen out a 
 cave. He carried or rather, shoveled, the loose earth with 
 his hind-feet, or paws, out through the tunnel till his burrow 
 was wide enough.'' 
 
 "Yes, that is likely the way he did, but that does not 
 explain why the edge of tunnel B was so clean without any 
 loose earth around it." 
 
 That was a poser for the boys, and the teacher did not 
 feel disposed to help them. After some hard thinking, one 
 boy's face lit up, and he said : " I believe I can tell the reason 
 why the edge of that perpendicular tunnel was clean. You 
 notice, from Hugo's sketch, that this tunnel was a little wider 
 below than above; that it looked funnel-shaped. I think 
 the animal did not begin to dig on the surface, but from be- 
 low. The earth he loosened he shoveled with his paws out 
 through tunnel A, and continued digging upward till he 
 had reached the surface. Thus, no earth was collected 
 around the hole B, for it fell inward." 
 
 " Very well said, Fritz. But I am curious to find out 
 why he made that tunnel at all. It must be very inconven- 
 ient to use it. If he entered that hole B, he would instantly 
 fall down into the cave, and such a fall would not be pleas- 
 ant enough to try it often." 
 
 "Ah, well, he must have a place for the air to come in, or 
 go out. Without the hole B, the cave would soon smell bad. " 
 
 " That is a pretty good reason, my lad, but for that pur- 
 pose the tunnel might have been slanting, giving him two
 
 198 HALLE (PRUSSIAN RROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 convenient ways to get in and out. There must be another 
 reason, I think, so try again." 
 
 " Is the hamster a fighting animal like the wolf ? 
 
 " No, my son, he is not. Though he is very ferocious, he 
 fights only when attacked." 
 
 " Then, I believe, I can guess at. the cause of that vertical 
 opening. You remember the entrance to it was almost hid- 
 den under bushes. I believe that the marmot uses that hole 
 to reach his den only when he is pursued or chased ; and 
 through B he can reach it quicker than through A." 
 
 "No," interrupted another boy, "you mean he can dis- 
 appear from the sight of his pursuers more quickly by enter- 
 ing the hole B than he can do it going through A." 
 
 " Indeed, Fred, that must be the reason. Hunters tell me 
 that hamsters sometimes disappear at quite a different place 
 from that in which the entrance of their den is (point A)." 
 
 This is only an episode of the lesson I heard. Some of 
 my readers may be disposed to doubt the report of this con- 
 versation, and I do not vouch for the exact choice of words 
 and expressions, but essentially the report is correct. 
 
 I heard that lesson, and noted down on the spot the man- 
 ner and method. Teacher and pupils conversed as though 
 under no restraint, yet an interruption of a speaker occurred 
 seldom, and then it seemed quite in place. Not an inatten- 
 tive child was seen ; all were deeply interested. 
 
 When again the stuffed animal was viewed, and the pict- 
 ures were compared, it seemed as though a class of high- 
 school students, not little fellows of nine and ten years, re- 
 cited. The fact is, they said nothing but what they really 
 had seen, or could pronounce as the result of their own hard 
 thinking. In the course of the lesson the feet of the mar- 
 mot, his teeth, his whole build, were compared with those of 
 the mole, the rat, and other animals, and the whole family 
 of rodents. In other words, the knowledge these children 
 accumulated was organically connected with previous cog- 
 nitions. 
 
 Oh, hew I wished to be a child again and go to school
 
 A LESSON ON ROBINSON CRUSOE. 199 
 
 here ! All the teachers in the " Francke Stiftungen " are 
 proud of that colleague of theirs. His name is Koehler. If 
 any of my American brethren should visit Europe and 
 should chance to go to Halle, let them call on Dr. Frick, to 
 get permission to hear this teacher. 
 
 5. A LESSON ON EOBINSON CRUSOE. 
 
 The reader is referred to previous chapters to understand 
 the importance of these lessons. 
 
 Teacher. " Well, my children, we heard that Robinson 
 had at last found means to return home. He was ready to 
 embark in the ship, the captain of which was willing to 
 take him across the ocean. What do you think he took 
 along with him ? " 
 
 Pupil. " I think he took his parrot." 
 
 Teacher. " Why ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Oh, he liked the bird, and he thought it would 
 be a nice present for his mother. " 
 
 Teacher. " Indeed, my child, he was sure to have taken 
 his parrot, and I am glad he thought of that dear mother of 
 his. Would you have thought of your mother first, if you 
 had been in his place ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Yes. Don't you know he had nearly broken his 
 mother's heart by running away from home ? " 
 
 Teacher. " Well, what else did he take with him ? " 
 
 Pupil. " I think he took Friday. He could not have left 
 him alone on the island. He owed him thanks for being his 
 companion." 
 
 Teacher. " True, we must never forget a debt of grati- 
 tude. He who in fortune forgets a friend is not worth 
 having a friend. What else did he take ? " 
 
 Pupil. "He took his self-made clothes and parasol, to 
 show how he had helped himself." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, it is likely that he took them. Anything 
 else?" 
 
 Pupil. " I think he took the tools he had made, and some 
 of the pots he had formed and baked."
 
 2CO HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 Teacher. "The tools, yes, but hardly the pots, for he 
 would have found it very troublesome to travel with them. 
 So then, they took leave cf the island. The sun shone 
 brightly, and the birds sang as though they meant to say 
 good-by to Robinson and his black friend. They both went 
 on board the large sailing-vessel, where they were well re- 
 ceived. Now the anchor was wound up." (Teacher draws 
 an anchor, pupils explain its use.) " The sails were hoisted " 
 (sails were drawn on the board, by pupils likewise on slate), 
 " and the wind began to move the vessel onward. Robinson 
 stood on deck and looked back to the island on which he 
 and Friday had spent so many weary months. Both remem- 
 bered the many hardships they had suffered. Now some 
 one may tell the story so far." 
 
 Pupil. "When the captain of the sailing-vessel had 
 agreed to take Robinson with him to Hamburg,* Robinson 
 said to him : ' Let me take my friend Friday. He has been 
 my companion for many months and years, and it would be 
 ungrateful if I should leave him here alone on the island.' 
 The captain was willing to take the black fellow also. Then 
 Robinson took on board what was dear to him, his parrot, 
 his tools, his clothes of goat-skin, and other things which he 
 wanted to show at home. He intended to give the parrot to 
 his dear mother, the poor lady who had grieved for her bad, 
 runaway boy. Both Robinson and Friday took leave of 
 the places on the island where they had found shelter, and 
 by taking the captain along on their tour of leave-taking 
 they showed him the island and many of the objects that 
 had served them. When they stood on the deck of the sail- 
 ing-vessel, they looked back upon the island. The sun 
 shone upon the gently swaying palm-trees, the goats were 
 capering among the rocks, and the birds sang and twittered 
 as though they meant to take leave of Robinson," . . . etc., 
 with delightful childish particularity. 
 
 * Remember this was a German school. Another deviation from De- 
 foe's original is found in the substitution of goats for llamas.
 
 A LESSON ON ROBINSON CRUSOE. 201 
 
 Now another pupil told the story, somewhat differently, 
 a proof that each pupil thought his own thoughts. Then 
 this part of the narrative was entitled " Robinson's Departure 
 from the Island." This heading found a place on the black- 
 board under I. 
 
 Teacher. " For the present, children, we must leave Rob- 
 inson on the ocean, and let us hope he will not meet with 
 another storm such as had wrecked the ship on which he had 
 left home. We have a gentleman with us who has been on 
 the ocean several times. He comes all the way from America. 
 Ask him how long it took him to cross the mighty ocean." 
 
 Pupil. " Oh, no, he can not have come from there ; he is 
 not black or red like Negroes and Indians." Some boys 
 laughingly agreed that the teacher's statement could not 
 have been right. But others looked sober, and one of them 
 said : " My cousin went over to America some time ago, and 
 when he comes back I hope he will be white yet. People 
 don't get black there who are not born black." That sobered 
 the others at once, and now they believed that there might 
 be white people in America. After this fact was acknowl- 
 edged the boys said to me, " Do tell us how long it took you 
 to cross the ocean." 
 
 " It took me thirteen days and ten hours, but you see, I 
 came in a large steamer. Had I been in a sailing-vessel, it 
 would have taken me much longer at any rate, several 
 weeks." 
 
 Pupil. " Why, that's nearly two weeks ! Did you not 
 see any land on the way ? " 
 
 '' Yes, on the tenth day we hailed the coast of England, 
 and after that we hardly ever lost the coast out of sight, till 
 we reached Hamburg." 
 
 Pupil. " Well, how long does it take a sailing-vessel to 
 cross the ocean ? " 
 
 " If the wind is favorable, about five weeks. But it may 
 take seven weeks." 
 
 Pupil. " Hooh ! seven weeks ; why that's, forty -nine 
 days, just think of it ! Did you see any fishes ? "
 
 202 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 " Yes, my dear, we saw large fishes, called tumblers, who 
 jumped from one wave into another, following the steamer 
 to eat what was thrown overboard. They are called hog-fish, 
 because their flesh looks like fresh pork, rosy and fat." 
 Pupil. " Did you have any storms on the sea ? " 
 " Yes, a storm that lasted three days, and we had much 
 fog, in which we could not see the bow of the steamer when 
 standing at the stern." Other questions with which I was 
 pelted I will omit here, and proceed with the lesson. 
 
 Teacher. " Let us see, boys : our story tells us that Rob- 
 inson had a passage which lasted nine weeks. If you re- 
 member where Robinson's island is situated, west of South 
 America, the voyage was very swift." (Map is shown, and 
 distances are compared.) " The vessel met with no storm or 
 fog, and the weather was fine. The fishes in the sea could 
 be seen playing in the sunshine. Robinson and Friday 
 made themselves useful on board by helping to set sails and 
 doing other things. At last they reached the coast of Eng- 
 land, but did not land. The vessel glided along the shores 
 of England, France, Holland, and Germany, and finally up 
 the river Elbe, and entered the harbor of Hamburg. Some 
 one may tell the story of 'Robinson's Voyage across the 
 Ocean.'" 
 
 First one, then two others, told the story, mentioning 
 time of voyage, comparing it with that of a steamer. The 
 fishes, sunshine, wind, sails, work on deck, and other points 
 were touched with a faithfulness truly astonishing. 
 
 Teacher "Let us proceed. Tell me what was done 
 when the ship was fastened to the dock ?" 
 
 Pupil. " The people left the ship and went on land." 
 Teacher. "Leaving everything under deck they had 
 brought with them ? " 
 
 Pupil. " No, they unloaded the freight" 
 Teacher. " What may that have consisted of ? " 
 Pupil. " Well, the ship had been in the South Sea, and 
 may have been loaded with oranges or other southern fruit, 
 perhaps with cocoanuts."
 
 A LESSON ON ROBINSON CRUSOE. 03 
 
 Teacher. " What other things are brought from, foreign 
 countries ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Petroleum, wheat, dye-wood, wild animals, hides, 
 dried fish." 
 
 Teacher. "Think of some things that do not grow in 
 Germany." 
 
 Pupil. " Coffee, rice, tea, cane-sugar, cotton, tobacco. " 
 
 Teacher. " Very well. Our story does not say with what 
 the ship was loaded ; but, when it was fastened to the dock, 
 all the freight was carried out and wheeled into the big 
 magazines along the dock, where the merchants came to 
 buy. Shall we stay at the dock and see the freight unloaded, 
 or follow Robinson and Friday into town ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Let us follow Robin sop." 
 
 Teacher. " All right ; it must have taken several days to 
 unload the ship, and Robinson wanted to hurry home to see 
 his dear old mother. How do you think Friday behaved 
 when they reached the harbor ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Oh, he must have been very much astonished, 
 for he had never seen a city. The many ships, the high 
 houses, the many white people, and the smoking chimney- 
 stacks of the steamers, the cranes for unloading ships, all of 
 it must have looked very queer to him." 
 
 Another pupil. "The strangest things the savage saw 
 must have been the horses drawing wagons. ' Look, Robin- 
 son,' he cried, ' look at these animals ! Did you ever see 
 such strange things ? ' And when they entered a horse-car 
 and noticed the long rows of houses with the many many 
 windows, the thousands of people 011 the streets, and all the 
 many objects of interest flitting by, he sat in dumb amaze- 
 ment." 
 
 Teacher. " Very well told, my boy. I see I need not tell 
 the story myself ; you can tell it as well as I can. What 
 happened when they left the street-car ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Oh, Friday saw so many new things he had 
 never seen before that he stood still every minute to ask 
 Robinson to look at this and that." Other pupils. "Yes ;
 
 204: HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 and when they came to a big shop-window he wanted to 
 know what everything seen there was for." "He reached 
 out his hand to take some of the things to look at them 
 closer, but was much astonished to find he could not do that 
 on account of the thick pane of glass between him and the 
 articles." " I wonder how often he cried to Robinson, who 
 was urging him on, to stay and look at a new article he had 
 never seen ? " " I believe he was afraid when he saw the first 
 dog. He may have thought him to be a wild animal, such 
 as a panther." 
 
 Teacher. " We will call this part of our story ' Their Ar- 
 rival in Hamburg and Friday's Astonishment.' Some one 
 may tell me the story. " It is repeated in a connected manner 
 by several pupils. Then, the teacher said: "Before we hear 
 what Robinson found at home, let us repeat the three parts 
 of our story. This section shall tell us of his departure 
 from the island ; the second section may tell us all about his 
 voyage across the ocean ; and the third of their arrival in 
 the harbor and Friday's astonishment at the new sights he 
 beheld." It was surprising to see how faithfully they re- 
 called the different incidents spoken of and how well they 
 expressed their thoughts. 
 
 Teacher. " At last they reached the house where Robinson 
 was born. He looked at the door-plate, which used to bear 
 the name ' Daniel Crusoe,' but now bore another name. Rob- 
 inson rang the bell. A servant opened the door and asked 
 whom he wanted to see. He said, 'I want to see Mr. and- 
 Mrs. Crusoe.' ' They do not live here any longer; but wait a 
 moment, I will call my master. He may tell you where to 
 find them.' The gentleman came and looked at this strange 
 couple, Robinson not having had time to shave his long 
 beard and cut his hair, and Friday, the black fellow, must 
 have looked odd enough in this city of white people ; and then 
 remember that they were laden with queer-shaped things and 
 a jabbering parrot. Robinson asked anxiously after his 
 mother. The gentleman of the house asked them in, offered 
 them seats, and then told them all about the old people.
 
 A LESSON ON ROBINSON CRUSOE. 205 
 
 " Robinson's mother had grieved so much over her run- 
 away boy that she fell ill, and, when news reached her that 
 the ship in which he had sailed for foreign lands had been 
 wrecked, she died of a broken heart. Think of the bitter 
 tears of repentance Robinson cried when he heard that that 
 dear, gentle, loving mother of his had died of grief! He was 
 a strong man now ; but the hot tears trickled down into his 
 long beard, and for some time he could not control himself. 
 Friday, seeing his friend's great distress, began to weep too ; 
 but the parrot that was intended for a present to the old 
 dame did not know what to make of it. At last Robinson 
 controlled himself enough to ask after his father. 
 
 " He was still alive, the gentleman said, but he had re- 
 tired from business and lived in a small house near the har- 
 bor, where he sat, lonely and forsaken, to watch the ships 
 coming in and leaving the harbor. Robinson thanked the 
 gentleman kindly for the information and left the old house, 
 to look up his father. After many inquiries along the 
 wharf, he found the house where his father lived. They 
 hurried up-stairs, and in a tidy little room they found the old 
 man. His hair had become white, his eyes dim, and his 
 voice trembling. Robinson threw himself on his knees be- 
 fore him and told him he was that bad, runaway boy. He 
 had been saved, and had come back to him never to leave 
 him again. The old man laid his hands on his son's head 
 and thanked God for having given him back his boy." 
 
 My readers may believe me if I say the pupils sat there 
 spellbound, tears in their eyes, and many of them were sob- 
 bing. The teacher had told the story so touchingly that the 
 children's sympathy had been aroused. Not an incredulous 
 smile, not a sneer was seen, not a word was heard from them 
 for some moments after the teacher had closed his narrative. 
 It was one of those moments in which it is said an angel 
 walks through the room. At last the teacher roused the 
 children from a deep reverie by asking them to repeat this 
 part of the story, which he termed " Robinson's Bitter Re- 
 pentance." It was done with touching simplicity and great
 
 206 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 accuracy. Again the entire lesson was reviewed, partly by 
 questioning the class, partly by allowing them to narrate 
 portions in a connected manner. Many new incidents were 
 added, and, when at last the lesson closed, the story of Rob- 
 inson Crusoe was finished to the satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. 
 
 This narration furnishes the " Gesinnungs-Stoff " (mate- 
 rial for the sentiments) of this class as other tales do in lower 
 and biblical history does in higher grades. Besides offering 
 food for the sentiments, these lessons increase the pupil's 
 knowledge, give opportunities for employing their hands, 
 and polish their language. Much of what is offered in a con- 
 nected manner in the above account was given in conversa- 
 tion; but a verbatim repetition might have been tedious to 
 the reader. 
 
 6. A LANGUAGE-LESSON. 
 
 It was in a boys' school of the " Francke Stiftungen " 
 that I heard a lesson in reading and language preparatory 
 to a composition exercise. The subject was that well-known 
 poem of Chamisso, " The Sun brings it to Light." The poem 
 was read in parts, and the contents were grouped logically 
 in four divisions: 1. The master and his wife in the work- 
 shop; 2. The wife's efforts to get at the secret; 3. The be- 
 trayal of the secret; 4. The consequences. All who know 
 the beautiful poem can understand how interestingly it can 
 be treated. I will therefore only say that the teacher suc- 
 ceeded in bringing out all the points that could be of assist- 
 ance in writing the composition that is, in transposing the 
 poem into prose. 
 
 But there was an epilogue to the lesson which proved a 
 revelation to the class. Let me sketch it. 
 
 Teacher. " How do you think a poem is suggested to a 
 poet ? " 
 
 Answer. " He sees something beautiful and gives the 
 feelings it creates in him expression in rhymed words." 
 
 Another answer. " He may hear of a praiseworthy act, 
 or read of it in the papers, and may be much moved by it, so
 
 A LANGUAGE-LESSON. 207 
 
 much, indeed, that a desire is awakened in him to preserve 
 in poetry the memory of the brave act ; or, instead of an act 
 of heroism, it may be any other memorable occurrence." 
 
 Teacher. " It so happened that Chamisso read of this case 
 of murder and of the discovery of the guilty party, and then 
 set it in poetry. But do you think the poems produced thus 
 accurately describe the cases as given in newspaper ac- 
 counts ? " 
 
 Ansiver. " No, not exactly. They often differ very much in 
 names, in descriptions, in regard to time and circumstances, 
 etc. The poet is likely to ' decorate ' the occurrence, and 
 often supplies a poetic luster which the occurrence itself 
 does not possess. Thus, for instance, the poet Schwab could 
 not have known what the great-grandmother, grandmother, 
 mother, and child said and thought just before the light- 
 ning struck them. Yet in his poem, ' The Thunderstorm,' 
 he makes them say and do things as though he had been 
 present and seen and heard it all." 
 
 Teacher. " Well, then, what is your opinion with regard 
 to this poem of Chamisso ? " 
 
 Answer. " What Fred said, I think, holds good in this 
 case. The poet evidently supplied description and senti- 
 ments, and only the essential facts arc the same as in the 
 account he read." 
 
 Teacher. " We will see. I have here the account which 
 induced Chamisso to make the poem that we read to-day. I 
 will read you the account. Notice what changes the poet 
 made." 
 
 And now he proceeded to read an old popular narrative 
 which bore such striking resemblance to Chamisso's poem 
 that the boys were much surprised. Such words as " malt 
 zitternde Kringel an die Wand," " plagt ihn mit Hadern 
 und Bitten," occurred in the prose narration, even the name 
 of the master was the same. Altogether it was the most 
 faithful and minute transposition of poetry into prose that 
 one could imagine. '' What now, boys ? " asked the teacher 
 when he had finished reading the account. 
 15
 
 208 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 Answer. " What a surprising similarity ! How the poet 
 must have labored to preserve the particular expressions, 
 and how he could mold the entire account into metric feet 
 and rhymes without omitting one detail or changing even 
 the characteristic expressions of the prose! Or have you 
 been making sport of us by reading a prose rendition of the 
 poetry ? I feel disposed to ask which is the older produc- 
 tion, the poem or the prose narration ? '' 
 
 Teacher. " No ; the prose narration is the older. It is 
 the very account the poet transposed. But what do you in- 
 fer from the fact that the two show such a remarkable simi- 
 larity ? " 
 
 Anstver. " I think that enhances Chamisso's value as a 
 poet. If he could so wield the language as to preserve all 
 the beauties of expression found in this prose narration and 
 add to them by molding them into poetry, he must be a 
 genius of no low type." 
 
 Teacher and pupils all agreed with that, and when the 
 .boys began to write their composition they resolved to pre- 
 serve the felicitous choice of words which makes the poem so 
 popular. They went to work, indeed, as though they meant 
 to produce a masterpiece in prose, a determination which I 
 traced back to the innocent but effective device of the teacher. 
 
 7. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM HALLE. 
 
 Among the several schools in the " Francke Stiftungen " 
 in Halle in which I spent some time, was a normal school 
 for young ladies. It had thirty-three pupils, between eight- 
 een and twenty-one years of age. These young ladies were 
 very much more healthy-looking than the average pupil of 
 the Cincinnati Normal School and other similar institutions 
 in America with which I am acquainted, but they were not 
 so handsome and not by far so intelligent as the American 
 young ladies. The lesson I heard was one in psychology 
 and logic. It seemed as though this was the most difficult 
 study under the sun, although the teacher was a perfect 
 master of the science and art of teaching.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM HALLE. 209 
 
 In a girls' school in Halle I heard a lesson in percentage 
 in a class similar to our D Grammar (fifth school year). 
 The pupils handled the subject clumsily, as would be expected, 
 but to think that, at the close of the fourth year, the subject 
 of fractions is finished, is astonishing. I found this in sev- 
 eral places in Germany and France, and can explain it only 
 by the fact that the ponderous chapter of denominate num- 
 bers is omitted. In countries where the metric system is 
 used the measures are taught along with numeration and 
 notation. 
 
 A lesson in geography that I heard in an upper grade of 
 a girls' school is also very vividly remembered. The teacher 
 discussed continental climate, its causes and effects. Every 
 conclusion the pupils arrived at was found by themselves by 
 comparison of facts. All the teacher did was pointing out 
 the topographical conditions of each continent. Our Amer- 
 ican scorching summers and cold, blizzard winters were ac- 
 counted for, and I could not help but admire the teacher's 
 intimate acquaintance with America, and the girls' intense 
 interest and keen intellect. 
 
 One observation made in every class-room of the " Francke 
 Stiftungen " is, that the teachers make a halt every now and 
 then during the lesson, and carefully go over the work by 
 calling upon pupils to present in a connected manner what 
 conclusion was drawn, and upon what premises it rested. 
 They thereby prevented a great deal of reviewing; they 
 allowed the matter to sink in deeper ; they enabled the pupil 
 to look back over the entire road on which they had arrived 
 at their conclusions. These " part-reviews " are most desira- 
 ble also for the reason that the pupils get conscious of their 
 reasoning and are enabled to reproduce it in writing, which 
 task follows nearly every lesson in these schools. 
 
 It is natural to suppose that in an institution like 
 Francke's, industrial work of the girls is much thought of. 
 It would be a useless repetition, though, to describe it, since 
 I have dwelt on that subject elsewhere at length. (Compare 
 pages 120-126.) Suffice it to say that I noticed an effort
 
 210 HALLE (PRUSSIAN PROVINCE OF SAXONY). 
 
 at economical cutting of linen and shirting in the getting 
 up of undergarments which is characteristic. A blackboard 
 
 Fig. I. 
 
 22CM.WIDT\ 38 CM. WIDE 
 
 38 CM. WIDE 
 
 D 
 
 Fig, 3. 
 
 Fio. 185. 
 
 covered with a close network of lines was used to draw first 
 the piece of linen according to exact measurements; every
 
 SCHOOLS IS PRUSSIA. 211 
 
 square on the board represents a square decimetre. Then the 
 body of a chemise, for instance, was cut out, the sleeves, the 
 triangular sides, squares for the arm-pits etc. The foregoing 
 sketch shows the mode of procedure. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 1. SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA. 
 
 THERE are four classes of public schools in Prussian as 
 well as in other German cities. It may be of interest to 
 learn their distinctions : 
 
 1. People's Schools, either Catholic or Protestant, but both 
 maintained by state and community. These people's schools 
 have an eight years' course. Children of both sexes enter at 
 six and leave at thirteen or fourteen years. No language 
 but German is taught, and this almost entirely without the 
 aid of grammar, simply by careful training in the use of the 
 language. Arithmetic is carried on not quite so far as we 
 do in our common schools. History is taught, both German 
 and universal history, chiefly in biographies. Geography, 
 topographical, political, mathematical, and physical within 
 a limited compass, of course. Physics and natural history 
 are taught during the last two years of the course, only in 
 an elementary way, not quite so far perhaps as Paul Bert's 
 recent book shows, which has been presented to the Ameri- 
 can public lately. Drawing, singing, and gymnastics are 
 all taught to a greater extent than is done in America. In 
 their readers the pupils find more solid knowledge than is 
 found in the flimsy conversations of our English- American 
 readers ; the books contain masterpieces of all kinds of 
 prose and poetry, instructive and amusing. Composing 
 in words and pictures goes on at every step, and is developed 
 to a very astonishing degree.
 
 212 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 2. Burger Schools, Citizen's Schools so called in contra- 
 distinction from the People's Schools, which are elementary 
 in this respect, that they teach the elements of knowledge 
 and abstain from scientific presentation. These Burger 
 Schools attempt more than mere elements. Their course is 
 about ten years, beginning with the sixth and ending with 
 the sixteenth year of age. The first three years are con- 
 sidered the preparatory school. After that the semi-scientific 
 course begins, which embraces besides the common branches 
 also French and a little Latin. The natural sciences are 
 treated more thoroughly in the higher grades, and drawing 
 leans toward industrial pursuits. The Burger Schools are 
 only for boys. 
 
 Side by side with these schools are the 
 
 Higher Young Ladies' Schools, of which I can not say 
 much, not having visited many. I only know that they ter- 
 minate in a post-graduate course for young teachers. The 
 Burger and Young Ladies' Schools resemble in their higher 
 grades our city high-schools. The Burger School does not 
 prepare for the university. It may be said that this class of 
 schools was established to offer an education more advanced 
 than can be given in People's Schools, and less extended than 
 a preparation for the university would necessitate. All relig- 
 ions and denominations are admitted, and religious instruc- 
 tion is given in these schools by specially appointed clergy- 
 men, both Catholic and Protestant. The Young Ladies' 
 School is mostly for Protestants, while for Catholic girls the 
 higher convent-schools are open. In the People's Schools 
 religion is taught by the regular class teachers and the pu- 
 pils are considered ready for graduation when they are ready 
 to be confirmed in church. 
 
 3. Higher Schools, which may be said to be on a level 
 with the majority of our colleges. They are all for boys. 
 Among these schools there are three distinct divisions : 
 
 I. Gymnasium, or Lyceum, or Classical School. These 
 schools prepare for the three learned professions law, medi- 
 cine, and theology. Much emphasis is laid upon Latin,
 
 A DEVICE, NOT A METHOD. 213 
 
 Greek, and Hebrew, as well as history and archaeology. 
 While modern languages and sciences are not neglected, 
 they can not be said to be the most important branches of 
 the curriculum. 
 
 Its course is fourteen years, from the sixth till the twen- 
 tieth year of life. 
 
 The teachers are all graduates of universities. 
 
 II. Realschule, also called Real-gymnasium, pays more 
 attention to modern languages and the sciences than to the 
 classical languages and archaeology. Much attention is 
 given to drawing and the mathematics. Students of medi- 
 cine, engineering, and business men are prepared here. 
 
 Course, fourteen years. Teachers all university men. 
 
 III. Special Schools, are either industrial or art schools, 
 or teachers' seminaries. Among the latter a few are, under 
 certain restrictions, open to ladies. 
 
 The course of all these special schools varies so much, 
 that a statement as to its length can not safely be made. 
 
 The teachers of art and technical schools are artists, en- 
 giners, artisans, etc. 
 
 Only large cities in centers of industry maintain special 
 schools of this kind, while normal schools or teachers 1 semi- 
 naries are state institutions and mostly found in small towns. 
 
 4. Universities, the work of which is so well known in 
 America that I need not say anything about them. 
 
 2. A DEVICE, NOT A METHOD. 
 
 Business led me to the little town of V in Holland,* 
 
 near the German boundary, and having a few hours to while 
 away in waiting, I called at the elementary school, where I 
 found a bright, blue-eyed young man busily engaged in 
 teaching about fifty pupils between six and ten years of 
 age. 
 
 * This being the only school I saw in Holland, I insert the article in this 
 chapter, being aware that the Dutch teachers to u great extent copy their 
 German brethren.
 
 214: FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 He did not ask me the customary American question, 
 u What would you like to hear ? " but, after offering me a 
 seat, proceeded with his work as if no stranger was pres- 
 ent. I liked that, and soon my liking for the young man 
 grew into admiration, when I observed with what loving- 
 kindness he treated the youngsters, and in what a masterly 
 way he handled a class and taught his subjects. 
 
 The pupils were young, and the class before him at the 
 board may have averaged eight years. They were wrestling 
 with fractions ; yes, dear reader, fractions ! Not such as 
 f|, but familiar ones, such as , i, J, etc. The teacher used 
 a very interesting contrivance to illustrate the parts of a 
 whole. I will sketch it. 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 1 X : 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 i/ V 
 
 L-.-xA^ V^vxk'^VxTx.V^ 
 
 > 
 
 * 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 M 
 
 ^ \ X % ^ 
 
 Ix 
 
 M 
 
 
 1_ 
 
 5 
 
 V* 
 
 ';, 
 
 
 i. 
 
 10 
 
 'ilHi 
 
 Vi, 1 H '-1. '/i. '/. ! Ha V. k. i 
 
 L_ , _i _- 1 -> ' : > 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i X 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 y. 
 
 y* I A y \ 
 
 
 , 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 12 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 12 
 
 '/ii 
 
 '/a '/{, '/ '/,, V n l /n 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 , 
 
 
 i 
 
 '; H M, 
 
 'i 
 
 > 
 
 i 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 '/io 
 
 1 / I/ I/ I/ I/ 
 /lo x io /w ' lo /io ; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " \ 
 
 Fio. 186. 
 
 The above is to represent a chest of shallow shelves, into 
 which boards fit snugly ; the boards are cut accurately into 
 parts, as indicated in the cut, and each part is labeled. A 
 glance at the above sketch will suffice to reveal the purpose 
 of the contrivance. It speaks for itself. 
 
 The teacher had removed the thirds, fifths, sixths, and 
 others, and now showed that a whole was equal to f, J, f,
 
 A DEVICE, NOT A METHOD. 215 
 
 J-f . Then taking one of the halves out, he asked how many 
 fourths, eighths, and sixteenths made one half, etc. Reduc- 
 tion, ascending and descending, was thus thoroughly exem- 
 plified and practiced. 
 
 The same exercise was had in thirds, sixths, ninths, 
 twelfths, and the pupils were led to work with these frac- 
 tions themselves ; that is, "do," not only "see" or "hear." 
 It was a great pleasure to observe the little Dutch boys and 
 girls " do " fractions. Their cheeks glowed with excitement, 
 and they noticed the stranger as little as did the teacher. 
 
 When, after singing a pretty little song, they were dis- 
 missed, I inquired of the teacher how long he would use this 
 device. " Only a few times," was the reply, " for it would 
 weaken the children's comprehension, or rather their power 
 of thinking, to have the objects always before them. It is 
 my intention to lead the pupils from the object to its symbol 
 as soon as possible. But if I were to use the symbols that 
 is, the figures at once, without the objects they represent, 
 I should be putting the cart before the horse. To-day, 
 the children learned by actual observation that f-=f=^, 
 etc. To-morrow, they will learn to write these fractions 
 while having this device before them. The next day will 
 bring easy combinations, both in fact and in figures. 
 Thus, I think, in a week they will handle with ease and ac- 
 curacy simple fractions, such as are illustrated by these 
 boards. And then is the time when I shall put the device 
 away. But I mean to build on solid rock, on a firm basis of 
 sense-perception. " 
 
 " Did you invent this contrivance ? " 
 
 " Oh, bless your soul, no ! It was invented by a Japanese 
 schoolmaster, and our commissioner to the New Orleans Ex- 
 position brought the idea to us. He saw the device in the 
 Japanese school exhibit." 
 
 "Have you had special preparation for tho profes- 
 sion ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I am a graduate of the Royal Normal School,
 
 216 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 3. MENTAL ARITHMETIC EVERYWHERE. 
 
 The great advantages of the metric system in the teach- 
 ing of arithmetic are obvious everywhere here in Germany. 
 Arbitrary measures, such as ours, are a hindrance in school. 
 Pound, gallon, bushel, yard, etc., all have a different number 
 of parts, while the division in tens, hundreds, thousands, 
 makes reckoning remarkably easy. This enables the teacher 
 to conduct mentally eighty per cent of all the practice in 
 arithmetic. It is very interesting to see pupils of the third 
 and fourth school years use numbers mentally which would 
 take our pupils' breath away. The latter can not handle the 
 arbitrary measures, such as yards and inches, gallons, quarts, 
 and pints, bushels and pecks, pounds, ounces, and grains, 
 etc., simply because the variety of divisions makes a num- 
 ber of tables necessary whose committal goes beyond the 
 capacity of young pupils. 
 
 As soon as the German child knows the notation and 
 numeration up to 1,000, he is made to apply numbers to 
 metres, litres, and grammes. The divisions are the same in 
 all measures, namely, deka, hecto, and kilo, multiples of one, 
 and deci, centi, and milli, parts of one. It is always 10, 100, 
 1,000 of one, or 7 V, TWI TTW f one - I assure my readers 
 that only one half -hour daily is spent in arithmetic here, 
 and that mostly in mental or oral arithmetic. In the fourth 
 school year the chapter of " Fractions," both common and 
 decimal, is completed, and the fifth school year takes up 
 simple proportion, the so-called rule of three. In the sixth 
 school year percentage and most of the business rules and 
 mensuration are treated, things which with us are reserved 
 for the eighth school year. 
 
 I am fully aware that we can not help this, being ham- 
 pered by the voluminous chapter on denominate numbers 
 during the fourth and fifth school years. Here in Germany 
 they do not treat that chapter as a separate and highly 
 important one. The pupils need not study tables, for the 
 measures are taught right along with numeration and nota-
 
 TEACHING DECIMAL FRACTIONS. 217 
 
 tio'n. As the pupil's horizon in. notation widens, his knowl- 
 edge of the measures increases. It is a fact that almost the 
 entire ground in arithmetic gone over in the eight years' 
 course of the American common school is here completed 
 in six years. This is not astonishing, and must not be at- 
 tributed to a greater intellectual power of the German chil- 
 dren, for they are not as quick in perception and application 
 as our shrewd American youth, but rather of a slow but sure 
 kind. 
 
 The reason is to be found solely in the use of the metric 
 system and the prevalence of mental, or, more correctly 
 speaking, of oral arithmetic. A third-year class in Duis- 
 burg solved these problems in the twinkling of an eye : 
 " One sack contained 5 kilogrammes, 7 hectogrammes, 3 
 dekagrammes, and 8 grammes ; another 2 kilogrammes, 3 
 dekagrammes, and 5 grammes. What was the weight of 
 both ? " u A man divided 21 marks, 25 pennies, equally 
 among five boys. What was each boy's share ? " And it 
 was done without the aid of pen or pencil. 
 
 Much of what we teach in our American schools under 
 the captivating title of business rules is prohibited here by 
 the regulations laid down by the Minister of Instruction ; 
 as, for instance, compound interest, stocks and bonds, taxes, 
 exchange, etc. The course prescribed is eminently practical, 
 to say the least, and much may be learned from it. 
 
 4. TEACHING DECIMAL FRACTIONS. 
 
 Teachers in countries that have adopted the metric sys- 
 tem have an advantage over American teachers in this, that 
 they have at their disposal means for illustrating which we 
 can not apply. While our measures foot-rule, yard-stick, 
 etc. are very convenient for illustrating common fractions 
 (twelve and thirty-six being oftener divisible than ten), the 
 metre is the ideal means for illustrating decimal fractions. 
 
 In H I observed a teacher introduce the subject of 
 
 decimal fractions to, what seemed to me, very young pu- 
 pils. First, he reviewed numeration : " Ten ones make one
 
 218 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 ONE PART. ONE METER. 
 
 TEN PARTS. DECIMETERS. 
 
 ten. Ten is the tenfold of one. Ten tens make a hundred. 
 A hundred is the tenfold of ten, and the hundred-fold of 
 one " ; etc. " One place farther to the left increases the 
 value of the digit tenfold ; one place farther to the right de- 
 creases it to the tenth part. As the tens are obtained from 
 the hundred by dividing by ten, and the one from ten by 
 dividing by ten, so the fractions are obtained in the same 
 way. Thus, by dividing one by ten, we get ten tenths, 
 
 and, by dividing one 
 tenth thus, we obtain 
 ten hundredths, etc. 
 This was further il- 
 lustrated by using 
 the " metre and its 
 
 HUNDRED PARTS. CENTIMETERS. divisions." 
 
 llllllllllimUIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIimnTTTlin A metre-measure 
 
 FIG. 187. (pardon the tautolo- 
 
 gy) was sketched on 
 
 the board in "life-size." It was made three times, as the 
 cut shows. 
 
 The children knew that 1 metre =10 decimetres. So the 
 teacher made them see and say that 1 decimetre = I 1 1f metre. 
 Similar expressions had preceded when common fractions 
 were treated. But the teacher was very thorough in his 
 mode of procedure. He now made the pupils see, say, and 
 write as follows : 
 
 1 dm. = rV m. 
 
 2 dm. = $y m. 
 
 3 dm. = -) a tf m., etc. 
 9 dm. = & m. 
 
 10 dm. = 18 m. = 1 m. 
 
 m. = 1 dm. 
 m. = 2 dm. 
 m. 3 dm., etc. 
 m. = 9 dm. 
 m. = 10 dm. 
 
 1 m. or 
 
 Then exercises like these followed: 
 2 m. 1 dm. = 2,^ m. 
 2 m. 2 dm. = 2t\- m. and so forth to 2$j m. 
 
 When this was sufficiently practiced, the decimal nota- 
 tion was introduced. They knew, from preceding exercises,
 
 ARITHMETIC IN A VILLAGE SCHOOL. 219 
 
 that every place farther to the right would decrease the digit 
 to the tenth part. Now they were asked to write : 
 
 2 m. 1 dm. = 2 1 J m. or 2.1 rn. 
 2 in. 2 dm. = 2-ft m. or 2.2 m. 
 2 m. 3 dm. =. 2^ - m. or 2.3 m. 
 
 The use of the decimal point was not necessary to explain, 
 it having been taught in connection with notation of marks, 
 groschen, and pennies, as is done in our country with 
 dollars, dimes, and cents. The result of this lesson is that 5 
 metres 6 decimetres may be written 5.6m., just as 5 marks 6 
 groschen may be written M.S. 6. 
 
 Now the hundredths were treated like the tenths by writ- 
 ing whole strings and columns of common fractions. Thus 
 the centimetre was brought in : 
 
 1 cm. = -jV dm. = r tar m. r fcjt m. = ^ dm. = 1 cm. 
 
 2 cm. = -ft dm. = T $ 5 m. T fo m. = -ft dm. = 2 cm. 
 
 3 cm. = i 3 o dm. = T g ff m. T j}o m. = -fa dm. = 3 cm. 
 
 Then followed again : 
 
 3 m. 4 dm. 1 cm. = 3 m. 4^ dm. or 3.41 m. 
 3 m. 4 dm. 2 cm. = 3 m. 4-, 2 - dm. or 3.42 m. 
 
 Again, notation of money was made use of. Thus they 
 wrote 5 mark, 4 groschen, 3 pennies=M.5.43. 
 
 There was nothing startlingly new, if anything new at 
 all, in this lesson. I sketch it for the sole purpose of show- 
 ing that familiarity with the metric tables will assist in the 
 teaching of decimal fractions. If there was anything else 
 in this lesson which commended itself to me, it was the sys- 
 tematic and thorough treatment. There was no skipping, 
 no jumping at conclusions, but a steady movement which 
 reminded me of Nature's own unhurried manner of growth. 
 
 5. ARITHMETIC m A VILLAGE SCHOOL. 
 
 After having roamed about the Siebengebirge (the seven 
 mounts, a little way up the Rhine from the university town 
 Bonn) and thoroughly enjoyed the views, we concluded to
 
 220 FROM VARIOUS OTIIER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 inspect the school of a hamlet not six miles distant from the 
 summit of the " Drachenfels," and visible from there. The 
 reader of my " Chips," perhaps knows that the writer has 
 a singularly keen eye for defects in school-wook, a quality 
 which amounts to a fault, where it should be an object to 
 see "naught but good." Well, we had seen Dutch, French, 
 and German city schools, schools mostly in populous cities, 
 and were so deeply impressed with the excellence of the 
 work done in them that the perverse spirit of envy made us 
 long to see something to criticise severely. The school in 
 the hamlet mentioned, we thought, would prove to be, like 
 that of an American backwoods settlement, primitive in the 
 
 -I 
 
 L -L 
 
 ! I 
 
 Fio. 188. 
 
 extreme. But we were greatly mistaken. What we saw 
 was admirable work. 
 
 One device particularly struck me, since I had advocated 
 its use myself in the educational press of America. It was 
 the use of paper squares of uniform size (six inches), but of 
 different colors. These squares were perforated like sheets 
 of postage-stamps, but so as to divide them into different 
 parts, such as halves, thirds, fourths, etc. In order not to 
 be misunderstood, I will sketch them (see Fig. 188). The
 
 ARITHMETIC IN A VILLAGE SCHOOL. 221 
 
 squares were used to illustrate fractions, and both teacher 
 and pupils were liberally supplied with them. They had 
 been procured at a paper-mill, and cut and perforated by a 
 printer. 
 
 The pupils learned the process of reduction ascending and 
 descending very rapidly. The terms of J multiplied by 2 
 gave I, and it was done by folding the sheet of thirds so 
 that each third was folded to make two of six equal parts of 
 the whole. The opposite way was just as easily shown. 
 
 The squares were of different color: halves, fourths, 
 eighths, and sixteenths were pink; thirds, sixths, ninths, etc., 
 green ; fifths and tenths, yellow. This afforded an instant 
 S3lection of the proper sheet when a problem was given out. 
 The paper had the thickness of ordinary writing-paper, and 
 the pupils could write on it with pencil or ink. 
 
 One problem particularly interested me, since the pupils 
 received no help whatever in its solution. I had given it 
 out myself, prompted by a spirit of mischief. Example : 
 Multiply f by . A few seconds sufficed for the brighter 
 pupils to do the work in paper and on paper. Being asked 
 to select a pupil to demonstrate this problem, I selected a 
 sleepy-looking youngster, who arose, and much to my sur- 
 prise turned to me, saying: 
 
 " You can not multiply by a fraction, since multiplying 
 means repeating. You can not repeat fewer times than once ; 
 } not being even 1, it is clear that you meant to say J of f . 
 Now take a sheet of twelfths." I did. " Fold 
 ^ under, leaving f of the sheet visible." I did. 
 ' ; Now fold the f into four equal strips. By 
 thus dividing f , you also divide the third third 
 folded under. You really divide each third 
 
 FIG 180 
 
 into fourths, or the whole sheet into twelfths." 
 
 I did as indicated in the margin (Fig. 189). "Then of f 
 
 equals ^ or ." Thus spoke the youth, and sat down. 
 
 My admiration grew when examples in division were 
 solved. The tea,cher, a thorough master of his profession, did 
 little talking, but iustead, permitted the children to work
 
 222 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 with hands, brains, and lips, not caring to repress whispering, 
 knowing that this was the inevitable attendant of earnest 
 work. The school was a regular country school. It con- 
 tained about forty pupils of all ages between six and thir- 
 teen, nicely graded in four grades. 
 
 6. A LESSON IN BOTANY. 
 
 My companion and I had missed the Rhine steamer one 
 day, and were obliged to stay overnight at the foot of a 
 vine-clad hill, on top of which one of the grandest piles of 
 ruins that of a feudal castle spoke louder than any orator 
 could of the victory of modern ideas over feudalism, and of 
 civil virtue over absolutism. It was a pretty little town 
 where we were thus detained, and we enjoyed the night's 
 rest at a quaint old inn, where we had the best attention pos- 
 sible ; indeed, the landlord took great care to make us feel at 
 home. I had spent several days at the gorgeous Kimball 
 House in Atlanta, in the Palmer House in Chicago, and 
 other costly hotels in the Union, where the rates were six- 
 teen to twenty marks a day, and had not enjoyed the con- 
 veniences which here were offered for three marks. The 
 steamer was due at one o'clock, and so we found our way 
 to the school-house as a duck finds its way to the water. 
 
 The house was as quaint-looking as the town. It had 
 low ceilings, small windows, and was poorly ventilated, but 
 somehow the thought that perhaps a score of generations 
 of children had been educated in this building mitigated our 
 disgust. My faithful companion made friends with the 
 schoolmaster's wife, who was trimming vines in the garden, 
 and I began to mine for methods. I praise my good luck 
 for having missed the steamer. The teacher of the '* upper 
 class " gave a botany-lesson. Botany was something I had 
 not had occasion to " see," and I determined to get the most 
 out of that lesson. 
 
 The teacher explained to me privately that, when he had 
 been young, botany had always " given him the creeps," he 
 had so abhorred the deadening influence of learning tech-
 
 A LESSON IN BOTANY. 223 
 
 nical terms, and classifying plants and flowers according to 
 the Linnaean system. When he was appointed to this place, 
 he determined to make botany liked by his pupils. In order 
 to understand the situation, the reader must remember that 
 this was an elementary school, not a high-school. 
 
 The pupils were plentifully provided with leaves which, 
 according to directions, they had gathered on their way to 
 school. Now they learned to classify the leaves according 
 to their edges. It was interesting to notice how skillfully 
 the teacher combined with this botany-lesson (a) spelling, (6) 
 language, (c) drawing. He enlarged the pupils' vocabulary 
 by placing on the board every new word used ; then it was 
 spelled, and then copied into the note-book under the draw- 
 ing or sketch made, which served as illustration. 
 
 Not a single Latin technical term was employed, all were 
 German, and that struck me as eminently wise. Such words 
 as serratum, dentatum, crenatum, repantum, sinuatum, 
 ciliatum, mean nothing to the children. You may as well 
 say setarum for serratum, it is all the same to them. But if 
 called " saw-like, tooth-like, notch-like, slope-like, bay-like," 
 etc., the words convey a meaning. Ideas arising from such 
 instruction abide in the memory, because they are, as it 
 were, the organic growth and outcome of sense-perception. 
 Catch me using the outlandish botanical names again in 
 schools below the high-school ! I won't do it ! 
 
 This is the way the teacher proceeded : He selected a 
 number of leaves, the edges of which were all " saw-like," 
 and then sketched them on the board. There were four dif- 
 ferent kinds. Of the fourth kind no sample could be fur- 
 nished, so he had to reproduce it from memory, but every 
 pupil nodded, indicating thereby that he had seen it some- 
 where. The German technical terms were added, spelled, 
 copied (as were the sketches), and then the momentous ques- 
 tion arose, what plants have this kind of leaves, say " fine 
 saw-edged," or " double saw-edged leaves ? " 
 
 These facts were added to the notes already taken. 
 When an honest difference of opinion arose between two 
 1G
 
 224: FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 pupils, the teacher asked them to go into the garden and 
 determine who was right. In a few moments they returned 
 with specimens, which set the matter at rest. 
 
 SAW-EDGED, 
 
 TOOTH-EDGED, 
 
 r NOTCH-EDGED. 
 
 SLOPE-EDGED, 
 BAY-EDGED, 
 
 FRINGE-EDGED. 
 
 Fio. 190. 
 
 double, 
 coarse, 
 fringed, 
 thorny, 
 
 pointed, 
 round. 
 
 fine, 
 double. 
 
 lash-like. 
 
 thorny. 
 
 After the saw-edged leaves had been disposed of, the 
 tooth-edged ones came up for a hearing, then the notch- 
 edged followed, and so on through the whole list. In one 
 thing the teacher acted masterly. He made the pupils sug-
 
 LEARNING TO DO BY DOING. 225 
 
 gest technical terms, and usually the right term was among 
 the ones suggested ; then he quickly reviewed all, and by de- 
 grees made the pupils see why that particular term was the 
 best to select. Of course, it found the sanction of the class 
 and was adopted. It took about an hour before the end of 
 the lesson was reached. At the close of the lesson I was 
 invited to pass through the aisles with him, and have a peep 
 at the work done by the pupils. 
 
 Well, I must pronounce it very creditable work on the 
 whole, far exceeding my expectations. I selected the work 
 of a sweet-looking, modest girl, and requested her to let me 
 copy it for my readers in America. She looked startled, 
 when I explained I would set an artist to work to make an 
 engraving which I would have printed. What a beam of 
 joy shone forth from those dark-blue eyes ! And the teacher 
 was as happy as a rare, a very rare, word of appreciation and 
 commendation could make him. He suggested that Louise 
 might cut this leaf out of her book and present it to me, so as 
 to save me the trouble of copying it. Readily the request 
 was granted, and the above is the work, dear reader. I cut 
 off the German technical words and substitute their literal 
 translation in English. I was invited to stay and hear other 
 lessons, but I declined, because I had to return to the hotel, 
 get a dinner, and be ready for the steamer. 
 
 7. LEARNING TO DO BY DOING. 
 
 I struck " a gold- mine in the cellar," or something very 
 much like it, the other day. When entering a German 
 school I found the teacher giving a botany-lesson. The art 
 of sketching quickly was here developed to . a high degree. 
 I begged to be allowed to take some of the sketches made by 
 pupils for the purpose. of having them cut in wood and thus 
 presenting them to American readers. The request was 
 readily granted. 
 
 These leaves were studied, named, classified, and then 
 drawn from nature. Some of them are, perhaps, not abso- 
 lutely correct, but they are remarkably " life-like." The pu-
 
 226 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 Fias. 191-201.
 
 TEACHING COMPOSITION. 227 
 
 pils of this school can talk in pictures better, perhaps, than 
 in words, and they are induced and urged to sketch quite 
 frequently. Scarcely a lesson is given without some oppor- 
 tunity for sketching. It was amusing to see a boy called 
 upon to recite, seize a pencil, and, while talking, assist his 
 demonstration by a few sketchy lines. 
 
 The curriculum of this school does not contain a course 
 in drawing which necessitates the use of drawing-books ; 
 but from the primer class through all the stages of the cur- 
 riculum drawing is a medium of recitation just as talking 
 and writing are. To give an outline of the lessons in botany 
 I heard, and of which the accompanying sketches of leaves 
 are results, would be useless, since they differ in no way from 
 rational lessons given in our schools in America. I hope 
 sincerely that the reader will consider these sketches worthy 
 of his attention. They will speak louder than many columns 
 
 of text. 
 
 8. TEACHING COMPOSITION. 
 
 In many schools of Germany I find a consistent course 
 prescribed for exercises in composition. Instead of detail- 
 ing this course, I prefer to state the principle upon which it 
 is based. It starts with the presumption that one can not 
 prepare a good beef-soup without meat or without a soup- 
 bone that is to say, thoughts must be at hand to express 
 thoughts. The dressing of the thoughts may vary in differ- 
 ent compositions, like the flavor of the soups in different 
 pots. Individual tastes and available means decide that. 
 Hence all practice in com position -writing in the upper 
 grades is based upon some thought-bearing study that is to 
 say, each composition is a summary, an extract, as it were, 
 of some lesson given in geography, history, botany, zoology, 
 physics, etc. Yea, even arithmetic offers suitable subjects 
 for composition. A perfect analysis of a problem worked 
 out orally is sometimes fixed in writing, and the teacher 
 thus hits two flies with one stroke he fixes in the minds of 
 his pupils a logical train of mathematical thought and as- 
 sists language by exercising it.
 
 228 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 Such a composition lesson is not a terror, as it is so fre- 
 quently in schools "where compositions are required without 
 the wherewithal to make them. Abstract topics are no bet- 
 ter than no thoughts and topics at all. They tell a disgust- 
 ing story of the women in a tenement-house in Paris. One 
 of them called to her neighbor across the court-yard to lend 
 her her ham- bone for a soup. Her sick husband was " mor- 
 tally bad " that morning and needed something strong. The 
 answer came that Madame Somebodyelse had borrowed it, 
 but as soon as it was returned it would be at madame's dis- 
 posal ! Every time I see an attempt at making compositions 
 on abstract topics foreign to the children's range of thought 
 or at making compositions without a plentiful array of facts, 
 that ham-bone occurs to my mind. Whether these German 
 teachers ever heard that ham-bone story is immaterial. One 
 thing is certain, their pupils make compositions upon sub- 
 jects with "which they are familiar and express thoughts 
 which, if they are not their own originally, at least have 
 become their own by mental digestion and assimilation. 
 
 The pupils learn the use of capital letters and punctua- 
 tion-marks, headings, and paragraphs, etc., by studying these 
 difficulties in their readers. Sometimes a perfect piece is 
 put on the board, and all the paraphernalia of composition 
 are carefully reviewed why a comma is placed then and 
 there, why a paragraph here, why a capital there, and so on. 
 One day it was in a school of Thuringia I found an old 
 joke of mine (I mean a joke that I had used often). On the 
 board was placed the following stanza, without punctuation- 
 marks: 
 
 There is a lady in our land 
 
 Who has ten nails on every hand 
 
 Five and twenty on hands and feet 
 
 All this is true and no deceit 
 
 The children were allowed to laugh at these lines to their 
 hearts' content, until one of them suddenly stopped laugh- 
 ing, grew sober, and raising his hand said, " Teacher, I know 
 how to make it right." The teacher allowed him to do it,
 
 TEACHING COMPOSITION. 229 
 
 and, quickly stepping forward, he punctuated the lines 
 
 thus: 
 
 There is a lady in our land 
 Who has ten nails, on every hand 
 Five, and twenty on hands and feet. 
 All this is true and no deceit. 
 
 It was a pleasure to see the disappointment of those who 
 " hadn't seen it " and the triumphant mien of him who had. 
 The lines were allowed to remain on the board during the 
 lesson, as a memento of the importance of punctuation- 
 marks. . 
 
 Wherever in Germany I listened to a lesson in history, 
 botany, or some other thought - bearing (hence thought- 
 awakening) study, the teacher wound up by saying, " Now 
 write out an account of this lesson." This was done in the 
 class-room or at home as circumstances determined. The 
 composition-books I saw gave evidence of the fertility of 
 this kind of instruction. Not every composition written or 
 prepared is entered in the composition-book. Many are 
 merely written on the slate or on a slip of paper; but weekly, 
 at least, one is recorded on the pages of the blank book. I 
 saw but one school in which this was overdone, namely, in 
 which a composition was written in the book every day. 
 
 It seems to be a rule here to correct the written work of 
 the pupils with red ink ; but most teachers have adopted the 
 universally known proof-reader's marks, which not only 
 simplify the work of the corrector, but also require of the 
 pupil to do the actual correcting himself. 
 
 As to the course, I only need to say that it begins with 
 copying and dictation work in the two lowest grades. Then 
 follows free reproduction of given models, such as fables. 
 Thus by degrees the power of producing is strengthened, un- 
 til at the close of the sixth or seventh year's course the pu- 
 pils are well trained in giving an account of a story they 
 read, or write out a description of a scene or a phenomenon 
 they saw, or reproduce a train of thoughts developed during 
 a lesson. I could give my readers a very convincing proof
 
 230 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 of the good results of this work by copying a few of the 
 compositions from the books I inspected ; but even the least 
 skeptical of my patient readers might suspect me of having 
 selected exceptionally good work. Besides that, as a matter 
 of self-evidence, I should have to render them in English, 
 and I am afraid I am unable to imitate their " pristine youth 
 and beauty." Cause enough, therefore, to resist the tempta- 
 tion ; but let me ask my colleagues to try the experiment of 
 making bouillon of a soup-bone with marrow in it and a 
 good deal of meat on it. 
 
 9. CRITERION OF A MODEL LESSON. 
 
 In " Lehrproben und Lehrgaenge " (a publication, men- 
 tioned elsewhere in this book) a number of questions are of- 
 fered by a normal-school teacher, which with their laudable 
 conciseness may serve as test-questions for any teacher who 
 does not consider himself finished and has not acquired that 
 self-sufficiency which is the arch-foe of all progress. I will 
 render the article in English, hoping to meet the approval 
 of teachers who work in isolation and desire a reliable stand- 
 ard of measurement: 
 
 I. Selection and Arrangement of the Matter of Instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 1. Did the amount of matter stand in proper proportion 
 to the given time ? 
 
 2. Was the matter sifted sufficiently, arranged in method- 
 ical unities, and well distributed ? 
 
 3. Was the disposition apparent and transparent ? 
 II. Mode of Treatment (Method). 
 
 1. Was a consistent and suitable method pursued ? 
 
 a. In preparing the new by organic connection with pre- 
 vious cognitions ? 
 
 b. In bringing forward the new by developing it from 
 the old ? 
 
 c. In bringing it to a clear comprehension by means of 
 assimilation, proofs, consolidation, and review ? 
 
 d. In applying it by practice and inculcation ?
 
 DRAWING IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 231 
 
 2. Was the matter offered objectively, developed logical- 
 ly, worked out systematically, practiced sufficiently, infixed 
 tirmly ? 
 
 3. Was the teacher's mode of forming questions correct ? 
 Did he apply the principle of consolidation that is, did he 
 establish points of connection with other domains of knowl- 
 edge ? Did he distribute his questions well among his pu- 
 pils ? 
 
 III. Personality of the Teacher. 
 
 1. What was the teacher's attitude ? Was he vigorous, 
 animating, lively, without injuring his dignity ? 
 
 2. Did he govern his class with the power of his eyes and 
 his voice, or did he have to resort to " heroic means " ? 
 
 3. Was his language correct, well articulated, distinct, 
 and used sparingly ? His reading perfect ? 
 
 IV. Discipline. 
 
 1. Did the teacher employ the whole class ? 
 
 2. Did he question only the better pupils, or did he give 
 too much of his time and energy to the weaklings ? 
 
 3. Did he employ proper means, such as pauses, speaking 
 in chorus, rising, bodily exercises, to refresh the attention ? 
 
 4. Did he correct errors or transgressions of his pupils, or 
 did he leave them unnoticed ? 
 
 V. General Results and Impressions of the Lesson. 
 
 1. Was a decided gain noticeable in the pupils that is 
 to say, was it obvious that the pupils had profited by the les- 
 son ? 
 
 2. Did the teacher show improvement in teaching and in 
 discipline ? 
 
 3. Did the lesson appear to be a " chance lesson," or was 
 it well prepared ? 
 
 10. DRAWING IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 Whenever I had the chance of inspecting the instruction 
 in drawing and its results, I took especial pains to inquire 
 into the methods applied. Not often did I get the chance. 
 Oh, yes, results evidently touched up by the teacher, were
 
 232 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 readily shown, but rarely did I see a drawing-class in op- 
 eration. It is natural, though, for according to the old 
 proverb, it is " A fool who shows half-finished work." I sus- 
 pect Superintendent Bright, of Englewood (Chicago), 111., 
 sketched the truth in bold, conspicuous outlines, when he 
 said : '* The children make their drawings, and we revise 
 them. Then they draw again, and we revise. Then they 
 draw again. Then we marshal ourselves before the super- 
 intendent of drawing and await our turns like candidates at 
 a barber-shop, in order that our re- re visions may be revised 
 by the highest authority. Then the children take another 
 turn at the drawing." I know that to have been the case in 
 Cincinnati, and, since the weaknesses of mankind are about 
 the same everywhere, I could fully appreciate the Euro- 
 pean teachers' hesitancy to give drawing-lessons in my 
 presence. But a little obstinate insisting prevailed, and I 
 can now judge upon the methods applied. In several cit- 
 ies I found the old copying process in vogue that is, flat- 
 surfaced copies were set before the pupils, and they copied 
 them, the work being corrected by the teacher, who passed 
 slowly through the aisles. But there is a revolution going 
 on in the teaching of drawing in the common schools of 
 Germany as well as America, and I trust the movement will 
 be successful. 
 
 In several schools of Rhenish Prussia I found the old 
 method discarded contemptuously, and drawing or sketch' 
 ing " from nature " substituted. It was not done heedlessly, 
 but with a methodical skill truly admirable. I have neither 
 time nor inclination (the space of a book would be needed) 
 to explain minutely the first steps taken ; suffice it to say 
 that very simple geometrical bodies, such as cube, pyramid, 
 cone, cylinder, sphere, etc., are placed before the class, and 
 each child is made to draw the object as he sees it, which 
 affords a great variety of views. The objects are made of 
 different materials, some of pasteboard, many of wood 
 painted white, a few of plaster, or even of china. 
 
 In one school (in the province of Westphalia, east of
 
 DRAWING IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 
 
 233 
 
 Ehenish Prussia, where I stayed a few days with an old 
 schoolmate of mine) I found this system of sketching 
 " from nature " perfected to a high degree. I sketched some 
 of the objects in the order in which they were used there for 
 the benefit of my readers (Figs. 202-209). These were made 
 of wood. They are imitations of plant-stems : 
 
 FIGS. 202-209. 
 
 The following objects (Figs. 210-216) were made of milk- 
 glass or china, and are characteristic forms of blossoms : 
 
 FIGS. 210-216. 
 
 It was remarkable to see the results exhibited iu port- 
 folios and spread out for inspection. I could scarcely re- 
 press my envy, when I compared such results with the 
 abortive endeavors of the pupils under the deadening influ-
 
 234: PROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 ence of the copying 1 system in vogue in America. In a 
 primary school fourth school year the teacher had a num- 
 ber of leaves which he exhibited and then sketched on the 
 blackboard, showing the differences in form, and conven- 
 tionalizing them as he proceeded. I was so charmed with 
 
 FIGS. 21T-230. 
 
 his skillful treatment that I sat down among the youngsters 
 and sketched like a good little boy. I showed my work to 
 the teacher like the other little boys and was gently 
 praised for it. Oh, the fun that caused among the children ! 
 I submit the result of the lessons (Figs. 217-230).
 
 DRAWING IN GERMAN SCHOOLS. 235 
 
 What a splendid preparation for the study of botany ! 
 What a beneficial awakening of the sense of form ! What 
 an opportunity for obtaining skill in the use of the utensils ! 
 I can well understand why I find such a decided opposition 
 among German teachers against industrial schools as spe- 
 cial schools. They bend all their energy upon making 
 their common schools the best on earth, and are willing, 
 nay, eager, to adapt and adopt whatever of industrial pur- 
 suits can be adapted to and adopted in their course of study. 
 
 All branches of study which may have a practical bear- 
 ing upon life are made to reflect life. Thus, not only draw- 
 ing, but geography, is made practical, the latter by imagina- 
 tive journeys. Putty and clay are used to mold geographical 
 formations in imitation of nature. Mensuration is made 
 both attractive and practical by handling geometrical bodies, 
 not merely by imagining them. They are made of paste- 
 board, and are home-made by the pupils another opportu- 
 nity for manual occupation. Kindergarten occupations I 
 find in almost general use in the lower grades. Of course, 
 much more advanced work is done in modeling, for in- 
 stance than is done in a Kindergarten. 
 
 In composition work I find letters, notes, bills, receipts, 
 petitions, etc., written, such as the pupils maybe called upon 
 to write after leaving school. Arithmetic is taught ration- 
 ally, and the problems have bearings upon the child's every- 
 day experience. In one school a lesson in buying and sell- 
 ing greatly interested me. One boy was made storekeeper, 
 and great glee was occasioned by an error he made whereby 
 he lost a few pennies while making change. This lesson 
 was an object-lesson, it was a language-lesson, a lesson in 
 arithmetic, a composition and reading lesson it was all that 
 and more; it was something which organically connected 
 school-work with life's demands. 
 
 Among all the schools I have visited so far and I saw 
 some in France, some in Holland and Germany I am ready 
 to pronounce those of Lower Ehenish Prussia the most ad- 
 vanced in methods and results. But it is perhaps too soon to
 
 236 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 discriminate, having really only begun my tour. I may 
 greatly change my opinion after having seen the famous 
 schools of Berlin and the kingdom of Saxony. 
 
 I must not burden these pages with reflections upon po- 
 litical and social questions, or with impressions gained by 
 traveling through this continent, much as I should like to, 
 for I am here for a purpose, and these articles are written 
 for a purpose, not to speak of the amiable reader's disincli- 
 nation to read a guide-book. I think it due to myself to 
 state this fact. 
 
 11. DRAWING IN A COUNTRY SCHOOL. 
 
 The teacher of a small country school I visited in Ger- 
 many seemed to be an inventive genius of no mean kind, 
 for home-made appliances of various kinds on shelves and 
 on the walls, on desks and window-sills, gave evidence of it 
 as well as of a skill in workmanship not to be despised. I 
 noticed a number of geometrical objects (cubes, pyramids, 
 cones, etc.), made of white pasteboard, and asked whether he 
 taught geometry. " No, sir," said he ; " these are used in 
 drawing." 
 
 My curiosity being aroused, I asked him to show me how. 
 He began a drawing-lesson which would have been a revela- 
 tion to many teachers who follow one of the established sys- 
 tems of copying from the flat-surfaced copy. The pupils did 
 the work on slates ; drawing-books seemed to be non est. 
 The teacher placed a pyramid before the class and asked 
 
 the pupils to draw 
 one side of it. They 
 drew a triangle rap- 
 idly but very neat- 
 
 Flo ^ ly. Then the teach- 
 
 er said, "Complete 
 
 the figure as you see it.'" 1 These (Fig. 231) are some of the 
 results as I sketched them in my note- book : 
 
 Each pupil seeing the object from a different point of 
 view, no two figures were alike, but each was a correct sketch
 
 DRAWING IN A COUNTRY SCHOOL. 237 
 
 of the object from the point from which the pupil who drew 
 it had viewed it. 
 
 Then a cube was placed before the class, and the pupils 
 drew first one face that is, either a square or a parallelo- 
 gram, according to the pupil's position. After that, the 
 other visible faces of the cube were drawn, as each pupil saw 
 them. These (Fig. 232) are a few of the results : 
 
 FIG. 232. 
 
 Then a truncated cone was drawn. Of course, the figure 
 in the first position was alike in all cases, until the cone was 
 placed in different positions. Here (Fig. 233) are some of 
 the sketches I saw : 
 
 FIG. 233. 
 
 Now a disk followed (Fig. 234) in different positions : 
 
 FIG. 234. 
 
 After that followed a wheel, a cart, a box, a table, and 
 the lesson closed with the drawing of a house. This was 
 drawn from dictation (Fig. 235). Thus : "Draw a rectangu- 
 lar figure." "Complete a block by drawing the right and 
 top face." " Put on an overhanging roof, and erase super- 
 fluous lines." "Add a kitchen to your house in the rear." 
 " Put on a chimney, and provide the house with doors and
 
 238 
 
 VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 windows/' "Place a tree and a pump where you please.'" 
 I copied the work of a sweet-looking, flaxen-haired girl as 
 minutely and as accurately as I could do it on a small scale, 
 and here it is : 
 
 FIG. 235. 
 
 I do not wish to add any reflections, sorely tempted as I 
 am at this point, hut I must say that the pupils did this work 
 with great accuracy and skill, and that they seemed to enjoy 
 doing it. The slate-pencil lines were easily erased in case 
 they proved inaccurate. In order to get a clear view of the 
 object before him, the pupil would shut one eye and keenly 
 " eye " the object before he drew the lines. 
 
 " Can these pupils sketch from memory ? " I asked. 
 "Yes," was the reply, "if the objects are not too compli- 
 cated." " Then let them draw a candlestick or a lamp." It 
 was done. The figures exhibited were different from each 
 other, some were faulty in perspective, but all represented 
 unmistakable candlesticks, or lamps, as the case might be. 
 Other objects were called for, and a few seconds sufficed to 
 sketch them. Then the teacher asked for forms of leaves 
 and flowers, but I noticed that he refrained from calling for 
 forms of animals. Justly so, I thought ; for the results so 
 far shown proved to be more than satisfactory for a country 
 school in a remote mountain hamlet.
 
 COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE. 239 
 
 This little school appeared to me a real gold-mine of 
 devices and methods for illustrating, and I may return to it. 
 
 12. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE. 
 
 Except those in Hamburg, I have not yet seen any other 
 than Prussian schools in Germany, hut have reason to be- 
 lieve that what I say here holds good in all other German 
 states also. The daily register of attendance in Prussian 
 schools is a valuable legal instrument; in fact, it makes the 
 schoolmaster a power in the state. Careful keeping of this 
 register is a necessity for the teacher, not on account of the 
 reports he has to make to superintendents or inspectors, for 
 very few statistical reports are made in these schools, but 
 with this daily register stands or falls the law regarding 
 compulsory attendance. 
 
 Whenever a pupil is marked absent for a week, inquiry 
 is made as to the causes. If a valid excuse is given, well 
 and good. But if a willful absence is noticed, or the par- 
 ents' authority proves inadequate, or if the parents them- 
 selves have taken it into their heads to defy the law by 
 sending their child to the factory before he is thirteen 
 years old, the teacher reports the case to the police authori- 
 ties with an exact statement of the number of days of ab- 
 sence, and there is no "going behind the returns." 
 
 The father is summoned before the police court and is 
 called upon to explain. If no satisfactory explanation is 
 forthcoming, the father is fined. This fine is increased 
 twice in cases of backsliding, and finally ends in imprison- 
 ment. 
 
 The school law, I understand, makes the limit of com- 
 pulsory attendance eight months per year, between the ages 
 of six and thirteen. If there is a case found of inability to 
 send children to school, owing to extreme poverty, the state 
 or community provides for necessaries, such as clothes, 
 shoes, books, etc. In cases of defective parental authority, 
 the boys are sent to reform-schools. In cases of worthless- 
 ness, such as a drunkard father, the police authorities, of 
 17
 
 240 FROM VARIOUS OTIIER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 which the justice of the peaco is one, give the children into 
 custody of guardians, who act in loco parentis for a nominal 
 remuneration, provided for either by the state or local be- 
 nevolent societies. The law of compulsory education works 
 so successfully that in Rhenish Prussia not three tenths of one 
 per cent of the young men called in for military service are 
 found to be illiterate. Verily, the whole nation is a school ! 
 
 13. HOME-MADE APPARATUS. 
 
 We have certainly made commendable progress in our 
 common schools, especially in some educational centers. Dr. 
 Seeley is quite right in saying that the whole foundation of 
 our common school is adapted to carry a greater, loftier, and 
 more substantial structure than that of the German school. 
 But there are certain features in German schools which are 
 worthy of imitation. We have unquestionably developed 
 our graded school systems in cities to a high degree, but the 
 country schools, to be candid, are in a lamentable state of 
 deficiency. 
 
 How different in Prussia, and I suspect in other German 
 states, where the country school is doing excellent work, 
 owing to the fact that every teacher employed is either a 
 graduate of a normal school or college, or has during a 
 searching examination, conducted by the faculty of a normal 
 school in presence of the school inspector of the province 
 or state, proved and demonstrated that he has not only the 
 required knowledge, but also the ability to teach clearly ! 
 Nowhere among the four great civilized nations is the busi- 
 ness of education in country schools pursued with such utter 
 lack of systematic preparation, with such complete, unsym- 
 pathizing, self-dependent isolation of efforts as with us in 
 America. And I say this advisedly, for I have seen enough 
 country schools in Ohio and other States, and observed their 
 fruit when sent to the city schools " to be finished," to know 
 whereof I speak. 
 
 It is with an unpleasant sensation, bordering on envy, 
 that I observe how many village schools here in Germany
 
 HOME-MADE APPARATUS. 
 
 are supplied with an outfit for object-lessons in natural his- 
 tory, physics, etc. Many teachers, for want of means to 
 purchase, make their own contrivances, and an apparatus 
 thus procured gives to the instruction an impetus which can 
 not be overrated. I have in mind one particular school, in 
 the neighborhood of Solingen, in which I found a book-case 
 with glass doors filled with a set of physical apparatus as 
 complete as seemed necessary for the scope of physics as a 
 study can have in a country school. 
 
 A few of the pieces had been bought or procured by a 
 judicious exchange of " commodities," such as rare birds or 
 plants, but most of them were made at home. The latter 
 looked clumsy, but were very serviceable ; they were made 
 of such material as was at the disposal of the maker. I 
 desired to sketch the whole set, to show the ingenious skill 
 of the maker, but gave up the task when I thought of the 
 space it would take. Only two contrivances (see cuts below) 
 may be shown. They were rudimentary hydrostatic presses 
 made of materials indicated below: 
 
 FIGS. 336, 237. 
 o, wood. b, e, leather, 
 
 c, brass rods, d, rubber tube. 
 /, bowlder or weight. 
 
 a, boards. 6, leather, 
 
 c, bamboo. d, tin funnel. 
 e, rock or weight. 
 
 Now, the impartial reader may compare this with the in- 
 describable poverty of most of the country schools in Ohio
 
 242 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 or elsewhere, especially in the South, where school trustees 
 not unfrequently refuse to provide the school with a black- 
 board. Of course, every picture has its shadows, and so per- 
 haps has this bright picture of a German country school. 
 Not every country school here is as well supplied with an 
 enthusiast as this one ; but, judging from the many fine 
 specimens I have seen, it is reasonable to conclude as to all. 
 I may safely say, without danger of being contradicted, that 
 the average German teacher is imbued with professional 
 spirit, with devotion, energy, and natural capacity deserving 
 the most cordial praise. 
 
 14. " OUR TREASURE-BOX." 
 
 In a school in Westphalia I found a cabinet of ebony- 
 wood hanging on the wall. It was elaborately carved, 
 and appeared to me a piece of exquisite workmanship. An 
 inscription in gilt letters, " Our Treasure-Box," indicated 
 rather obscurely what its object was. The teacher explained 
 it to me. It contained the school registers of the last 
 seventy years, the " day-book " or journal, the class com- 
 position-book, the accounts of the school savings-bank, and 
 sundry highly valued relics connected with the school's 
 history. 
 
 The journal is a book for daily entries of cases of disci- 
 pline, meritorious cases of good behavior, and excellent 
 work. The " primus " of the class, the best pupil in studies 
 and conduct, has charge of it. The account-book of the 
 school savings-bank is, in fact, the ledger of that institution. 
 The teacher receives the funds in the form of pennies, takes 
 charge of them, and receipts for them in the bank-books of 
 the pupils. Every week he transfers the collected funds to 
 the city bank, where the whole school has one account. The 
 bank pays the teacher three per cent for sums left a year, 
 while he pays two per cent interest to the pupils, thus giv- 
 ing him an income of from fifteen to twenty dollars a year 
 for this additional trouble. Any one who is acquainted 
 with the low salaries paid to teachers in Germany will un-
 
 LOCAL SCHOOL MUSEUMS. 243 
 
 derstand that twenty dollars additional income per year is 
 an item not to be despised. 
 
 But the class composition-book claimed my attention 
 most. There was a novel idea, and I hasten to submit it to 
 my readers. The school wrote a composition every week. 
 The relatively best one was ordered to be copied into this 
 class-book, which was thus made an incentive for the pupils 
 to do good work. They would, as it were, immortalize them- 
 selves on the leaves of this gilt-edged book. At the same 
 time the book was a record of what the school did, not only 
 in composition, but in all branches of study, for the subjects 
 were chosen from the matter of instruction of object-lessons 
 treated during the week. 
 
 I saw some excellent penmanship in this book, and, con- 
 sidering that these were childish efforts at composition, I 
 think them very commendable thoughts expressed in plain 
 but clean garments. 
 
 A lady of this town who did fine work in wood-carving, 
 I was told, had presented this cabinet to the school, and was 
 at the time at work in making a pendant to it which they 
 would call "Our Medicine-Chest." The teacher meant to 
 collect in it such medicines and chemicals as are likely to be 
 used in cases of emergency. 
 
 15. LOCAL SCHOOL MUSEUMS. 
 
 The teacher who presides over a school in a small Ger- 
 man town or village is a fixture, and naturally the cuctodian 
 of the school museum. Most German cchools have a muse- 
 um that is, a book-caso or two full of books, and many 
 shelves full of objects necessary for illustrating the instruc- 
 tion in natural history, geography, physics, etc. 
 
 There was a time in Germany when the principle of ob- 
 ject-teaching electrified every schoolmaster from the Rhine, 
 to the Vistula and from the Baltic to the Alps. It was 
 thought that objective teaching was the panacea for all edu- 
 cational diseases. All order and system was abandoned, and 
 objects were brought into the school-room till it looked like
 
 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 a pawnbroker's shop. No broken horseshoe was left lying 
 in the street; old boots were eagerly gathered for the leather 
 they yielded ; no ant's hill was safe from the destructive 
 hand that gathered ants' eggs, and the life of every snail in- 
 nocently creeping across the road was imperiled. Every- 
 thing was carried into school animals, plants, and miner- 
 als. There the objects that would keep were neatly labeled, 
 numbered, classified, and stored up. 
 
 The children had good times then. The paper boxes, 
 moles' skeletons, minerals, stuffed birds, samples of wood, 
 dried plants, and the like, went from hand to hand, and, to 
 be sure, half a school-day was often passed in contemplating 
 the treasures of the museum ; and the teacher quieted his 
 conscience by thinking this to bean object-lesson. The chil- 
 dren were also taken to observe the cabinet-maker ; they 
 went to the locksmith's shop ; watched the shoemaker and 
 tanner at their work ; they " studied " all the different kinds 
 of leather, wool, wood, cloth, and metal ; they knew the 
 name of every tool in short, they failed to see the woods 
 on account of the multitude of trees ! 
 
 Now, this was a craze. To-day the fever has abated con- 
 siderably. A reaction followed, and to-day the school-chil- 
 dren in some places have not the remotest idea how a mill 
 or a foundry looks inside, how the weaver works, and the 
 tanner and the furrier, etc. The museum in some schools 
 has been moved to the garret, and all the many objects of 
 interest lead a contemplative existence in closed boxes on 
 shelves and under a cover of dust. 
 
 If the teacher needs a mineral, or an air-pump, or the 
 Lcyden-jars, he is obliged to give a week's notice to the jani- 
 tor, so that he may search for the objects and make them 
 presentable. The swallow's nest and the ostrich-egg yawn 
 at each other. The miniature plow rests securely in the lap 
 of a miniature spinning-wheel, and both play the role of 
 The Sleeping Beauty. The spiders have covered the mole's 
 skeleton neatly with their fine threads, and the dust has 
 changed the nets into a gray skin. To be sure, it is a dreary
 
 A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 245 
 
 spectacle. As the first wild craze was one extreme, this in- 
 difference is the other. 
 
 On the whole, it may be said that the pendulum swinging 
 backward and forward is sure to come to rest at the point of 
 a golden mean f and, so long as the teachers are secure in 
 their positions, the moss gathered in the form of museum 
 collections for the benefit of rational objective teaching will 
 accumulate. When I compare the utter absence of any- 
 thing like museums or libraries in our schools, I heave a 
 sigh; but, when I recollect the insecurity of position under 
 which our teachers in America are suffering, I can see a 
 complete chain of cause and effect. 
 
 16. A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 
 
 Introduction. In previous articles I have taken pains to 
 state repeatedly that the excellent results of the Prussian 
 system of people's schools are to be attributed to the proper 
 preparation of the teachers. The teachers' seminaries, or 
 normal and training schools as we are accustomed to term 
 them, are state institutions. With the exception of the Au- 
 gusta School in Berlin and a few similar institutions else- 
 where, they are for young men. Every one of the twelve 
 provinces of Prussia (I am not speaking of other German 
 states, though I suspect they follow the Prussian example) 
 has a sufficient number of such special schools. They re- 
 ceive their pupils from a limited number of preparatory 
 schools such as I described in my letter from Cologne. All 
 the seminaries in Prussia are following the same course of 
 study. The central directive power is found in a depart- 
 ment of the Ministry of Public Instruction in Berlin. 
 
 Most of these schools are situated in small tovrns of four to 
 eight thousand inhabitants ; indeed, I know of none situated 
 in a large city except the one in Berlin. The reason of this 
 is found in the desire to keep the young would-be teachers 
 free from the temptations of a large city. The schools are 
 all boarding schools that is, the students live in the school- 
 building and are kept under rigid control all day long.
 
 246 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 Connected with the institution is a practice department, con- 
 sisting of an entire school of six to eight grades, in all of 
 which the students are expected to gain their experience in 
 teaching. The course lasts three years, and is divided into 
 an academic and a professional department.* 
 
 The Building. I took occasion to thoroughly inspect 
 such a normal school. In a quiet, sleepy little town, con- 
 nected by railways with large industrial centers, the Gov- 
 ernment had erected a large building with two spacious 
 wings for the special purpose of giving the normal school of 
 the district a suitable home. The structure is very fine, and 
 reminds one of true American school architecture. It is 
 large, handsome, commodious, well ventilated, and sur- 
 rounded by extensive yards and gardens. The stairs and 
 halls are covered with linoleum, the windows are generous, 
 the walls delicately tinted, and the general session-room 
 (used as a chapel) decorated with beautiful fresco borders and 
 other ornaments. 
 
 Altogether the building is a worthy habitation of a 
 teachers' training-school, particularly because it impresses 
 the students with a correct idea of what a good school-build- 
 ing is or ought to be. 
 
 Biblical History. I passed a day in this school, and was 
 well repaid for getting up at six o'clock A. M., on a raw 
 winter day, traveling an hour on the railway, and call- 
 ing on the rector before eight o'clock that is, in time for 
 opening school. The first lesson I heard was one in biblical 
 history. The rector had announced on the previous day that 
 he would give a model lesson to young pupils, in presence 
 of the senior class of students. I begged of him not to 
 change the programme. Indeed, it was a model lesson in 
 more senses than he had understood that technical term. 
 How I wished that -lesson had been given in presence of 
 a large class of American Sunday-school teachers I Subject 
 of the lesson was : The wise men from the East following 
 the star and coming to Jerusalem to inquire of King Hercd 
 where tho new-born King of the Jews might be found ; then
 
 A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 247 
 
 being told to go to Bethlehem, and there finding Jesus, giv- 
 ing him their presents and worshiping him. 
 
 The rector told the whole story in plain, unassuming 
 words such as the little pupils could understand. By such 
 simple means as describing the mode of traveling in the 
 East ; the poor, modest dwelling of the Holy Family, etc., 
 he succeeded in creating vivid mental pictures. Then he 
 questioned the little ones on a part of the story, namely, on 
 the journey to Jerusalem and the inquiries of Herod. The 
 rector's skill in the art of questioning could not be adequate- 
 ly conveyed except by a stenographic report. After this 
 part of the story was well worked over, and every incident 
 explained or called forth by leading questions, two pupils 
 had to repeat the part, and they did it with singular faithful- 
 ness as regards facts and expressions. Errors of speech 
 were corrected on the spot, but never in a humiliating way, 
 nor so that the thread of the conversation was broken or 
 tangled. 
 
 Then the second part Herod's inquiries, the mention of 
 the prophet Micah, the journey to Bethlehem, and the find- 
 ing of Jesus followed. In this part of the story the insin- 
 cerity of Herod and his evil intentions were dwelt upon, 
 and a holy horror could be noticed on the faces of the 
 youngsters when they heard that a king should so debase 
 himself as to say one thing and mean another. Again, all 
 the minute details of this part of the narrative were brought 
 out by skillful questioning, and the answers were very faith- 
 ful, both in regard to facts and expressions. Again, as be- 
 fore, a review was had in connected repetition. 
 
 The third part was treated likewise, and here the presents, 
 gold, incense, and myrrh, gave rise to a pretty explanation, 
 child-like but all-sufficient. When this part was repeated, a 
 general review followed. One little boy told one part, 
 another the second, a third the last ; and the singular faith- 
 fulness with which they repeated whole sentences with al- 
 most identically the same words could only be attributed to 
 the consistency with which the rector had clung to these
 
 248 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 expressions all through the lesson. Then he wound up by 
 showing a handsome, illustration in which the Holy Family, 
 the wise men, the servants, the camels, the star, the presents, 
 etc., were shown. This fixed every item of the whole story 
 in the memory of the little ones. 
 
 All through the masterly lesson the seniors sat apparently 
 with bated breath, making notes now and then. When the 
 little ones were dismissed, the students were questioned as to 
 what they had heard. Object of the lesson, means employed, 
 psychological references, methods, principles of method 
 I know not what words to use to give my readers an ade- 
 quate idea of how that model lesson was dissected. The rec- 
 tor gave the students free scope to express their judgment. 
 It seemed to me that if any of these young men did not take 
 away treasures of knowledge, of skill in handling a class, 
 and methodical treatment of matter, it certainly was not the 
 fault of the rector and his youngsters. 
 
 Literature. The second lesson I heard was a lasson in 
 German literature. It began with the reading of a compo- 
 sition upon Lessing's " Minna von Barnhelm," the first dis- 
 tinctly German drama. Though the diction of the student 
 was faulty at times, the composition was unquestionably an 
 original effort of rare merit. The professor (not the rector) 
 proceeded in his criticism with that delicacy which is the 
 distinctive sign of a thorough-bred gentleman. It was ob- 
 vious that the most friendly relations existed between him 
 and the students. Nevertheless, he spoke very much to the 
 point, and the students assisted him in correcting with 
 praiseworthy zeal. 
 
 The vistas which were opened to the students in the realm 
 of German literature were wide and pleasant. There was 
 nothing of that gnawing at the shell, or of that splitting of 
 hairs, which is sometimes observed in the teaching of litera- 
 ture, where the students never get to see the forest on ac- 
 count of the multitude of trees. In short, the lesson was 
 characteristic, inasmuch as it was free from that petty annoy- 
 ing criticism indulged in where conformity with the exact
 
 A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 249 
 
 text of the book is the criterion of successful study. This 
 professor was a master in the art of questioning, such as I had 
 rarely met in my life. Altogether the lesson left a pleasant 
 impression, and I concluded that the students would later in 
 life do very well to copy their teacher. 
 
 Natural History. The next lesson I heard was one in 
 zoology, and here again, as so often in Germany, I saw the 
 principle illustrated that observation is the foundation of 
 cognition. Birds were studied like that proverbial fish of 
 Agassiz. Stuffed birds were available in large number ; 
 colored pictures assisted where objects were wanting, and 
 the lesson proceeded as one would wish every lesson in zoology 
 to proceed : 1. Actual observation established percepts ; 2. 
 Several of these formed concepts ; 3. These then were grouped 
 by collecting the essentials and dropping minor items to 
 establish clear-cut ideas. The latter were well expressed. 
 When a number of them were available, conclusions were 
 drawn from them. Thus the process of gathering knowl- 
 edge and strengthening the thinking power was successfully 
 exemplified. Some of the steps taken were superfluous, it 
 seemed to me, in a class of adults, but it was the evident 
 desire of the professor to make these young men learn in 
 precisely the way in which they are to cause young children 
 to learn afterward. 
 
 It was with much curiosity that I heard the students state 
 their observations of domestic birds. We are very apt to 
 think that we know all about them, and that in zoology the 
 attention should be directed to the birds which the children 
 are never likely to see. This lesson converted me to the 
 opinion that we know much less of domestic birds than we 
 think we do. It was with much curiosity that I heard the 
 students state the difference in the mode of drinking bet ween 
 pigeons and chickens, to wit, that the pigeon sucks water by 
 keeping its beak almost closed and causing a vacuum in the 
 throat, while the hen dips or ladles water with the lower part 
 of the beak, and then raises its head to let the water run 
 down into the craw. The causes were looked for and found
 
 250 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 in the peculiar build of the beaks of the different birds. 
 Monogamy among the pigeons, polygamy among the fowls ; 
 the peculiar flight of pigeons, swallows, and other birds, 
 which was traced to the form of the wings and feathers ; and 
 various other things of great interest were brought out, all 
 of which gave opportunity for tracing effect back to cause, 
 and to judge from cause to effect. 
 
 This kind of instruction is very interesting, and as dif- 
 ferent from the old-time zoology-lessons as day is from 
 night. No text-book in zoology, botany, or mineralogy was 
 used, but each pupil had an atlas which contained at least 
 several thousands of exquisite illustrations of natural ob- 
 jects, accompanied by a few pages of print containing a table 
 of contents and a key to pronunciation. 
 
 I have but one fault to find with this and one other 
 teacher, in the institution. They were overbearing, and 
 would humiliate a student for a slight slip of the tongue. 
 This seems to be a general fault in normal schools in Ger- 
 many. Whether it is done intentionally, in order to make 
 the young teachers as humble as possible, or what is the 
 reason, I don't know. But, if that is the real motive, it has 
 the opposite effect, for nowhere have I found a more fearless 
 set of teachers than here in Prussia. One cause of this fear- 
 lessness may be the fact that there is a scarcity of teachers 
 at present, of which more anon. 
 
 Drawing. The drawing-lesson I saw was poor, and the 
 results meager. This department was evidently the weakest 
 point in the institution. 
 
 Music. A lesson on the church-organ I heard gave me 
 a fair sample of the thoroughness with which the students 
 are prepared for organist's service in church. Each student, 
 as his turn came to play a hymn, was told to play a prelude 
 of his own composition. Thus, for instance, if the hymn 
 was written in D major, he would start in E major, and, by 
 way of septime-chords, try to reach D through A. Or, be- 
 ginning at C major, he would go upward through D into G, 
 and then through A into D. These were some of the easiest
 
 A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 251 
 
 preludes. This practice made the young men free and easy 
 at the instrument. But the pedal proved full of pitfalls, as it 
 naturally will to beginners. After three years of daily prac- 
 tice, good results are obtained. 
 
 Geography. Then followed a lesson in geography, in 
 which a professor illustrated the principle of concentric in- 
 struction, by drawing into this lesson history, physics, me- 
 teorology, etc., and thus making the lesson have connection 
 with many other branches of study. Through all my visits 
 in German schools I had not had the chance of hearing a 
 lesson in the geography of the United States. Here luck 
 favored me, and my readers may imagine my pleasure 
 when I heard Washington pronounced Uashington, and not 
 Vashington ; New York, not Noy York ; Maine, not Mine, 
 etc. It was a very pleasant surprise to me. I inquired 
 whether the teacher spoke English, and, upon receiving a 
 negative answer, I inquired how it came that he pronounced 
 the English and American geographical names correctly. 
 The answer was : 
 
 " We are careful in looking up the pronunciation, for we 
 insist upon pronouncing each name correctly. As there can 
 be but one correct pronunciation of the name of the river 
 Spree, namely, Spray (else Berlin would be constantly ' on a 
 spree '), so there can be but one correct pronunciation of Ohio, 
 namely, Ohio, not Oheeo, as we Germans might be tempted 
 to pronounce it. We are aware of the fact that English- 
 speaking nations anglicize all geographical names. This we 
 consider wrong. We follow the golden rule, 'Do as you 
 would be done by.' Of course, ignorance may excuse a 
 man's mispronunciation ; but a teacher who pleads the baby- 
 act, by claiming not to know how Frenchmen pronounce 
 their geographical names, or Americans theirs, deserves to 
 be dismissed." 
 
 A review of the political geography of the Union led to a 
 historical outlook upon its rapid growth, and there teacher 
 and pupils revealed a familiarity with American history 
 which brought the lamentable ignorance of the average
 
 252 FKOM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 American teacher regarding German history into bold relief. 
 Our almost insular isolation makes us rather exclusive, and 
 it is well to call attention to it, and make us measure our- 
 selves by the standards of others. As a rule, I find less 
 ignorance concerning America among teachers in Germany 
 than among French teachers a statement which, I trust, is 
 readily believed. The teacher in this grade was a gentle- 
 man of the highest type, who treated his students like gen- 
 tlemen, and never intentionally or otherwise wounded their 
 sensibilities. 
 
 Arithmetic. Then I heard a lesson in arithmetic. Per- 
 centage was the subject of discussion. Problems were solved 
 orally with a rapidity which fairly left me behind. I asked 
 permission to put a few questions to the students, and among 
 other things asked them to tell me how they would begin 
 the study of percentage, and at what stage in the course. 
 The answer was very gratifying, to wit, expressions couched 
 in the term per cent might be taught in connection with 
 reduction of fractions. Thus, for instance, the children 
 might be taught that one fourth is equal to twenty-five hun- 
 dredths, or twenty-five parts of one hundred. The subse- 
 quent practice of percentage would thus receive an early 
 foundation. The professor in this room was rather harsh, 
 and, like many mathematicians, punctilious, but not unfair 
 nor overbearing. 
 
 Daily Programme. As I passed through the hall, I 
 copied the characteristic items of the daily programme to 
 give my readers a fair sample of how to get sixteen hours' 
 work out of twenty-four: 
 
 6 6.30. Rising, dressing, washing. 
 
 6.307.30. Preparing lessons under supervision. 
 
 7.307.50. Breakfast. 
 
 7.50 8. Opening exercises in chapel. 
 
 8 1. Lessons and experimental teaching. 
 
 1 1.30. Dinner. 
 
 1.30 2. Playing and walking in the grounds. 
 
 2 5. Lessons in academic department.
 
 A PRUSSIAN NORMAL SCHOOL. 253 
 
 5 6. Practice in instrumental music. 
 
 6 7. Outside exercises. 
 
 7 7.30. Supper. 
 
 7.30 9.30. Working in class-rooms under supervision. 
 
 9.50 10. Evening prayer. 
 
 10. Turning into bed. 
 
 Scarcity of Teachers. One thing seemed to me incon- 
 gruous. The building was designed to accommodate no less 
 than one hundred and twenty resident students, but there 
 were only forty-two enrolled. Inquiries revealed the fact 
 that all the royal seminaries were suffering from want of 
 students. In this institution thirty-five to forty could have 
 been admitted last year, but only twenty -three had presented 
 themselves for admission, and of these only seventeen had 
 proved competent. The young men do not see why they 
 should sacrifice their whole life on the altar of popular edu- 
 cation for 800 to 1,000 marks ($200 to $250) a year. Prussia 
 needs more teachers, and they do not come unless paid better. 
 Since Germany has made such wonderful forward strides in 
 all domains of art and industrial pursuits, young men can 
 earn more in other professions ; and it is not a mercenary 
 motive either which makes them shun the teacher's profes- 
 sion, though much work and responsibility, and poor, nig- 
 gardly pay, are causes enough to frighten away even the 
 most willing of young men. 
 
 A great number of country teachers in Silesia and other 
 provinces are paid 810 marks per annum, and free rent and 
 fuel total, a little more than 1,100 marks, or $275. It is 
 literally impossible for a family to live on such a pittance. 
 After twelve years of service, an additional sum of 60 marks 
 ($15) is paid, after twenty years 180 marks ($45), making a 
 maximum of $320. In cities, of course, the salaries are bet- 
 ter. They usually have a fixed scale, which increases from 
 800 to 2,000 marks ($200 to $500). This explains why the 
 country teachers flock to the cities. The number of appli- 
 cants for places in cities is incredible. In Frankfort-on-the 
 Main a rectorship with a somewhat reasonable salary be-
 
 254 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 came vacant lately, and no less than 487 applicants offered 
 their services ! 
 
 How necessary an increase in the number of teachers in 
 Prussia is, may be seen from these numbers: In one prov- 
 ince alone the number of pupils in the people's schools is 682,- 
 139, while the number of teachers is only 7,959 ; this gives 85 
 to 86 pupils to the teacher. Yes, in densely settled districts 
 the number of pupils in many school-rooms varies between 
 100 and 110. The Government tries various experiments to 
 increase the number of teachers, but so long as the only real 
 inducement better pay is not resorted to, all palliative rem- 
 edies will be of no avail. Lowering the conditions of admis- 
 sion to normal schools is not a means to be recommended, 
 and founding preparatory schools will prove futile ; for as 
 soon as the young men are old enough to have their eyes 
 opened to the fate that is awaiting them, they will desert, and 
 enter business or industrial schools. It is, indeed, a sign of 
 the times when one sees the number of pupils in industrial 
 schools increase beyond the capacity of the schools, and the 
 seminaries empty. The Government can no longer be blind 
 to that fact. And now that Prussia has entered the happy 
 family of states which liquidate their national debts, it is 
 reasonable to suppose that the Prussian Government will 
 begin to alleviate the starving condition of the teachers. 
 
 17. THREE KINDS OF CONFERENCES. 
 
 The principal of a normal school I inspected held confer- 
 ences with his students outside of the hour reserved for aca- 
 demic studies. These meetings were so full of interest that 
 the students would rather have suffered martyrdom than 
 stayed away from them. There were three kinds of confer- 
 ences he held with his students: 
 
 I. Practicum. In the conference thus called the young 
 would-be teachers submitted plans of the lessons they were 
 going to give in the practice department. They were either 
 sketched in outlines only, or painfully worked out in every 
 detail. These dispositions were submitted, and the master
 
 THREE KINDS OF CONFERENCES. 255 
 
 would suggest an improvement here and there, or would 
 submit a difference of opinion to the decision of the class, but 
 he could never be brought to an expression of his judgment 
 as to the practicability or impracticability of the plan. He 
 held that " the proof of the pudding is in the eating thereof." 
 These meetings had the advantage of letting the entire class 
 know what each student, as his turn came, intended to do. 
 When the lessons were given, the class again met under the 
 supervision of the master and in presence of the model teach- 
 ers of the school. This second lesson was called the 
 
 II. Criticum. Now the lessons given were criticised and 
 the master took care that not an unpleasant allusion was 
 made, not a word was uttered which might in any way 
 tend toward wounding the feelings of the student whose 
 lesson was under discussion. The students were not spar- 
 ing with their criticism, but, if any one proved unable to base 
 his criticism on a well-understood principle, he was told not 
 to let his emotions run away with his judgment. When the 
 students had had their say (sometimes it was approval and 
 even warm-hearted praise), the practice teachers gave their 
 opinion, after which the master summed up and generalized 
 the points gained. The criticum I heard was perhaps more 
 exciting than most others, since two students got into a 
 heated discussion as to the value of certain methods, and 
 each claimed that his interpretation of the principle was cor- 
 rect. When the master afterward interpreted the principle, 
 and in a logical train of thought convincingly proved that 
 neither of the two had clearly comprehended the principle, 
 the occurrence gave rise to some hilarity. The third kind of 
 conferences held in this normal school was the 
 
 III. Scholasticum. It was held with the faculty and the 
 students, and consisted of lectures given by the master. 
 These were invariably professional, and gave rise to fruitful 
 discussion. Most of them have been published, and they 
 have created much comment and well-deserved praise. The 
 normal school in which these conferences are in vogue is a 
 school of national fame. 
 
 18
 
 256 F R M VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 18. OBJECT-LESSONS AND SKETCHING. 
 
 The reader will remember that I dwelt at length, in one 
 of my previous chapters, upon the sketching done in Ger- 
 man schools, and stated that, though no regular daily lesson 
 in sketching was given, it was part of every lesson which 
 
 FIG. 238. THE GARDEN. 
 
 needed illustrating. I offered a few samples of pupils' 
 work, and desire now to still further illustrate my statement 
 by samples. Object-lessons without objects are like the 
 play of " Hamlet " with Hamlet left out, or like a bladeless 
 knife that has no handle. I have seen or listened to such 
 lessons here in Germany and in America, though rarely.
 
 OBJECT-LESSONS AND SKETCHING. 
 
 257 
 
 Usually the teacher has something tangible to begin 
 with, be it a twig and a few leaves with which to give a 
 lesson on the woods ; be it a pot-plant for a lesson on garden- 
 
 FIG. 239. THE FIELD. 
 
 ing, or a stalk of corn for a lesson on fields. From that he 
 branches out, and by means of the crayon enlarges the cir- 
 cle of observation and asks the pupils to sketch the objects
 
 238 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 as he goes along. Some of these efforts on the part of the 
 children are mediocre, but most are quite commendable, and 
 betray a skill not to be despised. 
 
 Fio. 240. THE WOODS.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 259 
 
 One day I visited a school where, to my amazement, 
 there were four blackboards. Usually the authorities fur- 
 nish only one, about four by five feet. The boards I saw 
 here were a new contrivance. They consisted of huge 
 plates of black glass, ground so as to facilitate the writing 
 and prevent the reflection of the light. Three of these 
 boards were covered with sketches, which, I was told, were 
 used and made during the lessons on objects and common 
 things and in language - lessons. They were simple, but 
 very characteristic and easy to draw. I inquired whether 
 they were original. 
 
 The teacher said: "No, sir; I copied them from a book 
 on objective teaching by E. Jordan, teacher in the practice 
 department of the city normal school at Vienna. I own I 
 am not a handy draughtsman, and therefore help myself as 
 well as I can, for to give object-lessons without frequent 
 sketching would be absurd." 
 
 Now, I am not an artist myself, but I venture to copy 
 some of the numerous simple models given in that book, and 
 I group them exactly as the teacher had grouped them on 
 his boards. One group was called " The Garden," the second 
 "The Field," and the third "The Woods" (see Figs. 238-240). 
 
 It is easy to trace the course which the teacher had gone 
 with his class through garden, field, and woods, by looking 
 at these sketches. The group entitled "The "Woods" was 
 very fine. I asked to see the pupils' copies, and their slates 
 were produced, and lo ! here for the first time in Germany I 
 saw double slates in use. Very neat and accurate were the 
 sketches of these youngsters, who were in their second and 
 some in their third school year. 
 
 19. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 It is not easy to go through the schools of a foreign coun- 
 try, appear interested, and yet search critically for good 
 and bad points without losing the confidence of your hosts. 
 However, not one of the many teachers I saw at work in 
 Germany, France, and Holland objects to me as a reporter.
 
 280 FROM VARIOUS OTHER PRUSSIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 My note-book is brought into requisition only when a sketch 
 is to be made, and I do that in such an unostentatious way 
 that it does not irritate the teachers ; but the first thing I do 
 after getting to my hotel is to note down the leading points 
 of criticism, or those of a lesson or of a conversation held 
 with teachers. I find my memory very faithful. It retains 
 interesting matter, and loses unimportant things as though 
 it were a sieve. 
 
 I will close this chapter with a few stray ears that I 
 glean from various pages of my note-book. 
 
 Nowhere in Europe do I find daily marking of lessons 
 resorted to. The teachers are not marking-machines, but 
 are earnestly engaged in teaching, helping, suggesting, ask- 
 ing, directing, watching, etc. There is a total absence of 
 that detestable immoral competition which so often plays 
 havoc with our pupils in America. Reports (Zeugnisse, tes- 
 timonials) are sent home at the close of every term ; but 
 they express the grades of the pupils in such terms as very 
 good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor, or similar ones. 
 The prevalence of such terms as " very good " and " excel- 
 lent" stamps the report No. 1. If the greater number of 
 submarks is good and mediocre, it is called No. 2, and so on. 
 Reports such as are given out in America, that express 
 shades of differences by tenths of a per cent, are wholly un- 
 known here. 
 
 Blackboards I find fixed in grooves like window-sashes, 
 hung by weights, so that they may be adjusted to the height 
 of the pupil at work before them. In some schools I find 
 the board standing on easels, but rarely are the walls changed 
 into blackboards, though the cumbersome easel is being 
 done away with in most places. The long, slender, dustless 
 crayons used in America are found here also ; but in some 
 country schools I noticed chunks of chalk just as they wcro 
 broken out of the quarries. 
 
 In France I saw one school in which the children used 
 no slates. The tops of their desks were white marble, and 
 the children wrote with soft lead-pencils, thus avoiding the
 
 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 261 
 
 injury to the eyes resulting from writing on black ; but the 
 marble tops needed thorough cleansing and an occasional 
 renewal. I am afraid, though, that if our Young Americans 
 had marble tops on their desks, they would have to be re- 
 placed " semi-occasionally." 
 
 In many villages in France, Holland, Lower Rhenish 
 Prussia, and Westphalia, I find the children coming to 
 school in wooden shoes, which are placed in a row in the 
 corridors or slipped under a low shelf. In school the chil- 
 dren sit with bare feet. In winter they wear these wooden 
 shoes over their leather ones, and even line them with straw 
 or hay to keep the feet warm. Many of these pupils are 
 obliged to walk great distances to reach school. 
 
 Silentium I Silence-hour. An odd name, is it not ? But 
 an appropriate one, as we shall see. In large, crowded cities 
 (and there seems to be a big town at every turn of the road 
 here in Rhenish Prussia) many children come from homes 
 where quiet mental work is impossible. Tenement-houses 
 are very frequent. Home lessons can not be expected un- 
 less the conditions of undisturbed work are offered. The 
 teachers of some high-schools solve this difficulty by alter- 
 nately spending one hour, from 7 till 8 P. M., at the school- 
 house and helping the pupils prepare their home lessons. 
 This hour is called silentium (silence). No pupil is permit- 
 ted to talk aloud ; only whispering is allowed. When the 
 noise increases beyond regulation height, the teacher shouts, 
 " Silentium ! " and the noise subsides to a mere humming. 
 The teacher sits at his desk and gives in subdued tone the 
 assistance asked for by a pupil who steps up to him. Since 
 there is no study -hour during the day's work that is, 
 within the daily programme this silence-hour becomes a 
 necessity. Of course, it imposes additional work on the 
 teacher, but, since each one is called upon to spend only an 
 hour every fortnight, the burden is not great.
 
 262 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 1. LEIPSIC. MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. 
 
 BEFORE I describe this school and state its results, it seems 
 essential to emphasize the principal difference between this 
 (the German) manual training-school and those in Paris. 
 
 In Paris, skill in some trades seems end and aim. In this 
 school in Leipsic (and in those of more than two dozen good- 
 sized towns in Germany) the manual occupations are " part 
 and parcel " of a u harmonious, all-sided education, which 
 aims alike at intellectual growth, increase of will-power, and 
 skill in the use of the hands and tools. This difference is 
 the principal one, but, as is readily seen, it is also a difference 
 in principle. The French motive-power is utilitarianism; 
 that of the Germans is, as Froebel has it, " to make men 
 whole, complete men men who can observe, learn by expe- 
 rience, and act up to their convictions." 
 
 In nothing is the difference so clearly seen as in the 
 things which the pupils here in the ancient Thomas School 
 manufacture. In subsequent pages of this report this will 
 be more clearly seen. From the illustrations I gathered in 
 Paris (see p. 325), it will be seen that no complete thing is 
 made. Each object furnished by the pupils is an exercise, 
 as it were. Not a door is made, but a corner-joint of a 
 door ; not a drawer, but the dovetailing joint of two boards ; 
 not a window, but a window-cross, and so on. 
 
 I can in no better way explain the work in Paris than 
 by comparing the manual work of the boys there with the 
 Etudes and exercises on the piano, practiced for the purpose 
 of gaining that dexterity of the fingers which may be neces- 
 sary ; but to confine a pupil exclusively to such practice 
 would be making a little rebel of him in a short time. Be- 
 sides, it is claimed by people who ought to know whereof 
 they talk, that that dexterity can be gained equally well by
 
 APPEAL TO LEIPSIC'S SCHOOL-BOYS. 263 
 
 practicing musical "pieces." Another simile drawn from 
 our professional art is that the Parisian travail manuel 
 schools teach the grammar of manual work, while the 
 German schools teach the work itself, which includes the 
 grammar. 
 
 Another very essential difference between the French 
 and German manual training schools is found in this : the 
 French boys do work which ought to be reserved for adults 
 the details of a door-joint are foreign to a child's range of 
 experience ; while in the German schools the boys learn to 
 make things such as they find use for. This causes a cer- 
 tain satisfaction, while details leave the working boys un- 
 satisfied. Nothing in the German schools is made that has 
 not in itself a value for the child. The educational value of 
 the German manual training school is well characterized in 
 the following: 
 
 2. APPEAL TO LEIPSIC'S SCHOOL-BOYS. 
 
 Listen to what we have to say, boys. It concerns every true boy. 
 Every one of you who wants to become a true man likes to watch dili- 
 gent workmen and wishes to do like them that is to say, use the ham- 
 mer and hatchet, the tweezers and gimlet, the plane and saw, the file 
 and rasp, the bolt and solder, the blow-pipe, the modeling-tool and carv- 
 ing-knife, etc. Every boy who is a real boy tries to use these tools. He 
 will find opportunities to do so in our manual training-school. 
 
 We don't want to make artisans of you, for your leisure hours would 
 not suffice for that ; but we want to make you more skillful and clever 
 than boys usually are. How many can drive a nail without hitting their 
 fingers ? How many can make kites that balance and fly well ? How 
 many, when the skates get shaky on the ice, can help themselves and 
 need not run to the locksmith ? Yes, many of you can not even point a 
 pencil well, or put a wrapper around a school-book without making it 
 look clumsy. 
 
 Your parents mean to benefit you when they present you with a tool- 
 box at Christmas. How many of such boxes are shoved into the corner, 
 where the tools rust and the box is covered with dust ? You must have 
 some one who teaches you how to use tools. Or you get a scroll-saw, 
 and, after breaking a number of saw-blades, you succeed in sawing out
 
 264 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 of cigar-box boards a few clumsy patterns. Then you go to a joiner to 
 have them glued and adjusted. He is the one who does the real work. 
 Yet you give these things away as your work. It isn't right, boys ! It 
 can't be right ! 
 
 We must talk plainly, boys. Most of you do not know how to use 
 tools. That needs to be learned. Most of you spend too much time in 
 reading, and spoiling their precious eye-sight. When you are called to do 
 a manual job for your mothers, you are at a loss how to go at it. Oh, 
 what would have become of you had you been in Robinson Crusoe's 
 place ? You would have perished miserably. Come, boys, think of it ! 
 
 Things should be different. When school is over and home tasks 
 are done, a true boy spends an hour happily on the playground and in 
 summer takes a bath in the river. In winter he may learn to work with 
 Ids hands at the work-bench and the vise. After many hours of brain- 
 work he uses his strength in planing and sawing, hammering and chisel- 
 ing. He learns to see and admire lines of beauty in drawing, and work- 
 ing out his drawings in models. He furnishes models in clay and carves 
 wood. He makes physical experiments, and works neat Christmas pres- 
 ents for his dear ones at home. 
 
 And when, outside, the winter storms rage and the snow-flakes fall, 
 our pupils come together in a warm room and work like good fellows to 
 produce something, and laugh, chat, and sing in company, while book- 
 worms sit in corners like hermits. Our pupils have had such pleasures 
 for several years. Come and join us. 
 
 But, remember, we don't want any " lazy-bones." If any of you like 
 to shirk work, and after a few weeks, when the work gets harder, thinks 
 he has a toothache, or perchance some other ache, don't let him come. 
 We don't want him. We want diligent boys. All who like to work arc 
 welcome. Ask your parents. They will allow you to come for an hour 
 or two where they know you are well looked after. 
 
 Life is full of work, boys, now more than ever. Prepare for it. A 
 true man learns to help himself, and we will show you how. So come, 
 and be welcomed by 
 
 THE MASTERS OF THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 
 
 This appeal was printed in 1883, and hung up in the cor- 
 ridors of the several common schools, and in consequence 
 five hundred and seventy-five pupils were enlisted in the 
 manual training school.
 
 NORMAL SCHOOL FOR MANUAL TRAINING. 265 
 
 3. NORMAL SCHOOL FOR MANUAL TRAINING. 
 
 Leipsic has become the center of the manual training 
 movement in Germany. A wise provision of the people 
 there was to establish a normal school for manual occupa- 
 tions. It was argued that, so long as teachers were wanting 
 and artisans had to be employed as teachers, the instruction 
 would go astray as it did in Paris ; it would inevitably end 
 in special apprentice school work. To make manual train- 
 ing an essential part of public education, it must be brought 
 into harmony with all the other educational exertions of 
 the school; itself must rest on educational principles. 
 
 How deeply the want of a seminary for manual training 
 teachers had been felt all over Germany, could be seen from 
 the fact that, when this school was opened, fifty -five students, 
 mostly teachers, applied for admission from all parts of Ger- 
 many, Austria, and one even from Russia. They were dele- 
 gated by state governments and city councils, by school com- 
 mittees and societies, provided with the necessary means by 
 public and private efforts. All of them had some skill in 
 the use of tools, and therefore attended the first course of the 
 new institution very profitably. Ever since this first course 
 the time of the courses has been extended, so that now every 
 department of manual training, so far as approved to come 
 within the pale of public education, is taught, namely : 
 
 1. Pasteboard and bookbinder's work. 
 
 2. Joiner's and carpenter's work. 
 
 3. Turner's work (wood and other materials). 
 
 4. Carving in wood and plaster. 
 
 5. Modeling in clay, and casting. 
 
 6. Wire-work and tinsmithing. 
 
 7. Lock- and tool -smithing. 
 
 The old Thomas School, a building which is perhaps four 
 hundred years old, and in which Sebastian Bach used to be 
 cantor, has been entirely given over by the city authorities 
 to the Society for the Introduction of Manual Training. In 
 the afternoons and evenings the lower floor contains hun-
 
 266 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 dreds of little fellows hard at work, and on the third floor is 
 the normal school. Here are seen men of forty or fifty as 
 pupils, using the file or the hammer and saw. It looks odd 
 yet natural. Every normal school pupil must make a mas- 
 terpiece before he can graduate. I saw a beautiful money- 
 safe made by a middle-aged man, whose long waving beard 
 showed streaks of gray. He hoped to graduate upon the 
 strength of this safe. 
 
 I spent a day in this quaint old school-house, and found it 
 as instructive as it was amusing. There are two sitting- 
 rooms for the students, furnished handsomely and provided 
 with a piano. Here the students converse, read, and sing, 
 during the pauses between lessons. Chorus singing, under 
 the leadership of a musician from their ranks, is indulged in, 
 and the work is thus made pleasant. Several halls are filled 
 with the work of the pupils, an exhibition of rare merit. 
 Dr. W. Goetze, the rector of this institution, seems to be the 
 leading spirit of the entire movement in Leipsic. 
 
 4. THE WORK DONE IN LEIPSIC. 
 
 And now I will proceed to show what kind of work is 
 done in Leipsic. Among the many hundreds of objects made 
 of pasteboard and paper I will sketch a few typical ones. 
 
 The wood-work (joiner-work) is essentially the same as 
 that done in Vienna. The reader is requested to compare 
 pages 401-409. But the children in 
 Leipsic make a number of pieces of 
 apparatus used in physics; many of 
 them are very exact. I insert some 
 models on page 268. 
 
 In wire-work this school does more 
 than any other I saw. Truly inge- 
 nious devices are made with soft and 
 FIO. 24i. hard wires. The first step in this de- 
 
 partment is making geometrical fig- 
 ures. After that a great number of objects of use in the 
 house are made, such as button-hooks, lamp-chimney clean-
 
 THE WORK DONE IN LEIPSIC. 
 
 267 
 
 FIGS. 242 247
 
 268 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 ers, paper-holders, chains, and many others. The hand- 
 book used by the teachers is full of suggestions. The tin 
 and zinc work has a very " useful look." Quite a number of 
 neat things are made of tin, zinc, and copper. 
 
 FIGS. S4&-858. 
 
 In wood-carving the Leipsic school confines itself to a 
 peculiar but handsome pattern, called "scallop cut," which is 
 repeated in ever-changing forms. A few typical sketches 
 copied from ornamented furniture may illustrate this. This 
 work is not done as exercise only, but each new form is in- 
 stantly applied on some useful article. (See page 269.)
 
 THE WORK DONE IN LEIPSIC. 
 
 269 
 
 The work in modeling in clay also is vastly different 
 from that in Paris ; while there ornamenting is the chief 
 
 \. 
 
 Fia. 259. WOOD-CARVING. 
 
 aim, here in Leipsic it is forming objects, beginning with 
 geometrical and ending with forms of life. 
 
 But in one thing all the manual training-schools I have
 
 270 LE1PSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 seen follow the same method. No article, no exercise is 
 done in material, be that clay, plaster, wood, metal, or paste- 
 board, unless a drawing is first made by the pupil. 
 
 Characteristic of the object of this Leipsic school is the 
 condensed announcement of its rector, in which he says : 
 " Instruction in our workshops aims at developing the boys' 
 practical common sense, training their senses, making them 
 skillful in the handling of tools, giving their creative activity 
 opportunities for application and the overtaxed brain a 
 chance to recuperate by means of manual work, which is in 
 itself an innocent recreation and pleasure, while it strength- 
 ens the body. No aimless play-work is permitted, nor tedious 
 exercises with no apparent object. A boy who begins an 
 article must know what he intends to produce, and then 
 bend all his energy to secure that end. Boys who thus learn 
 to work respect labor in any form, and are not ashamed of it." 
 
 To sum up: I prefer this German school, with all its in- 
 conveniences, to the magnificently equipped manual train- 
 ing halls in Paris with their tedious exercises. 
 
 5. THE GERM OP THE MANUAL TRAINING IDEA. 
 
 In the month of January, 1888, died the noted school 
 reformer of Finland (in Russia), Uno Cygnaeus, rector of 
 a normal school at lyvaskylae, on Lake Paijene, Finland. 
 The news of his death was scarcely noticed beyond the con- 
 fines of Finland. Yet the name of that man deserves to be 
 remembered in every civilized country. Cygnaeus was the 
 father of that practical instruction in manual training which 
 is now taking its conquering course through the civilized 
 world, and is being recognized as a regular and legitimate 
 branch of study or occupation in the boys' schools of Fin- 
 land, Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Germany. In view- 
 ing the life of this man it may be seen that America has 
 contributed its mite toward developing an idea which will 
 prove a salvation to thousands and hundreds of thousands 
 of boys, not to mention the benefits it offers to education 
 in general all over the civilized world.
 
 THE GERM OF THE MANUAL TRAINING IDEA. 271 
 
 Cygnaeus was born at Tavastehus, on the 12th of Octo- 
 ber, 1810. When he had completed his school and college 
 studies, he prepared himself for the ministry and accepted a 
 position as preacher in the state-prison at Viborg. But in 
 1839 he left his native country to follow a call to Eussian 
 America (now Alaska). Among the Russian settlements of 
 extreme Northwestern America there were a number of 
 Finnish families that needed a minister of the gospel. Cyg- 
 naeus was assigned to that duty. In order to reach his post 
 he took the long way around Cape Horn, and landed at 
 Novo-Archangelsk in May, 1840. 
 
 He brought with him embryonic thoughts on education, 
 and, thrown upon his own resources for intellectual company 
 among the semi-savages on the coast of the Pacific in Russian 
 America, he began to construe the world's needs in his own 
 inimitable way. He was a man of active intellect and fer- 
 tile imagination. Here in this northern wilderness it was 
 that the idea of Finland's school reform was conceived and 
 born. It was a feeble germ, though. For here it was 
 nurtured in its infancy by no more food than the brain 
 of a man who was cut loose from the civilized world, like a 
 convict in the mines of Siberia. 
 
 Otto Salomon, the rector of the Swedish Manual Training 
 Seminary at Naas, says of him : " Cut loose from the world 
 of culture and thought, surrounded by human beings who 
 were half savages, the young preacher, in his lonely walks 
 from one settlement to another, and by the lamp in his 
 hermit's study, was seized by an unconquerable desire to 
 benefit his race ; to find suitable means for lifting men to a 
 higher level of existence; to discover ways and means of 
 reform in intellectual and moral education. Few books 
 were at his disposal, but among them were Pestalozzi's and 
 Froebel's works. These he studied in his lonely hours, and 
 soon the fructifying spirit of Froebel awakened in him the 
 germ of that idea which afterward took that definite shape in 
 which we know it." 
 
 The study of Froebel's works particularly strengthened 
 19
 
 272 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 him in his determination to devote his life to the cause of 
 education of coming generations. Five years he spent in 
 studying his favorite authors, and in framing his plans. 
 Then he returned home by way of Okhotsk through Siberia 
 and Russia. From the year 1846 till 1856, for more than ten 
 years, he lived among his countrymen at St. Petersburg, 
 acting as religious adviser, and made himself and his educa- 
 tional reform plans known to others through the press. 
 
 When, in 1856, Emperor Nicholas died, and with Alex- 
 ander II an era of reform began not only in Russia proper 
 but also in Finland (the people of which are more Swedish 
 than Russian), Cygnaeus thought the time had come for the 
 realization of his plans. Alexander II was crowned as 
 Grand-duke of Finland, and came to this province, where he 
 declared, in a memorable session of the provincial senate, 
 that Finland should enjoy the blessings of a common-school 
 system. Wisely, the emperor left the execution of that order 
 to the home government, and the senate called upon the 
 councilors of the three consistories (at the time regents of 
 church and school in Finland) to make propositions for a 
 system of schools which would come up to the emperor's 
 well-emphasized decision. These propositions were pub- 
 lished, and subjected to public scrutiny. 
 
 This gave Cygnaeus a chance to forward his plans in 
 connection with a dignified criticism of the councilors 1 
 propositions. Among the essays submitted to the Govern- 
 ment was that of Cygnaeus, which made the most favorable 
 impression. With that tolerance for the opinion of others 
 which will always commend itself, Cygnaeus discussed the 
 propositions and suggested his own plans. In the senate his 
 ideas found favor at once, and it was thought that a man 
 who could thus consistently lay open his plans and so well 
 sustain them, was the proper person to execute them. 
 
 He was rewarded with the entire confidence of the au- 
 thorities, and was charged with framing the plans for a sys- 
 tem of schools which offered room for manual training. 
 But, in order to enable him to present the best results of
 
 DRAWING IN LEIPSIC AND OTHER SAXON CITIES. 273 
 
 study and observation, he was sent to central Europe, to in- 
 spect the schools there. This he did, and, after studying the 
 ideas of German educational reformers and observing their 
 practical results, returned home, embodied what he had 
 learned into his own plans, and then submitted his new 
 plans. 
 
 They were unanimously adopted, and he was appointed 
 Inspector-General of the People's Schools of Finland, and 
 rector of the normal school at lyvaskylae (situated on the 
 woody shore of Lake Paijene, in the center of the province). 
 In this position he was able to execute his favorite idea of 
 introducing manual training for boys, and other far-reach- 
 ing plans of reform, without opposition. The fact that he 
 found little, if any opposition, may be attributed to his 
 lovable character and charming temper. It is said of him 
 that he disarmed opposition with his saint-like smile, his 
 unconquerable determination, and wonderful strength of 
 argument. 
 
 His chief points of reform consisted in introducingPesta- 
 lozzi's objective teaching and Froebel's occupations into the 
 schools, supplementing both by manual training for more 
 advanced grades. The principle upon which his system was 
 based was, that education of the young must aim not at one- 
 sided intellectual training, but at the harmonious strength- 
 ening and exercise of man's inborn powers, with constant 
 consideration of practical aims in life. The whole life of 
 this man proves again what a power a man can be who has 
 an idea, and the strength of will to pursue and realize it. 
 
 6. DRAWING IN LEIPSIC AND OTHER SAXON CITIES. 
 
 Prof. F. Flinzer, the famous illustrator of " Die deutsche 
 Jugend," author of " Konig Nobel," and inspector of the 
 drawing department in Leipsic, had the great kindness to 
 devote a day to the task of initiating me into the method 
 pursued in the teaching of drawing in that city and other 
 places of Saxony. He is the leader of one of the four prin- 
 cipal systems employed in Germany. A simple statement of
 
 274 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXOXY). 
 
 the differences in the systems or methods will not come 
 amiss in this book. 
 
 There is, first of all, the Hamburg system, of which I made 
 frequent reference in previous pages. It has been modified 
 somewhat to adapt it to existing circumstances, and has re- 
 cently been officially introduced in all the schools of Prussia. 
 Prof. Stuhlmann, rector of the industrial art-school in Ham- 
 burg, is the author. It may be said that it is spread over 
 more territory than any other system, simply because the 
 largest and leading state of Germany Prussia has adopted 
 it. This system applies geometrical forms from the begin- 
 ning, and presents the child in due course of years with a 
 wealth of beautiful ornamental forms, a few of which are 
 found on previous pages. Like other good systems, it avoids 
 printed copies, and requires teacher and pupils to work out, 
 to develop forms from others. It begins with drawing in 
 net-lines, and ends with perspective drawing of solids. 
 
 There is, however, a serious error in the Prussian or Ham- 
 burg system : it permits nay, requires the use of instru- 
 ments, ruler, compasses, etc., and ties down the child to the 
 use of measures, such as ruler, paper-strips, etc. It never 
 quite emancipates the pupil from artistic measures. He 
 measures his construction-lines on every grade of the course, 
 and he is, even at a time when his eye should be sufficiently 
 trained in measuring without aids, such as paper-strips, re- 
 quired to verify his estimates taken by the eye. If this error 
 is eliminated, I think the system is destined to a great 
 future. 
 
 Opposed to this Prussian or Hamburg school is Flinzer's 
 system. It is known in Germany as the Leipsic system. 
 Flinzer never allows an instrument, but practices the eye to 
 measure accurately. He discards drawing in net-lines, but 
 begins with free-hand drawing, and continues it through the 
 entire course. Drawing from solids, geometrical bodies, 
 casts, busts, etc., begins in the third grade, and compasses 
 and ruler are excluded rigidly and mercilessly from the en- 
 tire course. I believe it is permitted only where mechanical
 
 DRAWING IN LEIPSIC AND OTHER SAXON CITIES. 275 
 
 engineering is taught in the high-school. Naturally Flinzer's 
 course is much slower than Stuhlmann's. 
 
 The third system in vogue at many places in Germany 
 is the one I mentioned also in one of my previous reports 
 (see page 233). It consists of drawing solids at once, and 
 discards flat-surfaced copies. This system is rather in a 
 primitive state of development, and may perhaps, in years 
 to come, grow more methodical. Where industrial, so-called, 
 manual training schools are established, this system of draw- 
 ing finds many friends. 
 
 The fourth system is the well-known copying from flat- 
 surfaced models, which never develops self-activity, but 
 keeps the pupil dependent upon copies. I am sorry to say 
 that this system is still in general use in America. Here in 
 Germany it is fast disappearing. Of all the systems I saw 
 in operation here in Europe, that of Prof. Flinzer recom- 
 mends itself to me most favorably. I have gathered about 
 forty specimens from his own pupils representing the ages 
 from nine till fourteen years, and shall endeavor to have 
 them reproduced by the photo-lithographic process. 
 
 This Leipsic system is in harmony with the principles of 
 the modern science of education. It seems to seek the aim 
 of free-hand drawing in the general aim of the school, that 
 is, in intellectual growth, not merely in dexterity of the hand 
 and correct representation of form. Each of its steps may 
 be, and I believe is, founded upon a basis of psychological 
 reasoning. It aims at the development of an *' intellectual 
 eye," at conscious seeing. Manual dexterity is considered of 
 secondary importance ; indeed, it acknowledges the latter 
 only when it gives evidence of an actual comprehension of 
 the form to be produced or reproduced. 
 
 Perhaps in nothing is Flinzer's procedure so fruitful as 
 in strengthening the power of judgment and creative ac- 
 tivity. Never during the entire course does Flinzer touch a 
 pupil's drawing to correct an error. By skillful questioning 
 and the simplest but most effective tests he makes the pupils 
 see their own errors and having recognized the errors the
 
 276 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 correcting of them follows easily. There is no show, no 
 aiming at glittering results, in his manner of teaching. It 
 is a fact which can be fully comprehended only by having 
 seen the system in operation, or by comparing the results 
 with those of other systems. 
 
 The Leipsic system is logical proceeds from the simplest 
 to the most complicated forms; that is, it proceeds geneti- 
 cally. By means of analysis and synthesis it develops forms ; 
 in short, it proceeds precisely in the world of forms as the 
 good teacher does hi the world of ideas : observation, per- 
 cept, concept, idea, judgment, follow in proper succession, 
 and the power of imagination is wonderfully nourished. 
 
 Again, there is no confusion ; the course is concentrically 
 arranged. Everything new stands in organic connection 
 with previous cognitions. And above all stands the fact 
 that Flinzer makes his pupils productive; not a form is 
 taught which is not used to produce new ones in ever-vary- 
 ing applications. A boy who has gone through this course 
 is never at a loss how to present forms, both flat-surfaced 
 ornaments and solid bodies. This productive application is 
 so peculiar a merit of this system that it deserves special 
 mention. No pupil of Prof. Flinzer, after leaving school, 
 has dropped drawing, but continues the practice. It is a 
 preparation adapted alike for artisan and artist a quality 
 which can not be claimed by any other system. 
 
 I trace this back to the noteworthy fact that, from the 
 very start, instruments are rejected, and the pupil is required 
 to rely entirely upon himself. No artificial measuring is 
 allowed ; the eye alone must do the measuring. 
 
 7. SHADING IN DRAWING. 
 
 Pupils are apt to think that the light falls in parallel 
 beams on all objects, and that therefore the side on which the 
 light falls should be represented in white, while others not 
 struck by direct beams of light might be shaded. In the begin- 
 ning of the course in shading this may suffice. But it is no 
 more true than it is to say " the sun rises or sets." Illumina-
 
 SHADING IN DRAWING. 
 
 277 
 
 tion by parallel beams does not occur in nature anywhere, 
 for all things visible to the eye are struck by beams of light 
 which stand at different angles to each other. The following 
 sketch of one of Prof. Flinzer's lessons is highly instructive : 
 Suppose that a & in the following illustration be a win- 
 dow through which strong light falls upon a sphere beyond 
 its equator, namely, as far as line c d. The lowest beam of 
 light which can strike the sphere perpendicularly is 
 the one marked b e, the highest that marked a /. 
 The space, or angle, between these two lines is filled 
 x with beams each of which forms a " pole of light." 
 To these are added a great number of parallel 
 beams of which those that strike the sphere 
 may be considered first. We will call 
 the parallels belonging to each 
 
 ^^^%\ otner a svstem - Now > Jt is 
 P lain ^ an innumerable 
 
 the sphere, and 
 their poles 
 illumine 
 the space 
 between 
 e and /. 
 Each of 
 these sys- 
 tems has 
 its equa- 
 tor, that is, its circumference ; but most of these circumfer- 
 ences are destroyed or obliterated by the beams of other sys- 
 tems, since they too illumine a space. The boundary-line of 
 shadow which in case of parallel illumination would be 
 congruent with the equator of the sphere is now moved 
 beyond the equator, or as far as line c c?, that is, to the tan- 
 gents a d and b c. The impression this makes on the eye is 
 that the equator has receded. 
 
 * 9 
 
 FIG. 260.
 
 278 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 Hence it is obvious that the greatest amount of light is 
 found on line e /, and that on the zone formed by lines e f 
 and c d the light becomes less clearly defined until line c d 
 is reached, where dense shadow will prevail if reflected light 
 does not strike even the lower part of the sphere and make it 
 visible to us. The zone between ef and c d must therefore 
 be shaded; beginning at e/, the shadow must be represented 
 as increasing till the darkest portion is reached. 
 
 The foregoing cut is a reproduction of a shaded sphere, a 
 drawing of which I saw done by pupils of the schools in 
 Leipsic.
 
 SHADING IN DRAWING. 
 
 279 
 
 During the lessons I heard Prof. Flinzer give, I noticed 
 two ingenious devices that appealed strongly to the senses. 
 The first was a white board on hinges, which could be placed 
 in front of a window to catch the direct beams of light. 
 Its dazzling whiteness was well observed; then the teacher 
 turned it slightly, say at an angle of twenty degrees. The 
 difference in the tone of the color was at once noticed. 
 
 FlGS. 262, 263. 
 
 More and more the board was turned 
 away from the direct beams of light ; and 
 when, finally, it was turned at an angle of ninety 
 degrees, the decrease of light on the board was suf- 
 ficient to convince the boys of the necessity of shading it, 
 in case they had to represent the board in a drawing. This 
 gradual change showed them what tone to apply in shading. 
 The other device consisted of a square blackboard showing 
 a large circle in white oil-color. This board hung on hinges 
 also. When it was turned to the left, the pupils saw the 
 circle shortened and changed into an ellipse, as the forego- 
 ing cuts show.
 
 280 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 8. A DRAWING-LESSON FULL OF FUN. 
 
 Drawing-lessons are generally rather prosy affairs. They 
 are not apt to employ the brain ; weighty arguments, hard 
 thinking, quick responses, flashes of wit, and a pleasant flow 
 of humor, are usually not characteristics of the drawing-les- 
 sons as I know them to be in many schools. In Leipsic a 
 bit of genuine fun is mixed with the unavoidable drudgery 
 of the drawing-lesson, which bit of fun, after all, has a solid 
 foundation of earnest intention on the part of the instigator, 
 the teacher. The latter Prof. Flinzer told me that a pupil 
 might test his sketches of live forms by blackening them to 
 make them appear as silhouettes. 
 
 " Draw the outlines of the human body," said he; " they 
 may seem to you correct ; then fill out the outlines, and you 
 will instantly detect where the lines are faulty. Or, you 
 may instinctively feel yourself that the outlines are faulty 
 somewhere, but you may be unable to detect where the 
 errors are. All you have to do is to make a silhouette of 
 the form you sketched in lines. The errors made will cry 
 out their grievances, and you will hasten to redress them. 
 This has led me to give my pupils from time to time a lesson 
 in silhouette-drawing. 
 
 " No special methodical steps are planned for this kind of 
 work. I merely use it as a test-lesson, but 
 the boys enjoy it as much as going to a 
 circus. Thus I proceed: A boy is called 
 to make five dots on the board, and to 
 designate which of the five is to be the 
 head of the figure. Then a pupil is called 
 to the board to draw a human form within 
 these five dots, two of which are to desig- 
 nate the place of the hands, two the places 
 
 FIG. 364. f the feet, and one that of the head. He 
 
 is not permitted to choose the latter for 
 
 himself. If a pupil of much imaginative force is called, 
 
 very interesting-looking figures are the results. The five
 
 A DRAWING-LESSON FULL OF FUN. 281 
 
 points in the frame in the margin, for instance, would in- 
 stantly suggest the picture of the crucified. This being 
 class-work, all the pupils learn to give shape to the forms 
 they imagine. Even poor draughtsmen do commendable 
 work. 
 
 " Sometimes we take five crumbs of bread, or five grains 
 of sand, and let them fall on the drawing-paper. Where 
 they chance to come to rest, faint dots are made, the teacher 
 having previously stated that the upper left, or the lower 
 right, or some other corner, designates the position of the 
 head. Of course, chance determines the position of these 
 dots. It exercises the ingenuity and imaginative power to 
 determine what kind of figures should fill the frame. 
 
 " The fun which grows out of this kind of work is exhil- 
 arating, especially when the order is given to make the head 
 
 . 265-268. 
 
 in the lower left corner. This difficult problem was solved 
 nicely by representing an acrobat lying on his back and 
 playing ball with his feet." 
 
 I offer to the reader some of the work done by the pupils 
 of Prof. Flinzer. These sketches will speak for themselves. 
 They are not of equal perfection ; nor is any of them per- 
 fect, but as the work of boys of the age of twelve to fourteen 
 years the figures are meritorious. Perhaps the best recom- 
 mendation of this kind of lessons is the consideration that it 
 stimulates self-activity to a greater degree than copying
 
 282 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 drawings or models. The practice is at least worthy of an 
 honest trial now and then, and may be used as a stimulus 
 which has the enviable quality of genuineness and absolute 
 
 FIGS. 269, 270. 
 
 want of artificiality. My candid and patient reader is kindly 
 requested not to call this "a new method." It is neither a 
 new nor an old method, nor is it a method at all. It is 
 nothing but a very skillful device for stimulating the pupil's 
 creative activity, but, as such, very valuable. 
 
 9. THE BEST-EQUIPPED SCHOOL. 
 
 The Sixth Biirger School in Leipsic is, as far as my 
 knowledge of schools goes, the best equipped in the world.
 
 THE BEST-EQUIPPED SCHOOL. 
 
 283 
 
 I do not mean the best manned, but best equipped with 
 means of instruction. Wherever in Leipsic I inquired what 
 school would yield the largest crop of valuable observations, 
 I was told to go to the Sixth Burger School. I will say 
 nothing of its organization. It differs materially from that 
 of our common schools, but all the differences I noticed are 
 sequences of peculiar German social distinctions which we 
 do not care to adopt. This school shows a wealth of equip- 
 ment with means of instruction that might make Pestalozzi 
 turn green with envy in his grave. 
 
 While in Paris I was much delighted when I saw the 
 magnificent and generous equipment of the primary schools 
 there, but this school far surpasses them all. No apparatus 
 ever invented to illustrate instruction in physics is wanting 
 here. Many of these devices and machines are made by the 
 
 FIQ. 271. 
 
 rector, Mr. Schmidt. Natural history is here represented by 
 innumerable stuffed birds and animals, mineral specimens, 
 prepared sea-animals and fishes, and, finally mounted dried 
 plants in portfolios. This natural history cabinet vies with 
 that of the pedagogical museum in Paris. 
 
 Astronomy, which appears to be the hobby of this gentle- 
 man, is well represented by devices which are nearly all 
 patented. Every total or partial eclipse that occurs during 
 the year is carefully sketched and represented in movable 
 pasteboard devices, showing the courses the shadow takes 
 over the surface of the earth. (See Fig. 271, a sketch of the 
 last total eclipse of the sun, which was observed by the
 
 284 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 pupils after a lesson which prepared them suitably for the 
 phenomenon. ) 
 
 In the corridor hangs a device showing the relative size 
 of the sun, earth, and moon. (See Fig. 272.) The mean 
 
 distance of the moon from 
 the earth, as represented in 
 the simple device, is made 
 the one-thousandth part of 
 the length of the corridor. 
 Large planetariums and tel- 
 lurions of his own make were 
 exhibited in great number 
 by Prof. Schmidt. 
 
 Preparations for illustrat- 
 ing instruction in physiology 
 filled an entire room. There 
 were such of plaster, of pa- 
 pier -mach6, of pasteboard, 
 even of marble. Geographi- 
 cal maps, relief and plane-surface maps, were here collected 
 and so nicely arranged that a mere glance sufficed to find 
 the desired one. Perfect order reigned supreme, for the 
 professor allows no one to handle his treasures in the cabi- 
 net. All requisitions are 
 filled by himself. 
 
 In regard to inventing 
 devices for illustrative 
 teaching he is a genius. 
 I select one of the numer- 
 
 FIG. 272. 
 
 
 
 
 0*0 
 
 SILVER 
 MARKS. 
 
 ous articles to prove the 
 originality of the man. It 
 is a device illustrating 
 " borrowing " in subtrac- 
 tion. The thing is made 
 of paste-board, has three 
 
 compartments, each covered with glass, under which are 
 seen ten round apertures. If a strap at the side is pulled, 
 
 NICKEL 
 QROSCHEN. 
 
 Fio. 273. 
 
 BRONZE 
 PENNIES.
 
 THE BEST-EQUIPPED SCHOOL. 285 
 
 there appear ten silver marks in the holes of the first com- 
 partment ; if another is pulled, nine of them disappear, 
 one is left ; this one is borrowed and changed to nickel 
 groschen, which is done by pulling a second strap. The 
 device itself is perhaps of less methodical value, as the in- 
 ventor may think ; still, with especially dull pupils, it may 
 be of service. 
 
 Another thing worthy of imitation is a pictorial pres- 
 entation of the changes that have been going on in the 
 city. The history of the city is illustrated by three water- 
 color charts of very large size. The first represents Leipsic 
 at the time of Luther. The " Grimma Gate," the " Pleissen- 
 burg," and the old fortifications, are there in exact copy of 
 old pictures preserved in the city museums and archives. 
 The second picture represents the same places at the time of 
 Napoleon I, with all the changes that had been made since 
 the time of Luther. It is the scene of that memorable day, 
 the 18th day of October, 1813, when the Prussian Land- 
 wehr stormed the Grimma Gate. The third, and naturally 
 most handsome of the three pictures, represents the city as 
 it is now. The view is taken from the same standpoint 
 from which the others are taken. What notable changes 
 this picture shows ! It is a speaking proof of the marvel- 
 ous industry of our century, such as no description and no 
 column of numbers could give. These large pictures are 
 mounted on muslin, provided with light frames, and used 
 frequently in teaching home history and geography. Other 
 pictures, scenes from the history of civilization and cult- 
 ure, were there, but the above mentioned interested me 
 most. 
 
 A geological map of the earth's crust on which Leipsic is 
 situated deserves to be described. Think of a glass-covered 
 case, in which the different strata of the earth, so far as 
 known, are made of real minerals. From the granite up- 
 ward to alluvial and diluvial layers, each layer is repre- 
 sented in approximate thickness. There were " grauwacke," 
 brown coal, ocean gravel, erratic blocks, loam, etc. I thought
 
 286 
 
 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 I might suggest to our high-school teachers to prepare such a 
 map in natura, for their own city, so far as the crust is 
 known to them. I would illustrate the condition of the 
 crust on which their pupils live, and the treasures under 
 foot, better than a description. Or, still better, they may 
 suggest to their pupils to make one. 
 
 In each class-room of this superb school a wind-rose is 
 painted on the ceiling such as in Fig. 274. Care is taken 
 
 to have the cardinal 
 points exactly right 
 by the compass, thus 
 indicating the position 
 of the school-house. 
 It will hardly do, 
 though, to leave the 
 execution to the ten- 
 der mercies of some 
 ignorant painter, lest 
 he may consider his 
 convenience. This re- 
 minds me of a good 
 joke: 
 
 A man in a village 
 of Holland was seen 
 one day painting a 
 
 heavy black line on the gable-end of his house and attach- 
 ing to it a date, say November 18, 1882. Asked what he 
 was about, he said : " I am moving my high- water mark up 
 to where the boys can't scratch it out again. I am sick of 
 their pranks." 
 
 The most imposing thing to me in this Sixth Burger 
 School was the sight revealed in the laboratory. Think of a 
 fully equipped laboratory in an elementary school not a 
 high-school, a fact which I wish to emphasize. Here were 
 amphitheatrically arranged seats, a well-stocked counter, and 
 several large glass cases full of chemicals. What a wealth 
 was collected there may be judged from the fact tliat the 
 
 FIG. 274.
 
 NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF LEIPSIC. 287 
 
 costly platinum wire and sundry expensive chemicals were 
 there used extensively without regard to cost. 
 
 The lesson in chemistry I heard here proved that the 
 professor, Rector Schmidt, was not only a man who could 
 invent mechanical contrivances for illustrative teaching, 
 but was also a master in teaching. One is apt to think (at 
 least I have heard the charge made) that much illustrative 
 or objective teaching prevents self-activity on the part of the 
 pupils. This may be true, if the teacher thinks that by ex- 
 plaining a fact in appealing to the senses he has done all 
 that is necessary. But to see this man use the direct appeal 
 to the senses merely as a starting-point, and then drive the 
 boys by hard questioning into corners from which only their 
 own exertion in thinking could rescue them, was a memora- 
 ble sight. He was a Pestalozzian in principles and practice, 
 and possessed all the qualities that were wanting in Pesta- 
 lozzi. Had that reformer had Schmidt's talent not only for 
 awakening thought but for exercising it, had he possessed 
 his excellent executive power, Pestalozzi would not have 
 been the great failure in teaching and managing that he 
 was. I say this with due reverence for his undying phi- 
 losophy. 
 
 All the teachers I saw at work in this school (see article 
 " Notes from the Schools of Leipsic " ) were true assistants of 
 the principal. I saw lessons in the primary and middle 
 grades, and was soon convinced of the fact that the citizens 
 of Leipsic have just cause to be proud of this school. It is a 
 grand temple of popular education, this Sixth Burger School 
 in Leipsic ! When I left it I could not avoid comparing it 
 with others I had seen in two worlds, and in all my recollec- 
 tions I found nothing equal to it. 
 
 10. NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF LEIPSIC. 
 
 It is generally admitted that the best methodicians are 
 
 not found in the higher schools of Germany. The teachers 
 
 there are college and university graduates, who have a great 
 
 deal of knowledge but little skill in applying it. If one 
 
 20
 
 288 LEIPSIC (KINGDOM OF SAXONY). 
 
 wishes to see good teaching one must visit so-called people's 
 schools. But there are exceptions of rare merit. Some of 
 these may be seen in Halle. Another I found in Leipsic. 
 His name is Dr. Bottcher, and he is every inch a genius in 
 the school-room and outside of it. 
 
 The subject of his lesson was measuring circular planes. 
 The class was Lower Priina (the thirteenth school year). 
 What a rapidity in questioning and answering; what a fer- 
 tility in application ; what a versatility in referring to other 
 fields of knowledge not intimately related to the subject of 
 the day, but well adapted to furnish means for comparison 
 and contrast ; and what a breathless attention on the part of 
 these young men who in other lessons perhaps made sport 
 of their teachers ! Even literature was drawn in and had to 
 serve to enliven the lesson. 
 
 When a boy mistook the square of a radius with the 
 double of the radius and arrived at entirely wrong conclu- 
 sions, the professor led the pupil ad absurdum and then 
 sagely remarked, " It is the curse of an evil deed that contin- 
 uously it must beget evil" (Schiller). The pupil saw the 
 fun in his case and started over again. When the bell an- 
 nounced tbe close of the lesson, I saw several of the pupils 
 consult their watches, as though they could not believe that 
 an hour had passed. I do not wonder that all candidates for 
 positions in the high-schools of Leipsic are sent to Dr. Bott- 
 cher to listen to his instructions. 
 
 In the school described in a previous chapter, called the 
 "best-equipped school," I heard two lessons in the primary 
 grades which gave unimpeachable evidence of the fact that 
 objective teaching, and much of it at that, does not prevent 
 the important function of the teacher, " exercise." For in a 
 third grade I found the little boys multiplying orally with 
 ease and rapidity such examples as 7 x 19, 18 x 25, 17 x 16. 
 The first example was solved thus : Twenty times seven less 
 seven. The second was solved first by saying, " Twenty times 
 eighteen, plus five times ten, plus five times eight." Then it 
 was solved by adding two naughts to eighteen and dividing
 
 EXAMINATIONS IN DRESDEN. 289 
 
 this number by four. Examples in adding and subtracting, 
 such as 1625 + 1335 and 1987 1598, were solved with equal 
 celerity. Fractions were also handled easily, such as y- how 
 many whole ones ? 7 weeks how many days ? 4 + 5 = ? etc. 
 An object-lesson in the lowest primary grade that I heard 
 in the same school consisted of a review of what the children 
 had observed in the woods during an excursion. Although 
 the review gave evidence of a remarkably well-developed 
 sense of observation, it recommended itself to me more by 
 the wonderful skill in linguistic expression on the part of 
 the pupils. I note this fact as a proof of my former state- 
 ment, that objective instruction as a means is not faulty; it 
 only becomes so when it is considered an aim in itself. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 1. EXAMINATIONS IN DRESDEN. 
 
 ON my trip through Thuringia, Saxony, Austria, and 
 Switzerland, I arrived in Dresden at an unfavorable time. 
 It was during examination week. Teachers who can not 
 imagine an annual examination except by picturing before 
 their inner eye a class of pupils sitting bent over their fools- 
 cap paper answering a set of ten questions, may follow me 
 into a school in Dresden to see that a totally different sight 
 presented itself to me. 
 
 The entire building was in holiday attire. On the lower 
 floors several class-rooms were opened for visitors. There 
 were collections of written work, not done for the occasion, 
 but each pupil's daily work from Easter, 1887, till Easter, 
 1888 every copy-book, every com position -book, every 
 book of problems, every language-book, every note-book, 
 every spelling blank book used during the year, neatly la- 
 beled with name, class, age, and address of the pupil. It
 
 290 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 was a bewildering sight. All these rooms were visited for 
 five hours a day all through the week by parents and friends 
 of the pupils, who inspected the work closely. 
 
 I turned away ashamed after looking over several stacks, 
 thinking of the slovenly appearance of the books in my own 
 schools and comparing them with tbis exquisite beauty of 
 penmanship and this immaculate cleanliness. Other rooms 
 were filled with drawings in portfolios and mounted draw- 
 ings. The desks had been removed, and the walls were cov- 
 ered with drawings. There had been no " natural selection," 
 no " survival of the fittest," but every scrap, every drawing 
 furnished during the year in that entire school (the Seventh 
 Burger School, on Ammon Street) was there, good, bad, and 
 indifferent. 
 
 After having feasted my eyes with the beautiful colored 
 ornamental drawings furnished by the girls, studied the re- 
 sults of manual work of the boys in form of pasteboard and 
 wood-work, after having inspected the industrial work of the 
 girls (knitting, crocheting, embroidering, patching, darning, 
 sewing, etc.), I was conducted up-stairs to the session-room 
 
 of the school. This 
 
 ^~l 1 1 1 1 TI 1 1 . I-AJ room was very 
 handsomely deco- 
 rated, and arranged 
 as indicated in Fig. 
 275. Section A was 
 a raised platform 
 for the magistrate, 
 the councilor of edu- 
 cation, the inspectors, the rector of the school, the committee 
 on public examination, and other persons of importance, 
 who sat at a large official looking table and made notes. 
 Section B was partitioned off for the class under examina- 
 tion. The pupils faced the teacher, and in a long row at 
 the banister sat the faculty of the school. Section C was 
 reserved for the public, who attended the examination very 
 numerously. 
 
 B 
 
 FIG. 275.
 
 EXAMINATIONS IN DRESDEN. 291 
 
 A commission determines a few days previously in what 
 three branches the class is to be examined publicly. This 
 examination is oral. The class under trial was a class of 
 girls of eleven to twelve years of age. The branches in 
 which they were examined were biblical history, physics, 
 and languages. Fifty minutes were given to each branch, 
 and each child was called upon, and rarely failed to respond. 
 It was not possible to determine how much of this " per- 
 formance " was show and how much honest work ; but, tak- 
 ing into consideration that the teacher went over very much 
 ground, I concluded that there was very little, if any, pre- 
 pared show. 
 
 What I heard was apparently a review lesson pure and 
 simple. The subjects had been determined upon and an- 
 nounced two days previous, so that an elaborate deception 
 was out of the question. If we further consider that this 
 public examination does not decide the promotion of pupils, 
 but is held chiefly to show the effectiveness of the school 
 and to establish a closer connection between home and 
 school, we may find many redeeming features in this kind 
 of examining. 
 
 In several other cities, chiefly in southern Germany, I 
 noticed another kind of annual examination which com- 
 mended itself to me. The school, teachers, and pupils, were 
 all in holiday attire. Each class sat in its own accustomed 
 room. The entire daily programme was carried out as it is 
 done during the year, and the visitors, parents, and friends 
 of the pupils, the city and school authorities, representatives 
 of the learned professions, teachers from other schools, and 
 other people interested in public -education, came to the 
 class-rooms and listened to the reviews going on. This was 
 called review or visiting week. 
 
 The lessons were so arranged (where it could be done 
 without much disturbance) as to give each teacher of that 
 particular school a chance to hear his colleagues also. This 
 " visiting week," as it was called even in hotels, drew a great 
 number of visitors to the school, people who would perhaps
 
 292 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 never have come if it had not been for this occasion. The 
 card which usually hangs on the outside of each class-room 
 door and which reads, " Persons not connected with this 
 school must not enter this room without permission of the 
 authorities" this card is removed and everybody is wel- 
 come, provided he causes no disturbance. 
 
 It happened in my presence that a lady, chagrined at the 
 apparent ignorance of her " dear little sonnie," broke the 
 rule and asked the teacher to give him a better chance to 
 show off. The teacher, a good-natured, charitably inclined 
 man, instead of ordering her off the premises, complied with 
 her angry request, and pelted the sleepy youngster with 
 questions, every one of which seemed to be very fair and 
 appropriate ; but the youngster stared at him and failed to 
 respond. So the teacher lowered the standard of his ques- 
 tions, asking easier ones, and still the boy failed. At last 
 the woman broke the painful silence, crying, " Wait till I 
 get you home, Bob ! " 
 
 This occurrence, though exceptional as it certainly was, 
 and several circumstances attending the examinations in 
 Dresden, made me doubt the advisability of such public ex- 
 aminations ; and if I consider that we have reason to object 
 strongly to the customary American written examinations 
 also, I admit that the proper and best form of examination 
 has not yet been found, that despite all suggestions and dis- 
 cussion the question as to the best mode of conducting ex- 
 aminations in school is still an open one. The problem 
 should be solved solely with regard to the educational influ- 
 ence of examinations. 
 
 2. NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF DRESDEN. 
 
 In Dresden it was that I witnessed public examinations. 
 I had no opportunities for seeing or hearing lessons. Being 
 well acquainted with Prof. Kleinert, the editor of the fore- 
 most German educational journal, I procured from him 
 printed reports and courses of study which are very interest- 
 ing reading-matter. They go here less deeply into statisticr.l
 
 NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF DRESDEN. 293 
 
 details than we are accustomed in America, but what they 
 publish is of more lasting value. I cull a few interesting 
 facts from the annual report of 1888, and present them in 
 English garb. The numbers given may not be very impos- 
 ing, but the facts are. I think them well worth presenting 
 to American readers. 
 
 Vacation colonies for sickly school-children were estab- 
 lished in the country, and three hundred and fifty-three pupils 
 were benefited thereby. With renewed strength and vigor 
 these children returned after a sojourn of six weeks. On 
 the outskirts of the city so-called city-vacation colonies were 
 established last summer, which benefited four hundred and 
 thirty pupils, who went out in the morning in six troops 
 with their teachei's, and returned home in the evening. For 
 many weeks, they were fed well and spent their time in 
 playing and making excursions into the woods and fields on 
 foot. The results of this enterprise also were very gratifying. 
 Children who, at the beginning of the season, could hardly 
 walk two miles without great fatigue, could at the close of 
 the season walk five and six miles on a stretch. 
 
 Play-Grounds. The "Society for the Common Weal" 
 secured the right to use some conveniently situated groves in 
 the immediate vicinity of the city for play-grounds. Many 
 children made use of them; four hundred and fifty-eight 
 boys in twelve groups and four hundred girls in forty-eight 
 groups played here daily, under the inspection of the teachers 
 of gymnastics, male and female. It is the intention to secure 
 for each school-house a public shady play-ground outside of 
 the city. This prevents intercourse with morally bad ele- 
 ments and contamination of vice in back alleys. The teach- 
 ers are paid an extra salary for the time they devote to these 
 play-grounds. 
 
 Manual Training. The manual training school sup- 
 ported by the same society was attended by two hundred 
 and forty-six pupils in fifteen classes. More is said of a simi- 
 lar school elsewhere. (See pages 262-270.) 
 
 Free Dinners. The "Society for the Suppression and
 
 294 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 Prevention of Beggary" contributed twenty-five hundred 
 marks toward furnishing warm dinners to needy school- 
 children. The school authorities were enabled, with this and 
 other sums of money, to furnish 58,424 plates of soup and 
 other warm dishes. More than one thousand children en- 
 joyed the luxury of a warm dinner who otherwise would 
 have gone without any dinner, or, at best, with a cold lunch. 
 
 Boy-Asylums. The "Society for the Establishment of 
 Boy - Asylums " maintain four such institutions (see page 
 312) for boys, and one for girls. The city school authorities 
 gave the desirable rooms, and suitable teachers were engaged 
 who acted as leaders and supervisors. The children are here 
 fed and kept after school hours, if they have no home to go 
 to, both parents being out working, or the mother being 
 worried by numerous little ones. Manual training is one of 
 the chief occupations on winter evenings. 
 
 Baths and Gardens. The city government in summer 
 offered free bathing to children of needy parents. Other chil- 
 dren paid a nominal price for admission. The bathing-places 
 are in the Elbe River, and under constant supervision of 
 swimming-masters. Ice-ponds for skating were kept clean at 
 the expense of the city, and reserved for the use of school- 
 children. The zoological garden is always open to school- 
 children, one's card for free admission being confiscated in 
 the event of misconduct. The botanical garden furnished 
 the teachers of the city schools with seventy different plants, 
 each of which in hundreds and thousands of specimens, for 
 the use of pupils studying botany. 
 
 What a difference between now and times gone by ; and 
 yet people talk of "this materialistic age," "want of charity," 
 and the like ! The world has become better, and associated 
 charities extend their blessings to thousands of needy creat- 
 ures whose like used to die in fence-corners and squalid gar- 
 rets for want of sympathy and actual assistance. There is 
 less sentimental twaddle and immensely much more charity 
 than in former days !
 
 MANUAL TRAINING IN GERMANY. 295 
 
 3. MANUAL TRAINING IN GERMANY. 
 
 Since the year 1880 more than two hundred manual 
 training schools have been opened in Germany. Several 
 of these, notably those in Halle, Leipsic, Dresden, Vienna 
 (though this city is not now in Germany, it is essentially a 
 German city), Munich, Miilhausen, I visited and reported 
 upon the work done in them. When I arrived in Vienna I 
 found the idea had made better headway than could have 
 been expected in conservative Austria. Messrs. Petzel and 
 Herbe, two Vienna teachers, the former of whom I have men- 
 tioned elsewhere in this book, had recently made a journey 
 through Germany for the sole purpose of inspecting the 
 manual training-schools. Their report is vei*y interesting. 
 I translate a few passages from it, selecting those which 
 point out the "essential differences in these schools. 
 
 In Schandau, Saxony, they found three distinct classes 
 of schools: 1. A school for wood-carving in which patterns 
 of geometrical forms are practiced, until the pupils' skill is 
 developed enough to begin the ornamentation of articles of 
 use, such as picture-frames, visiting-card plates, stools, easels, 
 arm-chairs, tables, etc. These things are made of nut or 
 cherry wood, are then stained or polished, and sell well. 
 There are more than a dozen of these schools in the kingdom 
 of Saxony. 2. An industrial school. Here baskets are 
 woven baskets of all sizes and patterns, from the stout mar- 
 ket-basket to the fine flower-basket; peeled willow switches, 
 split cane, and even straw, are used. All articles made in 
 this school find a ready sale. There are six such schools 
 in Saxony. 3. A braiding-school, in which straw is used as 
 material. Door-mats and other things, such as bottle-pack- 
 ing, etc., are made here. These braiding and industrial 
 schools sold goods for 5,372 marks in one year. There are 
 seventeen such schools in Saxony. 
 
 In Dresden, Saxony, a manual training school purely for 
 educational purposes is established. It was opened in 1881 
 with forty -seven pupils, and had in 1887 as many as one
 
 296 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 hundred and seventy-five, of which fifty-six were between 
 six and eight years of age. Only cartoon or pasteboard 
 work and work in wood is done here. The latter consists of 
 joiner-work and carving. As in all other German manual 
 training schools, the children learn to use tools by making 
 articlas, not merely doing exercises, as is done in Paris. It 
 is quite amusing to see the boys find the necessity of leaving 
 nothing plain, but carve furniture as neatly and handsomely 
 as artisans. In a number of boy-asylums (see article " Kna- 
 benhort ") in Dresden manual occupations are also intro- 
 duced. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, modeling is introduced and 
 very successfully taught in the blind asylums in Saxony. 
 Groups of twenty children and more are taught in one class, 
 and with almost incredible dexterity these children model in 
 clay and wax, led only by their sense of touch. They are 
 thus initiated into the world of forms, and seem to enjoy 
 life better in consequence of it. One must have seen these 
 blind children at work to believe it possible. 
 
 The school visited had three classes. In Class I, only 
 geometrical forms are made, but with an accuracy that 
 might put to shame many a seeing child. In Class II, forms 
 of life are made leaves, plants, animal heads, and entire 
 animal forms. An elephant, not larger than a man's fist, 
 yet every part of which was in exact proportion and as well 
 built as the "much-lamented Jumbo," is still vividly im- 
 pressed in the visitor's memory. It was made by a boy 
 totally blind ! In Class HI, wax-flowers are made. These 
 are so astonishingly true to nature, that no one can believe 
 it unless he has seen it done. Fuchsias, rose-buds, and 
 other flowers were imitated in wax incredibly true in num- 
 ber of leaves, thickness and size of leaves, petals, and stamens, 
 except in color that the teacher had to add. What a world 
 of forms is opened to such children, who thus effectually 
 learn to see with their finger-tips ! One blind boy in this 
 institution found a radish in the garden. He picked it up, 
 carried it to his own bedroom, and there imitated it in clay
 
 MANUAL TRAINING IN GERMANY. 297 
 
 or wax. When he brought his work to his teacher, the lat- 
 ter was much pleased to see that his instruction had made 
 the boy self -active. 
 
 In Stolberg, Saxony, the visitors found a school in which 
 pasteboard-work, book-binding-, and joining is done. No 
 boy over fourteen years of age is here admitted. Instruc- 
 tion is offered after school hours. (Course like that in 
 Dresden.) 
 
 In Aue, Saxony, on the slope of the Erz Mountains, a 
 most remarkable school is established. It is a tinsmith- 
 school, and therefore ought to be classed among the special 
 or industrial schools. It offers instruction to tin and zinc 
 workers only. It is mentioned here simply because it has 
 pupils of school-going age. 
 
 In Markneukirchen, Saxony, near the Bohemian line, a 
 single man, an enthusiast in manual training, has established 
 a school, and teaches scroll-sawing and wood-carving. It is 
 not a money-making affair, but a purely educational enter- 
 prise. 
 
 In Adorf, Saxony, a fine and well-attended manual 
 training-school is maintained by the city authorities, in 
 which joiners', turners', and carvers' work is taught. The 
 Royal Saxon Ministry of Instruction aids this school with 
 the stipend of eight hundred marks per annum. The great- 
 est attention is paid to wood-carving. 
 
 In Zwickau, Saxony, a school of this kind was opened 
 in 1882 ; it has now over one hundred and fifty pupils. Car- 
 toon or pasteboard work is here the favorite occupation. 
 The course is well conceived, and innumerable objects of 
 practical value are made here. It would need two pages of 
 close print to mention them all. A wonderful taste in se- 
 lecting paper and colors to make the articles pretty is ex- 
 hibited, and all the articles have a ready sale. The first task 
 in wood-work is to hollow out a square piece of birch-wood 
 for a pencil-box. This makes the boys learn the use of the 
 chisel, then a spoon is carved out ; after that and similar 
 tasks, ornamental carving begins. Every object made has a
 
 298 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 practical use, and in ornamentation every line, every curve, 
 every spiral applied is in harmony with the form of the ob- 
 ject, or its use. 
 
 Very few schools will be able to surpass the results of 
 this one. There are tools enough in this school to supply 
 each pupil with an entire set, and he is held responsible for 
 their condition. The aim of this school is purely educa- 
 tional, and the teachers hope that " it will accustom the boys 
 to work : train their hands to acquire skill ; direct their 
 will-power upon the useful and beautiful ; give them an in- 
 sight into industrial pursuits, as well as a comprehension of 
 the forms of art-industry, and thus prepare not only a 
 greater number of skilled artisans and thinking men, but 
 also create a desire for more and more artistic work in the 
 purchasers that is, get people to appreciate the beautiful* 
 recognize beauty in designs, and discriminate between genu- 
 ine artistic work and shoddy imitation." 
 
 In Leipsic, Saxony, the manual training school gave the 
 visitors much food for reflection, especially the normal 
 school for manual training recently opened. I have re- 
 ported upon this at length <see page 265). 
 
 In Halle, Prussia, in the great experimental station of 
 education in Germany, the " Francke-Stiftungen," maintain 
 a flourishing manual training school. There are also four 
 "Knabenhorte" (boys-asylums) in which manual work is 
 taught. Outside of the "Francke-Stiftungen" there is a 
 manual training school in the city, which is reserved for the 
 pupils of the high-schools. The sons of the most influ- 
 ential and wealthy families attend it, and the number of 
 pupils increases with every term. 
 
 In Berlin, Prussia, the manual training schools are 
 under the protection of her Majesty the Empress and Queen 
 Victoria. One of these schools is situated in the Falk-Gym- 
 nasium, another in the Lessing-Gymnasium. Other schools 
 have been opened since 1887. Also a normal school for 
 manual training teachers is established, and all efforts are 
 made to come up to the standard of Leipsic and Vienna.
 
 MANUAL TRAINING IN GERMANY. 299 
 
 In Bremen and other towns of northern Germany, 
 schools of this kind are in a nourishing condition, but the 
 report referred to says nothing about them. 
 
 In Gorlitz, Prussia, these schools are the best in Prussia, 
 as those in Leipsic are the best in Saxony. The teachers in 
 Gorlitz avoid all money-making efforts, and base their in- 
 struction strictly upon educational principles that is to say, 
 they are not moved by such considerations as, In what way 
 may this or that occupation benefit the town ; but how may 
 it benefit the pupil in developing his latent talents ? 
 
 In Wuste-Giersdorf, Prussia, the school has a more 
 worldly object, namely, to draw the children away from the 
 unwholesome trade of weaving, which has for centuries been 
 the leading trade of the town, and has shortened more lives 
 than can be told. 
 
 Dornhau, Oberwaldau, Gottesberg, and Rudolf swald, 
 villages in the Prussian province of Silesia, have similar 
 schools, all of which do good work. 
 
 The gentlemen who reported their observations made on 
 a journey through Saxony and Prussia, say, u It is the unani- 
 mous opinion of all concerned that the boys who have gone 
 through a course of manual training, and then chosen a 
 trade, are climbing the ladder of promotion faster than 
 other apprentices." A well-informed gentleman in Gorlitz, 
 maintains that the tradesmen and owners of factories select 
 the pupils of the training schools in preference to unskilled 
 hands, and give them the best testimonials, saying they are 
 accustomed to work, and therefore are more diligent as well 
 as more skilled. 
 
 The following two pages of drawings, representing many 
 useful things, are inserted here to give the reader an idea of 
 the variety of articles made of wood in various schools of 
 Germany. They are reproductions of the Swedish slojd 
 system. Slojd (pronounce sloid) is a Swedish word, and 
 may be rendered in English by the word skill, having in its 
 modern application particular reference to manual skill. 
 The drawings are not by far as handsome as those from
 
 300 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA.
 
 MANUAL TRAINING IN GERMANY. 
 
 301 
 
 31. 
 Fias. 296-313.
 
 302 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 Paris, but they are eminently fit to illustrate the one vital 
 difference between the French and German or Swedish 
 schools, to wit : In France the pupils learn the use of tools 
 by doing exercises ; in Germany they produce useful arti- 
 cles, and thereby learn the use of tools indirectly ; or, in 
 France the boys learn the grammar of manual work, in 
 Germany the work itself, which carries the grammar with it. 
 
 FIGS. 276-313. 
 
 1. Peg used in calculating-machine. 2a. Net- weaving needle. 26. Pen- 
 holder. 8a. Flower-prop. 36. Pencil-holder. 4. Slat for writing names of 
 plants. 5. Wash-clamp. 6. Plug. 7. Paper-knife. 8. Loom-bow. 9. Butter- 
 spattle. 10. Ruler. 11. Stand. 12. Spoon. 13. Hammer-handle. 14. Spoon. 
 15. Chisel-handle. 10. Butter-spoon. 17. Kitchen-board. 18. Stocking-stretch- 
 er. 19. Sugar-shovel. 20. Large stocking-stretcher. 21. Sickle-sharpener. 
 22, 23. Clothes-hooks. 24. Gardener's plug. 25. Axe-handle. 26. Soap-dish. 
 27, Hack knife. 28. Grocer's shovel. 29. Bread-comb. 30. Flower-stand. 31. 
 Bow used in calculating-machine. 32. Foot-stool. 33. Large spoon. 34. Wash- 
 beater. 35. Loom-roll. 
 
 5. WHAT I SAW IN MUNICH. 
 
 It was on the 16th of March that I reached Munich, the 
 day on which in Berlin the Emperor William was buried. 
 Munich looked like a widow in her weeds. From the mass- 
 ive towers of the " Frauenkirche " and other churches hung 
 broad and long black flags. All business houses and in- 
 numerable dwelling-houses had German or Bavarian flags 
 out draped with crape, or black flags. Not a single store 
 was open. The people promenaded in dark-colored Sun- 
 day attire through the streets. Hundreds and thousands of 
 ladies and gentlemen were seen wearing crape on the sleeve, 
 and every military officer had his epaulets and his helmet 
 craped. Not a variegated ribbon, not a bright-colored dress 
 was seen anywhere on the streets ; not a peal of joyous 
 laughter, but all the signs of deep-felt sorrow, as though all 
 belonged to the personal friends of the dead emperor, and 
 were walking behind his hearse. 
 
 From 10 A. M. till 4 P. M. no business was done ; no res- 
 taurant, no cigar-stand was open. At places the slowly 
 marching multitude stopped to view some tastefully ar-
 
 WHAT I SAW IN MUNICH. 303 
 
 ranged funeral decoration in a shop-window, the emperor's 
 bust veiled with crape amid a beautiful and bountiful dec- 
 oration of flowers and leafy plants. The day was warm, 
 sunny, and the air balmy. The churches were full to their 
 utmost capacity, and when the dinner-hour arrived the mul- 
 titude decreased perceptibly, only to turn out again after one 
 o'clock in full force to take up its slow march through the 
 streets. " What a change ! " I thought. Twenty-two years 
 ago William fought these people and conquered them, and 
 to-day they consider him one of their own. 
 
 Of course there was no chance for visiting schools that 
 day ; but on the following days I spent some very profitable 
 hours in the schools of the city. I do not, as a rule, admire 
 German school architecture, but here I gave way to a burst 
 of enthusiasm, when I saw a public school-house, and a pri- 
 mary or people's school at that, provided with electric bells, 
 clocks, and light, with sumptuous gymnasiums, wide corri- 
 dors, and spacious school-yards and gardens. But the most 
 novel feature of this school was that it had a regular bath- 
 ing establishment, with numerous bath-tubs that could be 
 filled with warm and cold water. I was assured that they 
 were used quite frequently. It had been found desirable to 
 provide the new school-houses of the city with bath-tubs be- 
 cause the poorer classes did not possess this commodity in 
 their own houses. 
 
 44 If," said the rector, " harmonious education is to be our 
 aim that is to say, the development of a strong intellect 
 and a good heart then the strong, vigorous body must be in- 
 cluded, and the latter is gained by good food, plenty of exer- 
 cise in form of manual work and gymnastics, and cleanli- 
 ness. We simply offer the means for cleanliness as a neces- 
 sary requisite of an education." 
 
 The idea is unquestionably correct. The more home ed- 
 ucation and parental care recedes in these latter days, the 
 more must schools provide for them by suitable substitutes; 
 These provisions for cleanliness in Bavaria can be defended 
 with precisely the same argument with which warm dinners 
 21
 
 304 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 in Paris are defended, or vigorous gymnastic exercises in 
 Prussia, or free clothes and text-books for indigent pupils in 
 America. They belong to the sum total of common-school 
 education. It is the business of the state to do the greatest 
 possible good to the greatest possible number, provided it is 
 for the benefit of the state as such. I can not see how we 
 can refuse to have bath-tubs in school, like the Bavarians, 
 hot dinners like the Parisians, manual work and gymnastic 
 halls like the Saxons and Prussians. 
 
 It is but natural that a school system which has at its 
 head a leader like Dr. Rohmeder is in the foremost ranks of 
 educational progress. Here in Munich I found flourishing 
 manual training schools, Kindergarten, admirable primary 
 schools, well-reputed high-schools, an industrial art-school, 
 sundry special schools, such as an art academy, conservatory 
 of music, and a university. 
 
 In a second-year grade I witnessed a lesson in orthogra- 
 phy, the results of which were very fine. The results of 
 an object and language lesson were dictated, and all the new 
 and difficult words viewed on the board. When the work 
 was afterward examined, the teacher and I found that among 
 forty-four pupils twenty-one had made no mistake what- 
 ever; twenty had made one mistake in a word the orthogra- 
 phy of which is still a mooted question ; two had made two 
 or three mistakes; and one only had made fifteen mistakes. 
 This last one was a sickly child who suffered from epilepsy. 
 The piece dictated was by no means easy, and might have 
 offered difficulties to many an older child. 
 
 From a lesson in arithmetic which followed I gathered 
 the following examples. The reader will please notice that 
 this was the second year : 
 
 43 + 9+7=? 6x8-36 = ? 
 
 32+27=? 45-^7=? 
 
 28+? = 53. | of 42=? 
 
 29 how many halves ? 65 8 7=? 
 
 64 - 19 = ? 63 - ? = 37. 
 
 66 = ? x 6. 8 = J of what number ?
 
 AN IDEAL OF A COURSE OF STUDY. 305 
 
 Divide 51 into 3 equal numbers. 
 
 How many whole ones are 56 quarters ? 
 
 It was a pleasure to see the little urchins get up and say: 
 " Five sixths of 42 ? One sixth of 42 is seven, then five 
 sixths must be five times that, which is 35." No slate or 
 pencil was used. I selected the above examples promiscu- 
 ously from a great number given out in quick succession, 
 and solved orally more rapidly than I could write them 
 down. 
 
 In a third-year grade I heard a lesson in home geography 
 which reminded me vividly of Prof. Schmidt's historical 
 pictures of the city of Leipsic (see p. 285). The teacher had 
 sketched a city plan on the board and proceeded to widen 
 the children's horizon by starting from known points. The 
 history of Munich greatly assisted him, for the city has been 
 widened three times, and the ancient fortifications can still 
 be traced ; even the names of the streets betray their former 
 designations. I enjoyed the teacher's circumspection and 
 the tact with which he drew into use what of geographical 
 knowledge was already established. 
 
 In other classes I heard lessons which resembled the best 
 I had heard elsewhere. Altogether I was well pleased with 
 the results of the primary schools. 
 
 6. AN IDEAL OP A COURSE OF STUDY. 
 
 This was found in Munich. Though in many cities in 
 Germany I had noticed well-arranged courses, this one struck 
 me as remarkable, inasmuch as it did not contain the matter 
 of instruction chopped into bits, but left the teacher of each 
 grade free to divide the matter according to the needs of his 
 class. Of course, this presupposes a corps of teachers who 
 are prepared professionally. With us such a course of study 
 would hardly suffice, since too many of our teachers have 
 no professional training ; but I wish to bear testimony to 
 the fact that teachers of large experience and much method- 
 ical and didactic skill might be left more free to select the 
 matter of instruction than is done in many graded school
 
 306 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 systems. A little freedom in this direction bears good fruit. 
 The best feature of the course referred to, though, seemed to 
 me that each branch of study was introduced by a set of 
 principles of method, according to which instruction was to 
 be given. These " preambles " contain much good sense, as 
 may be seen from the following English rendition of a few 
 leading sets : 
 
 A. Reading. Aim. Instruction in reading shall enable 
 the pupils: 1. To read fluently, with proper pronunciation 
 and emphasis ; and, 2. To enable them to make the contents 
 of the reading-matter their own so that they may obtain a 
 perfect comprehension of the pieces under consideration, and 
 a taste for good literature. 
 
 (a.) In every grade of the course attention is to be paid 
 to the so-called mechanical, logical, and cesttietic reading. 
 
 (6.) Since reading is nothing else than a correct repetition 
 of the thoughts of others, a complete comprehension of these 
 thoughts must go hand in hand with the reading. This 
 makes it necessary : 1. To give the pupils a good model in 
 reading; 2. To awaken a comprehension of the subject-mat- 
 ter by skillful questioning; 3. To make the pupils tell in 
 their own words what they read ; 4. To call for the meaning 
 of an entire passage before each sentence is treated separate- 
 ly ; 5. To call attention to the forms of expression after the 
 underlying thought is understood ; 6. To call for written re- 
 production of the reading-matter as often as time and cir- 
 cumstances allow. In discussing the reading-matter, the 
 unity of thought is to be preserved by not introducing irrele- 
 vant matter; but, for the sake of thorough understanding, it 
 is essential to refer to matter previously treated so that by 
 means of comparison and contrast new cognitions shall be 
 properly founded upon others. 
 
 (c.) Oral expression is to be practiced: 1. By accustoming 
 the children to speak in complete, well-rounded sentences; 
 2. By oral repetition of the contents of a reading piece after 
 they have been understood ; 3. By oral prose rendition of 
 poetry ; 4. By memorizing and declaiming six to twelve easy
 
 AN IDEAL OF A COURSE OF STUDY. 307 
 
 model pieces from the reader. Proper emphasis is invari- 
 ably the result of perfect comprehension of the matter. 
 
 (d.) Both substance and form of the reading-matter is to 
 be utilized in lessons in orthography, grammar, and compo- 
 sition. 
 
 (e.) For history, geography, physics, chemistry, botany, 
 zoology, etc., the reader contains many valuable contribu- 
 tions which should be used. 
 
 B. Language. Aim. Instruction in language is to en- 
 able the pupil to apply the laws of " New High German," so 
 far as they are necessary to the pupil to comprehend, speak, 
 and write the language within the limited course of the 
 people's school ; instruction in grammar is therefore to be 
 restricted to that which is absolutely necessary in practice. 
 
 (a.) In the lower grades the pupils learn to speak and 
 write correctly, ex usu that is to say, they are practiced in 
 the correct use of word and construction forms orally and 
 in writing, until that habit is gained which results in a cor- 
 rect feeling or instinct for language. This, for the time, 
 guides the pupil, and in higher grades assists materially in 
 learning grammar. A pupil who has that sensitive ear for 
 language which tells him whether an expression is right or 
 not, will easily learn the laws of the language (grammar), 
 because he recognizes them in his own speech and in that 
 of others ; while a pupil who has failed to acquire skill in 
 the correct use of the language will only with difficulty ac- 
 quire the grammar, it having to be learned by memory alone. 
 
 (6.) All forms and rules should be deduced from models 
 taken from the reading-matter ; proverbs and examples from 
 classic literature are preferable to any other examples. A 
 rule which has been discovered by comparison should first 
 be framed by the pupils themselves, then it may be rendered 
 more comprehensive by the teacher, and brought into defi- 
 nite form. It is not advisable to let more than one rule be 
 searched for in a paragraph. One difficulty at a time is 
 sufficient. And a form or a rule, once recognized, should 
 be practiced till it bacomes the inalienable property of the
 
 308 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 learner. So, then, there are three steps : 1. Finding the 
 rule by comparison of similar examples ; 2. Looking for 
 proofs of the rule in literature ; 3. Incessant practice in ap- 
 plying the rule by tasks suitable to the age and grade of the 
 pupils. 
 
 (c.) In framing models for comparison, repetitions are to 
 be avoided. New thoughts should be offered, so that, by en- 
 riching the treasures of the pupils' language, their stores 
 of thought shall be increased as well. Physics, natural his- 
 tory, geography, history, and such branches as are thought- 
 bearing, should be made to yield a plentiful crop of models 
 for language- work, so that the entire course of study becomes 
 a homogeneous whole. 
 
 (d.) Etymology should always be based on syntax, in or- 
 der to enable the pupil to recognize the word as part of the 
 sentence which determines its form. 
 
 C. Orthography. Aim. Instruction in spelling should 
 aim at correct writing of simple documents, according to the 
 spelling in vogue, including punctuation-marks. 
 
 (a.) The means to that end should be to let the words to 
 be written be seen and heard clearly first. Afterward words 
 may be grouped and practiced according to similarity and 
 dissimilarity, to awaken consciousness of underlying rules. 
 All rules which suffer from too numerous exceptions are to 
 be omitted. 
 
 (&.) The exercises in orthography should consist in oral 
 and written reproduction of words in the form of sentences : 
 1. In copying ; 2. In dictation ; 3. In writing memorized 
 stanzas and prose paragraphs ; 4. In writing the pupil's own 
 thoughts. 
 
 (c.) Material for orthographic exercises is found in the 
 reading-matter, and in every branch of study on the cur- 
 riculum. New words (technical) that occur in any lesson 
 should be noted on the blackboard at once, and left there for 
 some time. 
 
 (d.) Incorrect writing is to be prevented, so as to avoid 
 the formation of incorrect word-pictures in the memory.
 
 CAUSE AND EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHY. 309 
 
 Words which may give occasion for making mistakes 
 should be presented in writing, and if possible in print, be- 
 fore they are dictated. It is, at any stage of the course, bet- 
 ter to avoid mistakes than to correct them. 
 
 Other branches of study are introduced similarly, but it 
 would go beyond the object of this volume to translate 
 them all. 
 
 7. CAUSE AND EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 It was a spirited lesson in geography that I heard in 
 Munich, and I think it worth sketching. The children were 
 of the same age as our pupils in the highest grade of the 
 grammar-school course thirteen or fourteen years, I should 
 think. Maps were there in abundance, and a handsome 
 large globe was brought in. 
 
 The teacher first stated the fact that the heat equator is 
 not synonymous with the mathematical equator ; that it is 
 an irregular line lying on an average of ten degrees north 
 of the actual equator. Now he led the pupils to find 
 causes for this apparently singular fact. Did not the sun 
 strike the earth with equal force north and south of the 
 equator ? With the aid of a large globe, on which the 
 prevalence of water on the southern hemisphere could be 
 seen distinctly by all the pupils of the class, the fact was 
 soon established that this prevalence of water caused more 
 evaporation than on the northern hemisphere. Evaporation, 
 however, they knew from the little study of physics they 
 had had, caused absorption of heat, while land would radiate 
 the heat it received and thus cause a higher degree of tem- 
 perature in the atmosphere. 
 
 Now proofs of this fact were searched for, and it was in- 
 teresting to see how quickly the pupils reasoned backward 
 from effect to cause. In the Deserts of Sahara and Gobi they 
 thought that they found the effect of great heat on large 
 bodies of land. In the indented coast-line of Europe they 
 found the cause of a temperate climate and an absence of 
 dreary wastes of deserts.
 
 310 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVAKIA. 
 
 Then the climate of the different continents was discussed 
 and the general rule established, (a) that great bodies of 
 land have hot summers and fierce winters. Proofs : Inner 
 North America, inner Asia, inner Australia, even Russia in 
 Europe ; (6) much water was the cause of cool summers and 
 mild winters. Proofs : Western Europe, South America, 
 Southern Africa, and the Asiatic isles and peninsulas. 
 Water tempers the climate. 
 
 I was very sorry not to possess skill in writing short- 
 hand, because the further part of this lesson was truly ad- 
 mirable. I can only give its bare results, and must abstain 
 from even an attempt at outlining it. 
 
 The latitude, it was easily inferred, caused the climate. 
 But the latter was greatly modified that is, made milder or 
 fiercer by the situation or elevation of the country. A pla- 
 teau would naturally be cooler than a low plain under the 
 same latitude. Quito in Ecuador, and Para in Brazil, both 
 almost under the equator, were yet very different in their 
 climates, the former being situated ten thousand feet above 
 the level of the sea, the latter almost on a level with it. 
 
 Mountain-chains like the Andes, the Rockies, the Hima- 
 layas, the Alps, etc., are also causes of great differences in 
 climate, as they may protect the land from certain atmos- 
 pheric currents and other influences. This was proved by 
 the great fertility of the eastern slope and the rainless west- 
 ern slope of the Andes, also by the two slopes of the Rockies. 
 
 These different considerations were summed up in this : 
 Latitude, formation, and elevation of a country condition its 
 climate. 
 
 But climate alone does not make a country a desirable 
 place to dwell in. Other things are needed to make it fertile, 
 otherwise Australia ought to be overcrowded, whereas it is but 
 thinly populated. Irrigation is an important condition. Look 
 at Western and Central Europe, at the United States : these 
 countries are admirably irrigated i. e., watered and drained. 
 The teacher dwelt on this by showing that the United States 
 have in their Mississippi Valley the granary of the world,
 
 CAUSE AND EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHY. 3H 
 
 a most ideally irrigated, fertile region. Fertility was traced 
 to irrigation in France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Spain. 
 
 The latter country served as an example to prove that 
 climate, elevation, and irrigation will not suffice to maintain 
 life if the soil is not favorable. In Spain the forests that 
 used to crown the lovely mountains, and constantly feed the 
 picturesque and navigable rivers meandering through the 
 valleys, have been uprooted. Ruthless extermination of the 
 forests had made the hills bare, the rain had washed the fer- 
 tile soil from the unprotected mountain-sides, and the rivers 
 now dry up in summer and threaten death and destruction 
 in spring when the melting of the snow fills the river-beds 
 and causes inundations. 
 
 So, then, proper soil is another condition of life, and we 
 have the principle that climate is caused by latitude, for- 
 mation, and elevation of the country ; that proper climate, 
 favorable irrigation, and good soil condition an exuberant 
 vegetation. Vegetation, of course, is a condition necessary 
 for the animal kingdom. But, while the latter depends for 
 subsistence upon vegetation, the former is in no small degree 
 dependent upon animal matter for subsistence. So, again, 
 we have cause and effect. And the chain lengthens : latitude 
 and elevation cause climate ; climate and irrigation condition 
 vegetation. All these are necessary to support the animal 
 kiiidom. 
 
 Where all these conditions are favorable, human exist- 
 ence is assured ; and the human population of a country 
 stands in exact proportion to the presence or absence of these 
 conditions. This was conclusively demonstrated by the 
 population of North America. The United States, situated 
 in the temperate zone, traversed by lofty mountain-ranges 
 which afford admirable irrigation, possessing on the whole 
 a very fertile soil, had all the conditions of an exuberant 
 vegetation and support of animal and human beings. Con- 
 sequently, we find them populated by about sixty millions, 
 while north and south of them, in Canada and Mexico, the 
 population is comparatively sparse.
 
 312 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 The pupils were almost breathless with attention, and, 
 when called upon, gave geographical facts in support of the 
 teacher's assertions quite readily. I was told that this was 
 a review lesson, which, while offering new vistas into the 
 science of geography, caused the pupils to brush up their 
 knowledge of geographical facts. 
 
 The task given out for the next lesson was : " Find proofs 
 for the truths we have discovered to-day." 
 
 " Will they be able," I asked, " to find more proofs ? " 
 
 " I should think so ! " was the reply of the teacher. " They 
 worry their fathers, mothers, uncles, and aunts for further 
 proofs ; they consult the libraries, they ransack every source 
 of information, until they find proofs. A truth thus dis- 
 covered, as we did in this lesson, acts like leaven, it grows 
 and induces the learner to proceed in his investigations. 
 And it will scarcely be necessary to recapitulate these facts, 
 for indigenous thoughts are like words engraved with steel 
 into granite, while borrowed thoughts, such as are learned 
 by heart from the printed page, are words written \\ ith a 
 reed on dry sand; the next rain will wash them out." 
 
 8. " KNABENHORT " (ASYLUM FOR BOYS). 
 
 In Germany and Austria it has been repeatedly remarked 
 in Parliament and teachers' meetings that a degeneration in 
 the manners and morals of youth is noticeable in late years. 
 It is claimed, not in Europe alone, but with us too, that the 
 male youth grows rough and unmanageable by being allowed 
 to run wild. Short-sighted people have laid the cause of 
 this fact if fact it be at the door of the common school. 
 Speculations are rife as to proper remedies, and I am glad to 
 notice here that a most effective one has been found which 
 deserves to be imitated in the United States. 
 
 Mr. R. Petzel, a teacher in Vienna, whom I took occasion 
 to mention elsewhere, has addressed the Austrian Govern- 
 ment in regard to this matter. I take pleasure in presenting 
 an abstract of his essay. If we admit, for the sake of the 
 argument, that the morals and manners of our boys are less
 
 "KNABENHORT" (ASYLUM FOR BOYS). 313 
 
 commendable than in former years, we must in justice also 
 admit a very vital change in the social condition of the 
 families whence these boys come. Only about a generation 
 ago, the cities were crowded with thousands of tradesmen 
 and artisans who had their own workshops, in which the 
 boys were apt to be found at work after school hours. To- 
 day machine-work has absorbed the many little shops, and 
 huge factories with tall chimney-stacks and steam-engines 
 perform the work which formerly diligent workmen did at 
 home. The men are in the factories from 6 A. M. till 6 P. M., 
 and often later here in Europe. Thousands, yea, hundreds 
 of thousands of women have found occupation within the 
 gloomy and sooty atmosphere of these factories. The great 
 battle for subsistence deprives parents of time and inclination 
 to look after their children. And the public schools have 
 not increased their educational activity in the same ratio in 
 which home education has receded. School is what it was, a 
 school for instruction, not so much an asylum of education. 
 Though it has increased its usefulness immensely, the 
 prevailing social misery overpowers its influence. Where 
 formerly it was an adjunct to home education, it is now ex- 
 pected to be both school and home at the same time. 
 
 The author referred to says : " It would lead us too far to 
 refute the claim that faulty treatment in school causes this 
 degeneration, for schools can not correct the manners and 
 morals of children while they are not within its pale of in- 
 fluence. But it seems desirable to call attention to a remedy 
 the good effect of which we have noticed in many places. 
 It is the establishment of boys' homes or boys' asylums. 
 
 " The great majority of children in cities come from 
 very poor families. The parents, in this age of machine and 
 factory labor, are compelled to leave their children unat- 
 tended during the greater part of the day, and many boys 
 take advantage of this to run wild in the streets. It is an 
 ancient truth that unemployed hands work mischief. Such 
 unemployed children are apt to suffer from neglect. In the 
 larger cities of Germany societies have been formed whose
 
 314 DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 aim it is to collect children of school-going age who, for 
 want of proper home influence, are in danger of being lost 
 in the paths of vice. These children are gathered in rooms 
 called "Childrens' Homes, or Boys' Asylums," after school 
 hours, and are there supervised by suitable persons, chiefly 
 teachers of the common schools, and employed pleasantly in 
 such a manner that their entire education is assisted and 
 supplemented. 
 
 " These asylums are not schools ; they are intended to re- 
 store (or act as substitutes for) the missing home-training. 
 The boys here learn circumspection and discretion ; are 
 trained to order, obedience, regular activity, and good man- 
 ners. They are here kept from the degrading influence of 
 the street and back-alley companions. Only teachers who 
 have the reputation of being philanthropists, and who gov- 
 ern by the Christian spirit of love, are employed. That the 
 efforts of these societies are not in vain can be observed in 
 the " Knabenhorte " of Munich, Leipsic, Dresden, Halle, Co- 
 logne, Frankfort, and other cities. To show how these insti- 
 tutions work, we will go into a more minute statement of 
 their programme. 
 
 " Soon after dinner on days when there is no school, and 
 on school days after four o'clock p. M., the boys come to the 
 ' Hort,' and remain till seven, at some places till eight, in 
 the evening. There they receive a lunch of milk and bread 
 at four o'clock ; then they do their home-tasks for school, 
 aided, if need be, by the supervisor. After that an hour is 
 spent in social games out-doors. On rainy days, lotto, 
 checkers, dominos, and other indoor games are indulged in. 
 Some who like to read are furnished with books good 
 books, the best that can be found. After that an hour or 
 two is spent in manual work. This consists of folding 
 paper, making pasteboard articles, modeling, carving in plas- 
 ter, chiseling, joiner- work, scroll-sawing, and such like work. 
 Every boy finds some favorite occupation and is kept at it. 
 
 " These hours are full of gayety and frolic, and pure hap- 
 piness seems to dwell here where idleness is considered the
 
 'KNABENnOKT" (ASYLUM FOIL BOYS). 
 
 315 
 
 blackest of vices. From time to time cheerful songs are 
 sung in chorus while the work goes on. At times the super- 
 visor tells thrilling stories of adventure, or some musically 
 
 inclined member of the happy family plays a piece on a mu- 
 sical instrument, be it only a Jew's harp. Every innocent 
 enjoyment is welcome. The manual training in these asy-
 
 31G DRESDEN IN SAXONY AND MUNICH IN BAVARIA. 
 
 lums has not the purpose of making special artisans, but of 
 training the boys in the use of tools, and giving them occu- 
 pation during their leisure hours. They make kites when 
 the season of kites comes, make tops, carve and rig boats in 
 short, they make their own playthings. With the training 
 of the hand goes the training of the eye, a pleasant stimula- 
 tion of the intellect, and all this will result in making better 
 men as well as better artisans of them. 
 
 " In summer, the boys play much out-doors, and the su- 
 pervisor is one of their own number. He has no privileged 
 position in the social games, save that which his greater fer- 
 tility for suggesting and arranging games gives him. He 
 is the boys' leader pure and simple, a true pedagogue (boy- 
 leader). Excursions into parks and out into the commons 
 are frequent. Baths are taken in a shallow pond or stream- 
 let. In winter skates are furnished, and the whole band 
 goes out skating or coasting. At every one of these excur- 
 sions the supervisor is among the boys, and always ' in the 
 thick of it.' 
 
 " In order to secure good supervisors the society pays a 
 good price say four marks per evening. This is a hand- 
 some addition to the teacher's salary. In Leipsic these men 
 get a fixed addition of seven hundred and fifty marks to 
 their salary as common-school teachers ; in Halle, six hun- 
 dred marks. In order that it may not appear as though 
 these asylums are purely benevolent institutions, a tuition- 
 fee of ten German pennies (two and a half cents) per week is 
 asked. At Christmas a grand festival is held, for which 
 every boy must do something. Deserving boys are clothed 
 on this occasion ; school-books are distributed, and even sav- 
 ings-bank books, with a handsome credit ' to begin with.' A 
 real home with all its love-tokens and various interests is 
 created, and it is no wonder that the boys love the ' Hort,' 
 as children love then* home when their parents are well 
 situated and inclined to make home happy. 
 
 "These Knabenhorte have had results which far sur- 
 pass all expectation, and they are now established in every
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 317 
 
 large city of the German Empire. A few have just been, 
 opened in Switzerland also. Strict order and discipline are 
 kept but not that death-like stillness so freqiiently noticed 
 in school. All rudeness, indoors or outdoors, is punished by 
 an exclusion from a favorite occupation, while innocent en- 
 joyment is encouraged. Many a boy who was going down 
 an inclined plane has been brought back to the level path 
 of duty by the wholesome influence of the Knabenhort, and 
 thousands have been prevented from ever leaving it. 
 
 " No better testimonial can be given to these institutions 
 than that in many cities the number of applications for ad- 
 mission is fourfold greater than the number of pupils that 
 can be accommodated. It has become a great privilege to 
 be admitted." 
 
 The establishment of " Knabenhorte " in America may 
 be only a palliative remedy for the correction of social evils 
 that exist in an alarming degree, but, still, it is the most 
 effective known as yet. A Knabenhort may prove to be 
 that ounce of prevention which saves the pound of legisla- 
 tive cure. There is no reason whatever why the girls might 
 not be benefited likewise. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 1. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 
 
 An Argument. There can be no doubt whatever that 
 the Americans and Germans have solved the " manual 
 training question " the sensible resolution of American 
 school-men not to make artisans, but aim at a many-sided 
 training of the hand by employing it in no definite trade, 
 but in occupations that are common to many if not all 
 trades. It is just so with arithmetic. If we should follow 
 the dictates of the merchant, he would drive us into business
 
 318 PARIS. 
 
 rules at the expense of other arithmetical work necessary for 
 thorough training of the mind. If we were to follow the 
 artists, they would propel us in another direction quite as 
 foreign to the purposes of the common school. If we were 
 to follow the ideas of certain short-sighted " practical " 
 people, we should have to make tinsmiths', carpenters', cob- 
 blers' shops, etc., of our manual training halls. The very 
 nature and character of the American school are opposed to 
 that ; though it has often to bow before the dictates of a 
 senseless spirit of utilitarianism, it always, after a time, re- 
 turns to its true object, to wit, to offer the multitude what 
 is of common use, or to do the greatest good to the greatest 
 number. 
 
 In the following pages I intend to state accurately what 
 the Frenchmen do in the way of manual training. I trust 
 that my readers will without prejudice read this report. 
 My words may at times sound enthusiastic, because the work 
 is really very fine ; but from the start I must emphatically 
 assert that the whole course of manual training in Paris, as 
 I saw it in operation in more than a dozen schools, starts 
 with an^entirely erroneous intention. It is this: "We want 
 to give our boys skill in some trades, so that tjiey may be 
 able to abridge the time of apprenticeship, and get to earn 
 a living at an early age." Not, that I saw this in print or 
 heard it from the teap hers, but it can be read clearly and un- 
 mistakably from all they do. One more word by way of ex- 
 planation : The schools I shall speak of are not private 
 schools, nor special schools, but purely and simply common 
 schools, and elementary schools at that, not high-schools. 
 
 Of the one hundred and seventy-four boys' schools in 
 Paris,* maintained from state and communal funds, there are 
 ninety-nine (according to a report of 1887) which, having 
 room enough, have arranged a workshop. Others will fol- 
 low soon, as I understood from Monsieur Grandpierre, the 
 
 * There are one hundred and seventy -five communal girls' schools in 
 Paris.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 319 
 
 inspector of " travaux manuel " (manual work). All the 
 school-buildings I saw which were specially built for school 
 purposes had a large hall on the first floor. This hall is used 
 for three purposes : (a) for recreation at recess and on rainy 
 days ; (6) for gymnastic and military drill ; (c) as a dining- 
 hall at noon. Part of this large hall, extending over the en- 
 tire floor, is partitioned off for a workshop. All the shops 
 I saw contained from twelve to twenty joiners' work-benches ; 
 six to ten lathes ; one or two forges; a great number of 
 vises, tool-boxes, many models, and much material, such as 
 wood, rod-iron, stones, and imitation marble blocks. 
 
 On the walls are exhibited models to be reproduced and 
 copied. These in themselves are the course prescribed. 
 There is no printed course at least not to my knowledge 
 and I searched sufficiently for it to know that there is none. 
 The models are of four kinds : 1. Of wood, being joiner's and 
 carpenter's work ; 2. Of wood and horn, being turner's work ; 
 3. Of iron, being smith's work ; 4. Of stone and plaster, being 
 builder's work. The fourth kind does not really belong to 
 the course, being extra work of that one particular school in 
 which I saw it. In short, joiner's, turner's, and smith*'s work 
 is learned. Now, pause a moment, dear reader, and think 
 of the consequences. Here are ninety-nine schools of about 
 five hundred pupils each. All these boys learn the trades of 
 joining, turning, and forging. If not perfectly, they cer- 
 tainly get start enough in these three directions to feel in- 
 clined to make a living in these trades. 
 
 What will these boys do in a few years when these three 
 or four professions are well provided with artisans ? Will 
 not the supply be greater than the demand ? And what will 
 the superfluous number of young joiners, carpenters, turn- 
 ers, and smiths do, after having been systematically trained 
 in these industries and in no others ? Besides, what moral 
 right has any government to thus predestine the future of 
 thousands and tens of thousands of boys ? It seems a most 
 short-sighted policy. But, then, it is argued that Paris 
 needs just these apprentices, that in these branches of in- 
 22
 
 320 PARIS. 
 
 dustry Paris is particularly interested, etc. Well, I am not 
 sufficiently acquainted with the population of Paris and its 
 needs to prove the contrary, but I strongly suspect that to 
 train joiners, turners, and smiths is a most unwise proced- 
 ure, and that the time will come when there will be an over- 
 production. 
 
 What, then ? Ah ! well, it is claimed, school is not an im- 
 movable fixture in all its departments. It will adjust it- 
 self to changed circumstances and teach other trades when 
 others are desired. This is so decidedly a French argu- 
 ment that I need not continue to combat it. It is unmindful 
 of the sound principles on which rests the entire practice of 
 the American as well as German common school. 
 
 I. Results. And now I will proceed to state what I saw 
 done in the workshops. My objection against the work is 
 aimed at the course and not at the method of teaching 1 . The 
 latter is admirable. So systematic and careful is the teach- 
 ing that its results far surpass every expectation I had enter- 
 tained. In Rue Titon, eleventh arron dissentient, I saw a class 
 of twenty-four boys at work at their joiners' tables and 
 turning-lathes. The teacher, a skilled artisan, went over 
 the entire course, carefully showing me all the steps, and I 
 sketched some of the models, knowing that u Augenschein 
 gilt fur Beweis." Others which I failed to copy 011 the spot 
 I copy from a book of models. Though the collection I 
 offer is not one twentieth of the entire number, it is a typi- 
 cal one. 
 
 A plain rough board of hard wood a foot in length is 
 given to the pupil to plane smooth, sand-paper, and polish. 
 It may take the boy a number of weeks to accomplish this ; 
 but, if it should take him a year, he is not permitted to pro- 
 ceed to the next piece of work till that board is found in 
 every way correct as per order, namely, smooth and with 
 parallel corners and sides. (See Fig. 305.) 
 
 Next a square post is to be reduced to an octagonal col- 
 umn. Same conditions as in task No. 1. (See Fig. 306.) 
 
 Then saw and chisel come into requisition and are used
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF COYS IN PARIS. 321 
 
 in practicing " dovetailing," and very accurate work is re- 
 quired. (See Fig. 307.) 
 
 FIG. 30i 
 
 FIG 
 
 DOVE-TAILING. 
 FIG. 307. 
 
 FIG. 308. 
 
 FIG. 309. 
 
 After thus learning to use plane, saw, chisel, etc., the 
 first joint is made. The simplest kind of a frame is pro-
 
 322 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 duced. (See Fig. 308.) The same practice is had with a box, 
 the joints of which are made by some pupils with dovetail- 
 ing. (See Fig. 309). 
 
 Among the models furnished by the pupils, few of which 
 
 D 
 
 \ 
 
 ft 
 
 L 
 
 Fio. 311. 
 
 
 t- 
 | 
 
 | 
 
 < 24- 
 
 
 . 310. 
 
 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 --43* 
 
 i 
 
 _ 
 
 
 <- 43' >j 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 , 
 
 / 
 
 
 24- V 
 
 Fio. 312.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION CF EOYS IN PARIS. 323 
 
 I venture to copy, I found also a joint (see Fig. 310) which 
 was made of two different kinds of wood which fitted exactly. 
 It was a very intricate combination, and evidently a fine 
 piece of work, of which teacher and pupils were proud. 
 
 Figs. 311 and 312 show not only how a frame-joint is 
 made, but how it is drawn first. Of course, there are many 
 steps omitted between this and the other models ; but I had 
 not the time to copy them, nor can it be my object to 
 furnish a manual for this kind of work. Indeed, I should 
 have to restrict myself entirely to reporting upon what is 
 done in the manual training department, if I should give 
 more than a bare outline in these pages. The few sketches I 
 offer are gathered here and there in different schools. They 
 enable the reader to see what is being done in the carpenter 
 class. Thus the drawings are made, and well made, as I 
 know, from ocular inspection ; but these sketches do not ad- 
 equately show the real manual work or its results. In order 
 to illustrate this, I procured the work of Messrs. Laubier and 
 Bougueret, which exhibits in lithotype the models made by 
 the pupils of a school in the Rue Tournefort. They show 
 the methodical steps in acquiring a skill in the use of the 
 saw and chisel, and I offer the models here in the hope that 
 they may better state what is done in the Parisian schools 
 than a whole volume of description. Appended to these 
 models will be found some samples of joiner's work. All 
 the models are rough as yet, and prove unmistakably that 
 this is boys' work, but it also proves the methodical skill of 
 the teachers. (See Figs. 313-329, and also Figs. 330-339.) 
 
 II. Partitioned off from the joiners' and turners' hall is 
 the forge, and here the work of locksmiths and toolsmiths 
 is done. Strong steel vises and anvils are found here, though 
 somewhat smaller than adults would want them. They are 
 well placed, and the boys here work with much zeal, and 
 the teacher acts with great circumspection to avoid accidents 
 from fire or dangerous use of metals. I am very sorry I am 
 unable to offer in sketch illustrations what is done in this 
 department. Suffice it to say that the instruction is fully
 
 Fios. 3l3-3s.-PupiLs' WORK. LEARNING TO USE SAW AND CHISEL.
 
 as comprehensive as that in the joiners 1 department. The 
 copies of models I offer in Figs. 340-348 are fair samples. 
 
 FIGS. 330-339. PUPILS' WORK IN JOINING.
 
 323 PAUIS. 
 
 in. Turners' Work. Side by side with the work in car- 
 pentering and joining goes a course in turning. Not every 
 boy of the class takes up both occupations, but most of them 
 confine themselves to one only. I am unable to sketch any 
 of the great number of drawings exhibited and used in inak- 
 
 . FIGS. 340-948. PCPIIS' WORK IN BRASS AND IRON. 
 
 ing the models partly because I failed to sketch rapidly 
 enough, and partly because circular curves are rather be- 
 yond my capacity. I must therefore rely upon the litho- 
 types referred to above and offered on the next page. I 
 select only a few sets, because the models show, as a matter 
 of self -evidence, a great deal of similarity. The sets I offer
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 327 
 
 are Nos. 1 to 6, and 12 to 17. They show some varieties of 
 edged and circular curves. 
 
 FIGS. 349-359. PUPILS' WORK IN TURNING.
 
 328 PARIS. 
 
 The boys who do this kind of work arc from twelve to 
 fourteen years old. They have a lesson of an hour three 
 times a week. The hall is cleaned carefully of shavings 
 and dust after each lesson, and all the tools are placed away, 
 or hung up in rows, so that the next class will find every- 
 thing " ship-shape." 
 
 Though the boys have only three lessons a week in man- 
 ual occupations, they get a great deal of instruction in four 
 years. Some pupils never go beyond the most elementary 
 beginnings, while others learn rapidly and actually turn out 
 to be skilled joiners, turners, locksmiths, or toolsmiths, as 
 the case may be, when leaving school. 
 
 The secret of this success is partly found in the natural 
 aptitude of some children in that particular direction, partly 
 in the fact that no piece of work is furnished, no task is set 
 unless a drawing is made of it, such as I furnish in the pre- 
 ceding and following sketches. Any one who can conceive 
 a form in such a manner that he can sketch it on the flat 
 surface can produce that form also in natura, provided he 
 has the necessary skill in the use of the tools. And it is this 
 happy combination of drawing and executing the drawing 
 which causes the success of the French manual occupation 
 schools. Not one of these halls in Paris and elsewhere 
 in France is without ample blackboard space; and it is 
 frequently used, as I had occasion to observe. 
 
 Though it is the evident desire of the teachers in these 
 halls to keep the classes together and give class-instruction, 
 the latter is found impossible, and soon after a new class is 
 admitted the pupils proceed at different paces and drift apart. 
 So the teacher has to individualize and confine the attention 
 of a class to a few things which they must do together. 
 
 IV. Wood-Carving and Inlaid Work. And now I will 
 proceed to give some sketches of the work done in ornament- 
 ing. The work consists of wood-carving, scroll-sawing, of 
 " inlaying " and veneering. The sketches 360 to 367 are exe- 
 cuted in wood after drawings designed by the class; in a few 
 instances plaster is used. I copied these few drawings partly
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 329 
 
 from the class-work, partly from a hand-book I found in use, 
 partly from models on exhibition in the " Musee Pedago- 
 gique." Though these schools may not be our ideal manual 
 
 FIGS. 3GO-3G2. 
 
 FIG. 303. 
 
 Fio. 364. 
 
 occupation schools, it is evident from these drawings that 
 excellent work is performed in them. 
 
 Figs. 363, 364, and 365 will be found on subsequent pages 
 among the models in lithotype. These models begin with
 
 330 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 easy work and end with remarkably artistic work, all done 
 by boys below fourteen years of age. Scroll-sawing is not 
 practiced as much as in German schools. It is chiefly used 
 where inlaid work is made. 
 
 Fios. 366, 367. 
 
 The lithotype copies of models are less pretentious than 
 some work I saw in the pedagogical museum, but, as in pre- 
 ceding collections of models, they show the methodical treat-
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 
 
 531 
 
 rnent better than a printed course could do it. It would need 
 the space of a volume alone for a description of all the nu- 
 merous designs executed in wood and plaster. My selections, 
 however, I think, are ample. 
 
 FIGS. 368, 369. PUPILS' WORK IN INLAYING. 
 
 He who has not had occasion to observe a person engaged 
 in wood-carving will not likely see much in these models or 
 patterns. All who have some knowledge of it will notice 
 that in the samples offered distinct stages of the course are 
 noticeable, from the simplest outlining and stamping to deep 
 carving. The same designs are used in inlaid work.
 
 332 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 Fios. 370-381. PUPILS' WORK IN WOOD-CARVINO.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 333 
 
 . 366 and 367 represent deeper carving and the begin- 
 ning 1 of inlaying. I saw such charming work, among the 
 specimens on exhibition in the museum referred to above 
 that I lingered in contemplation of these treasures. I was 
 assured, by the director of the institution, that every piece 
 of work of the entire collection had been furnished by pupils 
 of French schools, not merely from schools in Paris. From 
 the paper-folding done in the Kindergarten (here called 
 maternal schools) to the close of the course of elementary 
 schools at the age of fourteen, and even from the work of 
 higher schools, samples are here collected. Some of these 
 things might do honor to skilled artisans. I offer a few 
 designs executed by higher-grade pupils in Figs. 368 and 369. 
 
 V. In modeling in clay the manual training schools in 
 Paris go too far, it seems to me. Though I saw most ex- 
 cellent articles ready for exhibition, and many boys at work 
 on similar figures, I can not suppress a lurking doubt as to 
 the genuineness of some pieces found in the museum. I 
 miss also the strict methodical treatment found in all the 
 other departments of manual occupation. I select a few 
 samples which show so bold a conception of form despite 
 the traces of unskilled labor, that I suspect the teacher lent 
 a helping hand. Still, it is claimed that the boys use no 
 measures, except the eye, and that frequently they depart 
 from given models and produce new forms. 
 
 My own want of skill in modeling, I will frankly admit, 
 may lead me to suspect that the boys " plowed with Samson's 
 heifers," and experts tell me there is less difficulty in form- 
 ing and constructing in clay than there is in wood-carving, 
 While I grant that the boys in Paris do better work in carv- 
 ing and joiner work than those in Germany, vastly better, I 
 think the work in modeling, as I found it in Vienna and 
 Leipsic is better suited to the capacity of young pupils, it 
 being more in line with elementary instruction. In German 
 manual schools modeling of geometrical bodies is the first 
 step, then follow simple leaf-forms which are convention- 
 alized in ornaments afterward.
 
 334 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 FIGS. 382-389. PUPILS' WORK. MODELING IN CLAY.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 335 
 
 FIGS. 390-395. MODELING IN CLAY. 
 
 23
 
 330 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 FIGS. 396-399. MODELING IN CLAY.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 337 
 
 The fact that in Paris artisans and artists, that is, special- 
 ists who are not professional teachers, conduct the manual 
 occupations, is noticeable in every department, but in none 
 more than in modeling ; while in Germany none but bona 
 fide teachers who have passed through a regular course of 
 training in a manual training normal school are seen in the 
 industrial halls or workshops. This explains why in France 
 much is done for effect, while in Germany the idea of har- 
 monious education is carried out strictly. 
 
 WASH-STAND 
 VERTICAL CUT 
 
 DOOR JOINT 
 
 fa) FACE. 
 
 (6) VERTICAL CUT. 
 (C) BASE, HORIZON- 
 TAL CUT, 
 
 FIGS. 400, 401. 
 
 Manual Training in Evening Schools. In some French 
 and Swiss schools the course of industrial education is ex- 
 tended beyond the common-school age. Evening schools 
 are arranged. In these post-graduate courses the joiner's 
 and carpenter's trades are taught and very creditable work 
 is done. Some sketches may show the extent of the course. 
 Fig. 400 shows a door- joint and the setting in of panels. 
 Fig. 401 is a more complicated affair, which is made by sev- 
 eral boys, each being charged with one or two items, each
 
 338 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 of which must be made according to measure. The entire 
 work is done by following the drawing made previously. 
 
 VI. Pupils' Work in Building. In the post-graduate 
 course building is a branch of study. The material used 
 here is to some extent cut to size so as to fit given models. 
 These models are put together in the way in which our toy 
 
 VIEW OF RAFTER TIE 
 
 Flos. 402, 403. 
 
 building-blocks in the nursery are used, only with this dif- 
 ference, that every structure must comply strictly with a 
 drawing, perspective and isometric. 
 
 First, a structure is made with the miniature blocks (imi- 
 tations of pressed clay), say, a self-supporting arch, then it is 
 drawn. Another lesson is to draw the object according to
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF BOYS IN PARIS. 339 
 
 certain given measures, and then to build it with the mate- 
 rial prescribed accurately according to the drawing. 
 
 In order to give an idea of what difficult structures are 
 expected from the working lads, I will mention that among 
 the beautiful models of imitation stone (pressed clay) I saw 
 in a school on the Boulevard de Belleville, in Paris, was the 
 difficult "GEil de Bceuf arch"; an arch with plain center, 
 a " vouter d'arte " (a vault) ; an " arc descente biaise " (an in- 
 clined arch) ; an " arc platebande " (with border). I counted 
 about sixty different structures, all of which were erected 
 
 FRONT VIEW 
 
 r\ 
 
 I J , 
 
 GROUND PLAN 
 
 CROSS BEAM 
 SADDLE 
 
 n 
 
 Fid. 404. 
 
 without mortar. They were simple self-supporting struct- 
 ures. The drawings accompanying these models were stu- 
 pendously intricate. The sketches I submit here (Figs. 402- 
 410) are very simple, taken from a hand-book of a Swiss 
 teacher. They will in a measure indicate how thorough the 
 instruction is. Though being but an infinitesimal part of 
 the work, they may show better what kind of problems are 
 solved than a number of pages of text. 
 
 In discussing this subject I feel that I have not done jus- 
 tice to the manual -train ing department as it deserves; but 
 my inability to give more than mere suggestions must ex- 
 cuse me. 
 
 Figs. 405-410 show the details of a window such as is
 
 340 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 (a) FACE OF CORNER 
 
 (f) FACE OF CORNER 
 
 Fios. 405 410.
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF GIRLS IN PARIS. 341 
 
 used on the Continent in Europe. There are a great number 
 of highly interesting and knotty problems connected with 
 this task, all of which are solved. 
 
 2. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF GIRLS IN PARIS. 
 
 This topic, though of equal interest with that discussed in 
 the preceding chapter, can be treated but briefly. A woman 
 may be able to discuss it with more skill than I. All I can 
 do is to furnish some facts. Of that I believe myself fully 
 competent. Of necessity the facts must be but few. 
 
 The girls' schools are "manned" with women teachers ex- 
 clusively. No man, not even a special teacher, is allowed to 
 teach girls in Paris. The only men who enter a girls' school 
 here are the inspector, the maire, and doctor of the arron- 
 dissement (ward of the city). The principals of these schools 
 are splendid women, highly refined in manner and address, 
 and well trained in disciplining. Since they are not en- 
 gaged in teaching they have not that proverbial look of 
 care on their countenances seen among women teachers 
 here as well as at home. 
 
 No knitting and crocheting is taught in these schools, for 
 it is argued that that kind of work can be had ready made 
 by machines ; but sewing is taught to perfection. All kinds 
 of sewing, plain and complicated (for it is argued that that is 
 a necessity in every household), and darning and patching, 
 are raised to a fine art in these schools. The results are 
 brilliant. The reader is referred to what is said of the in- 
 dustrial education 
 of girls in Cologne. 
 He will find there 
 much that holds 
 
 good for Paris. FlG 411 
 
 Each pupil has a 
 
 bag of strong canvas like the sketch in the margin, which 
 holds the sewing utensils, the patterns, and the work under 
 hand. It is a very convenient bag. Home tasks are given 
 in sewing, and the bag is to be carried home.
 
 PARIS. 
 
 A E FB 
 
 r ^ 
 
 E' 
 
 n 
 
 
 A 
 
 BOY'S V_ 
 
 VEST. 
 
 BUST MEASURE. 
 
 
 C' 
 
 G 
 
 A E F B B' A'A E B 
 
 C' 
 
 C 8 G 
 
 C'C G' 
 FIGS. 4DM16. 
 
 C L) C D
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF GIRLS IX PARIS. 34-3 
 
 In one thing the girls 1 schools in Paris far surpassed any- 
 thing I had seen before: I mean in cutting out and fitting 
 garments, not only undergarments, as is done in Cologne 
 and elsewhere, but dresses, cloaks, hoods, bonnets that is, 
 all the garments for children and adults. They are made 
 in miniature form by fitting them to dolls first. Drawings 
 are made, the patterns are then cut out of manila paper. 
 After these are found correct (see Fig. 413, "Verifying a 
 Measure") the stuff (commonly calico or merino) is cut ac- 
 cording to the patterns, and the 
 garment is basted. Then again it 
 is fitted; at last finished. It is la- 
 borious work ; but the great variety 
 of garments, from a boy's vest to a 
 woman's cloak, adds interest to the 
 work. 
 
 The upper grades have a text- 
 book for this study (costing twenty 
 csnts), entitled " Coupe et Confec- 
 tion de Vetements de Femmes et 
 d'Enfants" I can in no better way 
 illustrate the work going on than 
 by copying some of the patterns I 
 saw cut out. They must speak for 
 themselves. The figures and letters 
 attached agree with the ones given 
 in a short description furnished by 
 the children. 
 
 Whether this course of instruc- 
 tion is a wise one ; whether under- 
 neath it is not the same vital error 
 found in the boys' manual training, 
 I must leave unanswered, or refer to the more competent 
 judgment of my female readers. I merely state facts. In 
 the higher classes, I understand, other occupations, the so- 
 called genteel occupations, are added to the course, painting 
 on china, etc. I saw specimens of that which were very
 
 344 PARIS. 
 
 fine. This, however, seemed to me so foreign to the course 
 of study in common schools that I felt no desire to further 
 inquire into it. 
 
 That there is a strong desire to prepare the girls in Paris 
 for housewifery may be seen also from the fact that a reader 
 
 FIGS. 418, 419. 
 
 is used in the upper classes of the common schools for girls 
 entitled " Le Menage : Causeries d'Aurore avec sea Nieces 
 sur V Economic Domestique" ("The Household : Aurora's 
 Talks with her Nieces about Domestic Economy ").
 
 DINiNERS TOR SCHOOL-CHILDREN IN PARIS. 345 
 
 From the composition-books I inspected, I copied a few 
 headings 011 account of their significance. They character- 
 ize the Parisian female education : 
 
 1. " The History of a Bird that had lost its Liberty." 
 
 2. "Review the Events of the Year 1887 that concern 
 you." 
 
 3. "What Wishes have you formed for yourself cud 
 your Family at the Beginning of the New Year ? " 
 
 4. " What will most enhance the Comfort and WclTare 
 of a Family, and why ? " 
 
 5. " Domesticitj', the Noble Virtue of Woman." 
 
 That drawing is not neglected in the gills' schools in 
 Paris may be seen from the two specimens (Figs. 418, 419) of 
 work done from plaster casts, by girls ten and eleven years 
 old. I insert them, and think the artist has reproduced 
 them accurately (see page 344). 
 
 3. DINNERS FOR SCHOOL-CHILDREN IN PARIS. 
 
 The problem how to obtain regular afternoon attend- 
 ance, yet give the school-children the much-desired recrea- 
 tion, avoid cold lunches, and not worry the mothers at noon, 
 who are almost all hard-working women, this very com- 
 plex problem is satisfactorily solved in Paris. About eighty- 
 two per cent of the pupils stay in school during the noon- 
 recess, and are fed from the school-kitchen. The large hall 
 found in every communal school hi Paris, and which I men- 
 tioned elsewhere, is used as a dining-hall. Long tables and 
 benches, that can be folded together and removed when mili- 
 tary and gymnastic drill is to be had, are set up by the con- 
 cierge (janitress) shortly before noon, and the children 
 march down from their class-rooms in slow procession. 
 
 On a counter at a window of the kitchen are placed some 
 three hundred to four hundred tin plates and an equal num- 
 ber of tin bowls. Each child, as it passes the window, gets a 
 bowl of delicious soup and a plate with meat and some vege- 
 tables. Then he marches to his seat. The whole process of 
 dealing out does not last longer than a quarter of an hour.
 
 346 PARIS. 
 
 Each child brings with him a chunk of bread and a small 
 flask of wine. Do not get disgusted dear reader ! It is wine, 
 red wine, very inoffensive, drinkable wine ; though you 
 might drink a gallon of it, it would not cause intoxication. 
 Still, I grant that water would be better. But such is France. 
 Wine belongs as much to a dinner in Paris as water does 
 with us, and I did not feel over-anxious to play the rdle of 
 temperance apostle while in France for reasons too obvious 
 to mention. 
 
 The food thus furnished is of excellent quality, and it is 
 furnished free to all indigent pupils. All who can pay do 
 iL From the teachers I understood that few parents send 
 their children without the necessary obolus. The price of a 
 dinner (dejeuner) is ten centimes in some schools, fifteen 
 centimes in others, or, in our money, two or three cents. 
 Think of it! Good, nutritious soup, a plateful of well- 
 cooked meat and vegetables (potatoes, beans, peas, lentils, as 
 the case may be), and gravy all for two or three cents. I 
 could scarcely believe my ears when I heard " A meal for 
 two (or three) sous," yet it is a fact, and I saw the boys pay 
 cheerfully. 
 
 Children who live in the immediate neighborhood of the 
 school-house go home to get their dinner, but the majority 
 remain in the hall or yard, and are under the supervision of 
 a teacher till the afternoon session begins. It can not be 
 emphasized too much that cold lunches particularly if they 
 consist of pastry are abominations, and we Americans 
 might learn something from these Frenchmen in feeding 
 multitudes, except in partaking of alcoholic drinks, for, 
 alas ! we know that only too well. 
 
 Now, of course, my female readers will want to know 
 something of the bill of fare. I copied the one prescribed 
 for February in a school on Rue de Recluse St. Martin, 
 M. Z. Bertrand director. The bill is changed every month, 
 so as to afford changes as the season dictates them. There is 
 no school on Thursday ; that day is as firmly established 
 a school holiday in Paris as Saturday is with us.
 
 GYMNASTIC AND MILITARY DRILL IN PARIS. 347 
 
 Menu for February. 
 First and Third Week of the Month. 
 
 Monday : Soup with haricot-beans, mutton-stew, and 
 beans. 
 
 Tuesday : Soup with boiled beef, brown cabbage. 
 Wednesday : Onion-soup, veal-roast, fried potatoes. 
 Friday : Soup with boiled beef, macaroni. 
 Saturday : Soup with sorrel and greens, mutton, lentils. 
 
 Second and Fourth Week of the Month. 
 
 Monday : Potato-soup, mutton-stew, peas. 
 Tuesday : Soup with boiled beef, haricot-beans. 
 Wednesday : Soup with rice and greens, veal-stew. 
 Friday : Soup with boiled beef, fried potatoes. 
 Saturday : Soup with lentils, mutton with peas. 
 This is a two-cent institution ; the fare for three cents is 
 more sumptuous. "Bon appetit" 
 
 4. GYMNASTIC AND MILITARY DRILL IN PARIS. 
 
 In my former reports I have said nothing of the excellent 
 gymnastic exercises in German schools, though I was strong- 
 ly tempted to do so ; but it would have involved the neces- 
 sity of sketching the human body, and that is beyond my 
 capacity as an artist. Any presentation of gymnastic exer- 
 cises in print without sketch or outline illustrations would 
 be stale reading-matter, and therefore a senseless undertak- 
 ing. Here in Paris the " study " of gymnastics has a few 
 peculiar features not found anywhere else, and I will there- 
 fore mention them : 
 
 1. Fencing is taught, not with foils and swords, but with 
 hazel-sticks of considerable length. It was a novel sight for 
 me to see the boys go through a regular course of fencing 
 exercises in which the strokes fell heavy and thick but were 
 parried skillfully except once, when an unemployed hand 
 stuck out too far, and that was the teacher's hand. 
 
 2. Each boys' school has a rifle company, consisting of
 
 348 PARIS. 
 
 the upper grade of pupils and called " bataillon scholairc." 
 They are furnished with Chassepot rifles (breech-loaders) 
 somewhat reduced hi size, very light, and blind. The boys 
 can not shoot with them, but use them in their disciplinary 
 drills. Knapsacks containing the necessary utensils for 
 cleaning the gun and clothes when on a march complete 
 the outfit. Every company has a drum and fife corps. I 
 believe that, when the present generation of French boys is 
 grown up to manhood, France will have a better army than 
 at present, for what I saw of French soldiers much reminded 
 me of our militiamen in peace. The French soldiers' march- 
 ing was slouching and anything but inspiring. 
 
 The discipline in the lower boys' school in Paris is rigid 
 to a fault in the class-room, corridors, and yard. I really 
 believe what one teacher told me : " We used to be very 
 lenient to the pupils; but the wonderful discipline of the 
 Germnn soldiers and the fact that they have to begin that 
 discipline in school at an early age, induced us to change 
 our tactics. I think we are beginning to see an improve- 
 ment in our pupils, and hope to see the young men of our 
 country cope with the Germans in strength, order, and obe- 
 dience in a generation or two from now. Tt is slow, up-hill 
 work; but the people of France are determined to proceed 
 upward, not down ward." The man was no braggart; but, 
 having observed during many months the influence of a 
 century of public-school and army discipline in Germany in 
 both boys and men, I doubt sincerely that the Frenchmen 
 will ever be able to " catch up " with the Germans hi that 
 respect 
 
 5. EQUIPMENT OF SCHOOL-ROOMS IN PARIS. 
 
 The scholars' desks and seats here are much better than 
 in Germany, much more convenient, but not near so well 
 adapted as our American single desks and seats. Rarely are 
 more than fifty pupils seated in a room. On the nicely 
 tinted and scrupulously clean walls (in a few schools I saw 
 them covered with fresco ornaments) hang so many means
 
 EQUIPMENT OF SCHOOL-ROOMS IN PARIS. 349 
 
 of objective instruction that an American teacher who still 
 believes in the saving grace of the printed page would shake 
 his head. I will enumerate : A handsome engraving of the 
 " Bill of Rights " (a document as important in French history 
 as is our " Declaration of Independence ") and a fine bust 
 with the inscription " R. F." (Republique Francaise) are 
 seen over the teacher's desk. Then there is a case with a 
 glass door containing different scales with weights liquid 
 and long measures according to the metric system. These 
 are used frequently in arithmetic. Casts of plaster and 
 papier-macJie are suspended at various places on the walls, 
 acting as ornaments and being used as models for drawing. 
 
 Then there are seen in rows a number of charts for 
 object-lessons, illustrating natural history, the trades and 
 industries, history, and geography. One set of charts was a 
 novelty to me. A description of one of them must suffice. 
 In the upper part was printed, under the name " flax" and the 
 proper botanical heading, a statement of where flax is raised 
 and how it is used. Then a bundle of flax-stems with leaves 
 and blossoms in a good state of preservation is fastened with 
 strings to the chart. Under that the different stages through 
 which the fibers have to go till they can be spun are shown. 
 Then follow samples of coarse and fine linen thread. Final- 
 ly, samples of linen are shown; all this in natura, not in 
 pictures. The educational value of such a chart is indis- 
 putable. 
 
 The same objective presentation is offered to illustrate 
 the manufacture of cotton, wool, and silk stuffs. Then fol- 
 lows the leather industry, and so on. Every essential indus- 
 try is thus treated. On the chart headed " wheat," little bot- 
 tles filled with grains, flour, bran, alcohol, etc., are fastened 
 with wire. Different kinds of wool, wood, leather, etc., are 
 attached to charts; all the more important minerals (ores 
 and metals) likewise. Then follows a set of charts showing 
 the leaves, blossoms, and fruit of plants in natura, not mere- 
 ly in chromo-lithographic print. Each leaf is well varnished 
 to protect it from moisture.
 
 350 PARIS. 
 
 Each class-room in which primary geography is taught 
 is provided with a heavy cast of a relief-map of Paris and 
 vicinity. In the corner of the room of the two highest 
 grades stands a neat cupboard of white wood filled with ap- 
 paratus such as is used in the studies of physics and physi- 
 ology. The lower shelves are filled with globes, telluriums, 
 and stuffed animals and birds. It is a museum of no mean 
 importance for successful teaching. The treasures of the 
 museums were usually in very good order. Now and then 
 I noticed a chaotic disorder, and I inferred that the teacher 
 who suffered his apparatus to get into such disorder could 
 not be very orderly and systematic in his discipline and 
 teaching. Where I subjected the matter to a test I found 
 my idea verified. Verily, human nature is the came at home 
 and abroad. 
 
 In a few school-rooms I found one wall entirely reserved 
 for meritorious pupils' work. There I found, tacked to strips 
 of wood, hundreds of excellent geographical maps colored 
 and drawn well. Being requested to pick out a few from 
 this great number to take with me, I selected some that 
 seemed to me to represent the average. My hesitation to 
 accept the gift was cut short by the pupils, who said without 
 reserve that I was welcome to them, and the teacher re- 
 marked that they had an embarras de richesse and would 
 not miss any. I shall treasure these maps as a pleasant 
 memento of my visit. 
 
 In most primary classes I admired a set of chromo-litho- 
 graphed geographical charts representing " primary ideas " 
 of geography, such as valley, canal, glacier, cape, isthmus, 
 etc. These appeared to me of special value in schools in 
 Paris, where the pupils grow up between high houses and 
 rarely see anything else than streets. As to geographical 
 maps I shall mention them under the head of geography, 
 and therefore beg to refer the reader to the next chapters. 
 
 The school-rooms in Paris have more blackboard space 
 than similar schools in Germany. One board is provided 
 with lines for music ; one is used for drawing ; it has an ap-
 
 EQUIPMENT OF SCHOOL-ROOMS IN PARIS. 351 
 
 paratus for holding plaster casts ; another is used for daily 
 work, such as arithmetic and writing. Every communal 
 school of Paris has a store-room in which the more valuable 
 casts, busts, and physiological apparatus are kept. Each ob- 
 ject is labeled and numbered. I counted as many as one 
 hundred and eighty objects, some of very large size, in one 
 school. What a wealth and lavish expenditure, and what a 
 wise policy ! 
 
 These schools are by far better ventilated than the schools 
 in Germany. Except one which had been changed from a 
 mirror-factory to a school-house, all the schools I visited in 
 Paris were comparatively well ventilated (I beg to refer to 
 the fact that I saw them between February 2d and 25th) and 
 had much light falling over the left shoulder of the pupils. 
 
 It is evident that the city and state school authorities in 
 France do not grudge the schools what can serve to in- 
 crease their efficiency, as far as equipment with means for 
 objective instruction goes. To a complete equipment belongs 
 also a set of merit medals on silk ribbons. These medals are 
 of silver, neatly engraved, having the form of the star of the 
 French Legion of Honor. The " star pupils " wear the medal 
 during school hours, and when school closes they return 
 them to the teacher's desk, where they are locked up. Pu- 
 pils of higher grades are permitted to wear them on the 
 streets and at home, and I venture to assert that many a stu- 
 dent wears his medal with more just pride than some own- 
 ers of the star of the Legion of Honor. The medals change 
 owners once a month. The one who gains the greatest 
 number of simple merits is entitled to wear the silver badge. 
 That this is a bad and very objectionable custom it is scarce- 
 ly necessary to state ; but the custom is so interwoven w r ith 
 French ideas that it can not easily be changed. It is very 
 difficult for some people, even in our country, to see that 
 competition may be a natural tendency, but that it is not a 
 moral law, and that it should not be fostered in school. 
 
 In perfect accordance with the French character was the 
 incident I witnessed in a school on the Rue des Recluses St. 
 24
 
 352 PARIS. 
 
 Martin. The teacher had drawn on the board with colored 
 crayon an ancient feudal castle, with battlements and wav- 
 ing banner, standing on the top of a mountain. Below it at 
 the foot of the mountain on the bank of a river was pictured 
 a rude hut where a poor fisherman lived. Under the picture 
 stood an inscription which read, "Before 1789." I inquired 
 for the object, and heard that the teacher taught history, and 
 that this illustrated the cause of the great French Revolu- 
 tion, the centennial of which would be celebrated in 1889. 
 
 Nearly all the school-rooms I saw in Paris are provided 
 with gas-fixtures, the weather being rather gloomy in win- 
 ter, and dark early in the afternoon. The immensely high 
 houses increase the darkness. Five, six, and seven seem to 
 be the usual number of stories the houses in Paris have. 
 Houses with two or three stories are rare. 
 
 6. DRAWING IN THS COMMUNAL SCHOOLS IN PARIS. 
 
 On former occasions much was said of drawing as it is 
 taught in the schools of Germany. Had I seen Paris sooner, 
 I might, perhaps, have said less in praise of what is done in 
 drawing in Germany, for what I saw here far outshines any 
 thing I saw across the Rhine. I must urgently request my 
 readers not to express their incredulity (they will be sorely 
 tempted, though), for I brought the proofs with me, stamped 
 and signed by the rectors of the schools where I obtained 
 them. I offer them for inspection to teachers who, being 
 accustomed to seeing inferior results, may be disposed to 
 doubt the statements in this chapter. 
 
 First and foremost of all it may be said : There is actually 
 no copying done from the flat-surfaced copy in the schools 
 of Paris. In the third year of school where instruction in 
 drawing begins, solids are drawn at once. I should have 
 to repeat my former statements, if I intended to sketch the 
 course in the lower grades. Even before the third year, a 
 kind of drawing solids is found ; a simple object is outlined 
 in a network of lines as the following sketch shows. The 
 work is extremely interesting to the little ones. In regard
 
 DRAWING IN THE COMMUNAL SCHOOLS IN PARIS. 353 
 
 to the course the reader is kindly referred to previous chap- 
 ters, in which the method employed is suggested. 
 
 \ 
 
 -O 
 
 t 
 
 s 
 
 H> 
 
 7 
 
 -o 
 
 J 
 
 FIG. 420. 
 
 When a grade similar to our C Grammar (twelfth year 
 of age) is reached, the drawing is taught in a hall specially 
 arranged for the purpose, having north light. Here the 
 drawing tables and seats are arranged amphitheatrically, so 
 that the plaster cast, or 
 other object to be drawn, 
 can be seen by all pu- 
 pils equally well. In 
 order to facilitate the 
 seeing of the object, a 
 blackboard is placed be- 
 hind it, and drapery is 
 
 used for increasing the 421 
 
 shadow. The tables and 
 seats are adjustable, as the sketch in the margin shows.
 
 354 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 The hall looks more like an artist's studio than a school- 
 room. 
 
 If I were asked, What do these pupils draw ? I should feel 
 embarrassed for an answer to the question. If I said, geomet- 
 rical bodies, plaster casts of relief ornaments, plaster busts, 
 casts of human limbs, torsos of statues, furniture in fine, 
 anything that is set before them the answer would be too 
 indefinite, yet more definite than I ought to give it. For 
 my answer would not convey an idea of the masterly me- 
 
 Fios. 422-427. 
 
 thodical treatment and infinite systematic care bestowed 
 upon the course of instruction. I came away from several 
 schools loaded with drawings which teachers and pupils 
 presented to me, and these, I trust, will bear me out. The 
 aim of this instruction is what the true aim of drawing in 
 the schools ought to be, and which can be reached by draw-
 
 SKETCHING. 355 
 
 ing from the solids alone, not by imitating flat-surfaced 
 copies. It is: to make the pupils observe objects correctly, 
 present them in outlines first in tolerably exact perspective 
 view, then shade them artistically. The specimens seen un- 
 der the hand (not merely those on exhibition) were more 
 perfect than one, used to seeing the pupils copy, could have 
 expected. I certainly had not expected to see what I did see. 
 Side by side with the course of free-hand drawing from 
 solids goes a most rigid course of geometrical drawing which 
 enables the pupils to use the ruler and compasses, etc., and 
 gives them most accurate knowledge of isometric and in- 
 dustrial drawing. This course, as well as that of free-hand- 
 drawing, assists the industrial instruction in the shop spoken 
 of elsewhere. The preceding sketches (Figs. 422-427) are 
 only very incomplete indications of the work, but as sug- 
 gestions they may prove of value to my American col- 
 leagues who are endeavoring at present to find " the true 
 inwardness " of manual training. 
 
 7. SKETCHING. 
 
 The skill of French boys in sketching leaves everything 
 behind that I ever saw in other countries. At my request 
 the principals of different schools made me a present of some 
 copy-books used daily, in order to prove my assertion of the 
 superior teaching in the schools of Paris. The request was 
 cheerfully granted after the pupils had expressed their will- 
 ingness to part with the books. I have these books now, 
 and hold them ready for inspection. In them can be seen 
 geographical maps drawn hastily, but very accurately, 
 sketches of animals, plants, physical apparatus, etc., serving 
 as illustrations to the text. Each lesson or exercise is dated, 
 and a comparison of these dates enables one to prove how 
 much more work these pupils are expected to perform daily 
 than our American pupils. 
 
 The sketches I insert below are cut out of these books, 
 and I am happy to say that the artist has reproduced them 
 with all their errors and short-comings, so that a true repre-
 
 356 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 FIGS. 42&-134.
 
 HOW GEOGRAPHY IS TAUGHT IN PARIS. 357 
 
 sentation of the work can be offered. They are by no 
 means exceptionally fine specimens. The books contain 
 many more and better ones than these, which are selected 
 for insertion on account of their convenient size. I trust 
 they will speak for themselves. See Figs. 428-434. 
 
 It would be manifestly unjust to speak of the drawings 
 on exhibition in the " Musee Pedagogique," for they are se- 
 lected from thousands and tens of thousands. They represent 
 the best work performed. I do not mean to fall into the mis- 
 take of presenting what I recognize as exceptions, but the 
 average of work done. As such I wish to have the work 
 regarded. If it were not attended with too great an outlay, 
 I should have those fine drawings of marble and plaster 
 busts which I carried away from these schools photographed 
 and inserted in my report; but it is impossible. If there 
 should still be any of my colleagues who persist in doubting 
 the results of drawing from objects to be superior to copying 
 from the flat surface, I can only say, Go to Paris, and con- 
 vince yourselves. 
 
 One word more: Slates are not used after the first half- 
 year in the schools of Paris. At the close of the first year, 
 or at most at the beginning of the second year of the course, 
 the daily work in arithmetic and writing is done with lead- 
 pencil or pen and ink. This gives the young pupils a dex- 
 terity in the use of pen, paper, and ink which can not be 
 acquired where work on paper is the exception, and slate- 
 work the rule, as it is with us. 
 
 8. How GEOGRAPHY is TAUGHT IN PARIS. 
 
 Time was when the average Frenchman believed Ger- 
 many to be situated somewhere near the north pole, that her 
 inhabitants were barbarians, and that wolves, bears, and 
 foxes swarmed in the impenetrable forests of the wild coun- 
 try. Well, the war of 1870 and 1871 awakened them rudely, 
 and the French Government has since then made heroic 
 efforts to raise the average degree of intellectual culture of 
 the people. A fortnight of careful inspection in the schools
 
 358 PARIS. 
 
 of Paris has convinced me of the thoroughness of French 
 common-school education and of the wonderful start up- 
 ward which the people have taken since 1871. Side by side 
 with the communal schools there is a system of parochial 
 schools kept by Catholic brethren and sisters which is 
 doomed to extinction, since a governmental decree has fixed 
 the date of closing these schools for good on the 1st of Janu- 
 ary, 1889. I did not see any of these parochial schools ; all 
 my observations were made in communal schools. It is 
 here where I saw very good teaching in geography. 
 
 In the lower primary grades geography consists of object- 
 lessons on home, schools, and their environs. These close 
 during the third year and geography proper begins. They 
 have here a very useful map resembling my silhouette prac- 
 tice maps. It is called a mute map. It consists of a black 
 slated canvas, on which are printed with oil-paint the otit- 
 lines of France, the main rivers, the boundaries of every 
 department, with no name or lettering whatever. These 
 maps are very costly, and are treated with much care. They 
 are used, like my silhouette practice maps, as geographical 
 blackboards for inserting geographical data as they are 
 learned. The work thus added can be erased, and the maps 
 are ready for another lesson. Such a mute map may be 
 found in every school-room from the third to the eighth 
 school year. A set of regular wall-maps as we have them 
 is used also. 
 
 There are other means for illustrating geography such as 
 our American schools have not. On the wall of every 
 school-room (from the third grade upward) is found a large 
 relief -map of Paris and vicinity suspended in a heavy frame. 
 This map is made of plaster and artistically colored. It af- 
 fords an opportunity for illustrating all the essential topo- 
 graphical ideas, since the vicinity of Paris, even the city it- 
 self, is diversified by elevations and depressions, shows an 
 island (in the Seine), rivers, canals, harbors, woods, railroads, 
 etc. The map is a neat piece of work, and it must have cost 
 the school authorities much money to furnish each class-
 
 HOW GEOGRAPHY IS TAUGHT IN PARIS. 
 
 359
 
 360 PARIS. 
 
 room with a copy. On this map may be seen the new girdle 
 of forts drawn around the city. It really looks as though as 
 many soldiers were needed to invest and blockade the city 
 as there are people living inside. This double belt of forti- 
 fications looks formidable. 
 
 The geographical chromo - lithographs used have been 
 mentioned in a previous chapter. 
 
 From all these means of instruction at the disposal of the 
 teacher it may be inferred that the instruction does not rely 
 upon rote learning and memory cram. I had occasion to 
 listen to an oral examination in geography conducted by a 
 teacher. Thus he proceeded : 
 
 " Louis, describe a journey from Suez to Yokohama " ; 
 and Louis would go ahead and start " by proxy " in a steamer 
 from Suez, travel through the Red Sea, the Strait of Bab- 
 el- Mandeb (the Gate of Tears of the Arabians), etc., mention- 
 ing seas, bays, capes, harbors, countries, rivers, islands, etc. 
 Thus he would recite, and, while he did so, he drew on the 
 board a hasty but pretty accurate sketch of the route. An- 
 other pupil was called to travel by railroad from Burgos, in 
 Spain, to St. Petersburg, in Russia; another from Paris to 
 Moscow, etc. I copy a little map from the book of a pupil 
 to show that the pupils here learn by seeing and doing. The 
 cut (Fig. 435) is an accurate copy of the work except the 
 inscription, which I translate. 
 
 The second map, showing the tour by water from Calais 
 to Marseilles, is an illustration both of the way in which 
 examinations are conducted and of the fact that commercial 
 geography comes in for no little share of attention. This 
 second sketch map (a copy of a pupil's work) exhibits the 
 canal system of France. This kind of examination work 
 seemed to me better adapted to show what the pupils know 
 than answering ten such questions, narrow as a razor, as, 
 for instance, What seaport in Alabama ? What strait be- 
 tween Alaska and Siberia ? 
 
 I am sorry to report that in all this good teaching there 
 was a bit of genuine humbug. When the teachers heard
 
 \ 
 
 Boul. '^S 
 
 TRACE 
 
 DU 
 
 VOYAGE DE CALAIS 
 A MARSEILLE. 
 
 13 MAR6, 1887. 
 
 Soissons V^Reims 
 
 %' 
 Nancy 
 
 D 'Avignon 
 
 ..Marseille 
 
 .Toulon 
 
 FIG. 436.
 
 362 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 that I hailed from America, they wedged in some American 
 geography and history. Their pronunciation of American 
 cities was barbarous I " reckon " as barbarous as a genuine 
 Yankee's pronunciation of French names would be. How- 
 ever, I was fire-proof against that. It did not generate a 
 great deal of pleasure when the fourth or fifth question in 
 American history invariably concerned Lafayette and the 
 excellent services he had rendered the United States in their 
 infancy. When you are reminded of a kind deed done to 
 you, the remembrance of it ceases to be pleasant. My read- 
 ers may imagine my surprise when in one school the teacher, 
 after duly extolling Lafayette, said: "Though the United 
 States may owe thanks to France, we must not forget that 
 we owe thanks to America also. The citizens of the United 
 States first among the civilized nations demonstrated that in 
 modern times the democratic form of government is as pos- 
 sible as in ancient times. They gave the people of France a 
 great impulse to try it too/' 
 
 Due consideration is paid in the schools of Paris to com- 
 mercial geography. The railroad system of France and Eu- 
 rope is a subject of 
 much study, as could 
 be seen from sketch- 
 maps on the blackboard 
 and from work done by 
 the pupils in their jour- 
 nals. The little map in 
 the margin is an exact 
 copy of a home task per- 
 formed by a girl twelve 
 years of age. It shows 
 the important railroads 
 of France. The pupils 
 draw different maps of 
 
 each country topographical, climatic, railroad, canal, politi- 
 cal maps also maps showing where the grape-vine or olive 
 is cultivated, etc. They do this in their blank-books for daily 
 
 Fio. 437.
 
 FRENCH TEXT-BOOKS. 363 
 
 work and not on special drawing-paper. The maps, a copy 
 of which is inserted in this chapter, are reproduced in the 
 same size in which they were furnished by the pupils. 
 
 In one of the journals (pupils' blank-books filled with 
 daily work) I brought with me I noticed a remarkable task. 
 It is this: A statistical table of the most noted countries of 
 the world, headed "Tableau Comparatif." This table con- 
 tains the comparative figures of their area, population, den- 
 sity of population, armies and navies, their productions, 
 value of exports and imports, tonnage of merchant marine, 
 and sundry other items. I inquired whether this had been 
 learned by heart. "No," was the reply; "this table is to 
 cause an impression, nothing else. We dictate it and com- 
 pare the figures, to make our pupils see where France stands. 
 The figures themselves have no abiding value, being subject 
 to frequent changes ; but we can not know ourselves unless 
 we compare ourselves with others." A golden truth a 
 truth which will do a great deal toward redeeming France. 
 
 9. FRENCH TEXT-BOOKS. 
 
 The text-books I picked up and examined in French 
 schools all have the same essential fault found in American 
 text-books they contain too much. The arithmetics are 
 very bulky and objectionable on account of the multiplicity 
 of "cases" offered in the different chapters. The geogra- 
 phies are burdened with text, as ludicrously incongruent 
 with the children's degree of comprehension as ours are ; 
 but these French books contain admirable maps, much bet- 
 ter than many of ours. These maps, however, are also to be 
 objected to, because they are too minute, and offer a multi- 
 plicity of detail which must bewilder the pupils. The read- 
 ers have much stale conversational matter, and do not come 
 up in usefulness to the readers used in German schools. 
 Except the primers, which are more carefully prepared, the 
 French readers are wretched, and the teachers help them- 
 selves by introducing other suitable reading-matter wherever 
 they find it.
 
 364 PARIS. 
 
 I noticed a few books of great usefulness, called readers, 
 to wit, a domestic economy for girls, a science reader for 
 boys, and a number of special readers, such as geographical, 
 botanical, zoological, and historical readers, which seem to 
 me to meet a long-felt want. They are not used as text- 
 books, but as supplementary sources of information, since 
 no special text-books for the sciences, such as physiology 
 and natural history, are used in the &coles primaire (ele- 
 mentary communal schools). 
 
 Perhaps the best text-book I found in use was the one 
 used in the study of history. It was well illustrated, and 
 presented history in biographies and topical essays. If we 
 consider that France has a history of more than a thousand 
 years, it will readily be seen that the most scrupulous econ- 
 omy is needed to present that which is of essential impor- 
 tance. Paul Bert's book is also applied in natural science 
 and history, but its use is not obligatory. 
 
 All text-books and stationery are furnished free of cost 
 to the pupils. The city pays for the " means of instruction," 
 and the consequence is, that competition is killed. The 
 books are badly printed, the paper is flimsy, and the binding 
 shabby. The blank-books furnished are miserable, their 
 paper is poorly calendered, and the flimsy cover easily torn. 
 American school stationery is by far too costly, French 
 school stationery by far too wretched. The two countries 
 represent the two extremes, while Germany seems to have 
 struck a happy medium. 
 
 10. How BEADING AND SPELLING ARE TAUGHT IN PARIS. 
 
 In discussing this topic, interesting to American primary 
 teachers, I regret that it is difficult to fix sounds by signs. 
 This difficulty may give rise to misunderstandings, but that 
 can not be avoided. I hope to be able to offer a few sugges- 
 tions to young teachers who are using the phonic method. 
 Those who insist upon spelling, and do not comprehend that 
 letters and sounds are not identical, may omit this chapter; 
 I have nothing new to offer them :
 
 HOW READING AND SPELLING ARE TAUGHT. 365 
 
 QUATRIEME LEQON 
 
 m 
 
 mi, mu, mu ni 
 
 SIXIEME LEQON 
 
 VoituFO 
 
 ri, ru,ro, mur, 
 
 or, ur, ir, mu ni 
 
 1. Reading. 1. 
 The simple vowels 
 a, e, t, o, w, T/, are 
 taught alone in the 
 schools of Paris, sim- 
 ply by memory. Such 
 aids as "i is a little 
 boy throwing up his 
 cap," etc., are used, but 
 not the word-method. 
 The vowels are shown 
 in script and print, 
 and pronounced. 
 
 2. Simple conso- 
 nants are taught, as 
 the accompanying 
 two lessons show. It 
 is plain that no word 
 is used, but simple 
 combinations of one 
 vowel and one conso- 
 nant. This may seem 
 mechanical, and I do 
 not hesitate to pro- 
 nounce it so, but there 
 is consistency in the 
 method. 
 
 Frequent reviews 
 (the little primer has 
 one on every third 
 page) prevent forget- 
 ting sounds previous- 
 ly learned. It will 
 be noticed, in the 
 above and following 
 illustrations, that each 
 consonant appears 
 
 FIGS. 438, 439.
 
 366 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 with the silent e attached to it. This refers to a peculiarity 
 in the French language which can not be explained in print. 
 The pictures used are very simple, and serve to bring out 
 the particular sound to be learned, and no others. 
 
 Fios. 440-443. 
 
 The first reader from which these illustrations are taken 
 contains no word with greater difficulty than simple com- 
 binations of one vowel and one consonant, as is seen from 
 these words : Fa ri ne, fi de li te, re ga li a, qua li te, 
 a ma zo ne, ma xi me, ex po se, ca ma ra de. (As a sign 
 of the deep-felt desire among Frenchmen to regain Alsace
 
 HOW READING AND SPELLING ARE TAUGHT. 367 
 
 and Lorraine from Germany may be regarded the fact that 
 in this first primer a small map of those provinces is printed 
 to illustrate the word "Al sa ce." The thing looks childish 
 and strangely incongruous, but it is bitter earnest with the 
 Frenchmen of to-day.) 
 
 From the most difficult and last review lesson of this first 
 book I quote: II pa-ti-ne-ra sur le ca-nal; u-ne mo-de de 
 ri-di-cule ; le to-tal de la fac-tu-re. This little book has 
 forty pages, and the pupils complete it in about six weeks ; it 
 never takes more than three months. 
 
 /igne 
 
 FIGS. 444, 445. 
 
 3. The second primer (the reader will pardon the expres- 
 sion, but it is used advisedly ; for the first book, commonly 
 called primer with us, is here divided into two ; the one con- 
 taining the simple sounds and their combinations, the second 
 the more complex combinations) is finished also in less than 
 three months, so that at the close of six months at most the 
 mechanical difficulties of reading are overcome. This sec- 
 ond book of sixty-four pages contains such vowels as ou, oi, 
 eu, oeu, au, eau, ei, ai, ie, and such consonants as ch, gn, 
 25
 
 368 PARIS. 
 
 ph, qu, gl.fr, st, sp. The method of this book is best illus- 
 trated by copying a few lessons: 
 
 gn-i, gn-o, gn-a, gn-e, 
 ga-e, gn-u, gn-e ; 
 gni, gno, gna, gne, gne, 
 gnu, gne. 
 
 vigne, signe, bagne, gagne. 
 ligne, digne, regne, rogue, 
 ignore, chigne, signal. 
 Here follow sentences for practice. 
 
 br-i, br-o, br-u, br-a, br-e, 
 
 br-e, bre. 
 
 bri, bro, bru, bra, bre, 
 
 bre, bre. 
 
 sobre, bride, abri, brigade. 
 
 brode, abricot, brutal. 
 
 brume, arbre, brave. 
 
 At the foot of each lesson are given a number of notes to 
 the teacher in "eye-powder print," which tell him how to 
 proceed. I add one here for illustration's sake : 
 
 Procedure. Object-lesson on the grape-vine, its culture, fruit, and 
 products. How many syllables in the word ' vigne ? Two, vi and gne. 
 Take the second only. Drop or cover the last letter, it is a silent one. 
 
 Now sound gn. Connect it with a, e, i, o, , thus, gn a, gn i, etc. 
 
 Prevent the separation of the sounds till the pupils acquire skill in pro- 
 nouncing the entire syllable without first analyzing it. Exercises on the 
 blackboard : Reading of the word written in script ; reading of the copy 
 in different forms and sizes ; reading of the copy from the slates. Use 
 the board frequently. Do not let the chalk go out of your hands. Watch 
 over it, that the lesson is not learned by heart. Change the order of the 
 words on the board ; let them be read in the book backward, forward, up- 
 ward, downward. See to it that the new sound gn is articulated well in 
 all the words of tho lesson. 
 
 To give an adequate idea of the great difficulties in read- 
 ing surmounted in this second book, I will copy the last 
 lesson found in it. It is characteristic, inasmuch as it proves 
 that the French teachers employ the same abominable tone 
 of sentimental preaching that characterizes the reading-mat- 
 ter in some of our first readers: 
 
 Chers enfants : Aimez vos parents et gardcz-vous de leur jamais de- 
 eobeir. Aimez votre maltre qui se donne beaucoup de peine pour vous ; 
 4coutez ses Ic9ons, suivcz scs conscils. Aimez votre dcolc ; venez-y tous
 
 HOW READING AND SPELLING ARE TAUGHT. 369 
 
 les jours avcc plaisir ct n'y arrivez jamais en retard. Aimez le travail, 
 aimcz la lecture. Ayez de 1'ordre ; ayez soin de vos vetements, de vos 
 livres, de vos cahiers, et de tous les objets a votre usage. Les livres 
 coutent cher; il faut aussi beaucoup d'argent pour acheter des vete- 
 ments, des chaussures ct tout ce qu'il faut pour votre nourriture. Et 
 1'argcnt coute beaucoup de peine, beaucoup de mal a votre pere pour le 
 gagner. L'ordre inene a l'e"conomie, 1'economie mene a 1'aisance, sou- 
 vent a la richesse. Soyez bons pour vos freres, pour vos surs et pour 
 vos camarades ; ayez le mensonge en horreur. Ne maltraitez jamais les 
 animaux. Ayez piti6 de pauvres, des malheureux, de tous ceux qui 
 souffrent et qui sont dans la peine. Respectcz les vicillards. Aimez la 
 France, notre Patrie, si grande et si belle. DC retour de l'6cole, rendez 
 a votre mere les petits services que nous pouvez lui rcndre, pour allegcr 
 son travail ct ses peines. C'est ainsi que vous vous fercz aimer, et que 
 vous grandirez en vous prdparant a devenir des hommes de bien. 
 
 It is to be regretted that our American printing-offices 
 are not supplied with the types in which the above lesson is 
 set in France, for the silent letters are marked in a most in- 
 genious way. This kind of matter is read at the close of the 
 sixth month ! Words like vieillards, animaux, chaussures, 
 travail ! When I first " struck " a first-year's class busy with 
 a reading-lesson, and was told how quickly the pupils 
 learned to read, I thought this an exception, owing to the ex- 
 cellence of the teacher as any one would have done. But 
 an examination in more than a dozen schools in different 
 parts of the city convinced me that the case met first was no 
 exception, but a fair average sample. 
 
 Now I beg my American colleagues to consider 1. That 
 the French children do not spell words and syllables for the 
 purpose of learning to read, but " sound " exclusively. 2. 
 That they learn to read with great fluency almost anything 
 in French print or legible script that is put into their hands, 
 after the first year of school and then let the redder draw 
 the conclusion himself. 
 
 The subsequent readers need not be described. Suffice it 
 to say that they have the same faults which our American 
 readers have, and none of their virtues and excellent quali-
 
 370 PARTS. 
 
 ties. They are miserably printed and bound, and the cuts 
 do not come up to our standard. 
 
 n. Orthography. How is orthography taught ? By 
 avoiding spelling (splitting), and by copying much of the 
 reading-matter. The French teachers have found the secret 
 of orthographical teaching, to wit : The secret of vivid 
 knowing is vivid seeing. Dictation-lessons are given daily. 
 Not detached words but sentences are dictated, and the work 
 is corrected according to the text of the book from which 
 the lesson is taken, be that the reader, geography, arithmetic, 
 or history. I was presented with dozens of blank-books 
 filled by the pupils with their daily work ; misspelled words 
 are met hi them but rarely. I preserve these books for in- 
 spection. They bear the official stamp of the rectors of the 
 schools ; and the date, in the upper right corner of every page, 
 tells how much more practice in writing the boys and girls 
 in Paris have than ours, whose work on the objectionable 
 slate is all a fleeting show. The only class in which a slate 
 is used in the schools of Paris is the first grade or primer 
 class, and there only during the first half-year ; and even 
 there it is not a slate, but a thin board without a frame. The 
 lines are red, and one side is covered with a network of lines 
 for drawing purposes. 
 
 The penmanship found everywhere in the common 
 schools of Paris is not " Spencerian," but remarkably excel- 
 lent. The books I brought with me exhibit truly admirable 
 penmanship. The headings are written in a bold, round 
 hand, and the arrangement of arithmetical work very fine. 
 Of course, there is indifferent work here as elsewhere, but 
 the average is very high. 
 
 11. THE "MUSEE PEDAGOQIQUE" IN PARIS. 
 
 The last day of my stay in Paris I devoted to the Museum 
 of Instruction. It took me some time to find it. It had 
 shifted its abode several times, but is now in permanent 
 quarters in the Rue Gay-Lussac, No. 41, a street situated be- 
 tween the Pantheon and the Palais de Luxembourg. The
 
 TUB "MUSEE PEDAGOGIQUE" IN PARIS. 371 
 
 building used to be a convent; it has many quaint corners, 
 passages, courts, and cool, shady rooms and corridors. The 
 institution is maintained by the state, and M. Martel, a gen- 
 tleman well known in America, used to be its director, but, 
 since he has been promoted, M. Beurrier is the director. 
 When I presented my passe-partout, and a special card of 
 introduction from our Bureau of Education in Washington, 
 I was very hospitably received. I stated that I was laboring 
 under a want of familiarity with French, though I could 
 understand all that was said, and could speak it slowly ; and 
 the director called one of his chief clerks, who spoke a com- 
 mendable English, with that delightful French pronuncia- 
 tion which is and always will be a subject of study to me. 
 
 Well, we started out to see the educational treasures here 
 collected from all parts of the globe. First of all, the library ; 
 four large rooms full of books, scientific and practical, 
 chiefly pedagogical books, graced the walls. Ah, what 
 would I have given to be the owner of such treasures as 
 were here collected ! The catalogue contained the titles of 
 French, German, English, American, etc., books on educa- 
 tion. Among the latter I noticed Horace Mann's " Impor- 
 tance of Education in a Republic." The books were well 
 arranged in cases according to subjects. One feature of the 
 library was so characteristic that I must mention it. The 
 chief countries had each one separate case in which were 
 collected samples of their best school-books (I say "best," 
 because I was so informed). In the case reserved for Ameri- 
 can school-books I found many well-reputed books, as, for 
 instance, Hepburn's Rhetoric, Colburn's Arithmetic, Apple- 
 tons' Readers, and many others. It was with a feeling of 
 some pride that I discovered one of my own children among 
 the number, and another in which I had done a good share 
 of the work. The American school-books were distinguished 
 from those of other countries by their excellent binding, 
 strong paper, and clear print. 
 
 Then I was taken into a room which looked like a book- 
 seller's packing-room. All the thousands of books hero hod
 
 372 PARIS. 
 
 a uniform black cloth binding. Clerks were engaged here 
 in packing books in little boxes of about a cubic foot in size. 
 The boxes had been in the hands of the postal authorities 
 many a time which was seen from the mail labels pasted on 
 them. This, I was told, was the circulating library, where 
 books were selected and sent to candidates for examination 
 in the provinces. "All state examinations for professorships 
 in normal schools, rectorships in common schools, superin- 
 tendency and for positions in higher schools, have to be passed 
 in this building, and, to regulate and facilitate the studies 
 and preparation of the candidates, we lend them the books 
 necessary. The books are returned by mail free of postage 
 (this being a state institution) before the examinee presents 
 himself." 
 
 " But is not this a rather questionable procedure, my dear 
 sir?" I asked. "Why should you think so?" "Well, I 
 should judge that this would prevent teachers from buying 
 books themselves ; does not this circulating library make 
 them rely on state aid ? " " Ah ! I see," said the director ; 
 " you are from America, where ' help yourself ' is the favorite 
 motto. No, we can not expect that here. From time imme- 
 morial the Frenchman expects aid from his Government, 
 and it would seriously diminish the number of candidates 
 for higher positions if we were to cease lending books to 
 them. This circulating library is one of the strongest ties 
 that hold the entire French teachers' profession together. 
 Besides, it increases the usefulness of this museum, for all 
 the candidates for promotion and examination, when they 
 come here, spend days and weeks in studying our educa- 
 tional treasures, which we will now proceed to show you." 
 
 And now the gentleman took me from room to room. 
 There was one room entirely filled with objects for illustra- 
 tive instruction in natural history. All kinds of fruit imi- 
 tated in wax were seen here. Charts and pictures for object- 
 lessons were seen in such numbers that a choice would have 
 been a difficult task. A room full of pupils' work followed : 
 penmanship, drawing, arithmetic, composition, map-drawing,
 
 THE "MUSEE PEDAGOGIQUE" IN PARIS. 373 
 
 etc., in great stacks, French, American, German, English, 
 Japanese, etc. a wealth which it must have taken much in- 
 genuity and diligence to arrange systematically. 
 
 Then there was a glorious art-hall, containing marble 
 and plaster casts used for drawing; a hall filled with relief 
 and other maps as well as pictorial means of instruction in 
 geography; telluriums, globes, etc., and hundreds of other 
 things, old and new. There were samples of school furni- 
 ture in miniature and in actual size, all imaginable black- 
 boards, reading-charts, music-charts. I was bewildered, and, 
 though I tried to hold on to my nil admirari, I soon forgot 
 that and myself, lost in contemplation of the ingenuity of 
 the schoolmaster. Here were collected all the school devices 
 invented in all the civilized countries, and those of Japan 
 and China besides. 
 
 I had seen several museums of this kind in Cologne and 
 Berlin and in southern Germany, but this one surpassed 
 them all in every respect, owing to the centralized efforts of 
 the Government. In an octagonal room, formerly a vesti- 
 bule, were selected models in miniature of school-houses and 
 plans of similar buildings. I was pleasantly surprised to find 
 a model of a Massachusetts normal school, and of a school- 
 house in Milwaukee, Wis. The gentleman who took me 
 through this room expressed his disgust at such school ar- 
 chitecture, saying: "They look like barracks. We want to 
 see large portals, inner courts, and lofty, airy structures, not 
 brick piles." 
 
 Up-stairs I saw the hall in which the state examinations 
 are conducted. In alcoves are found the collections of 
 school-work prepared for world expositions Paris, Antwerp, 
 Philadelphia, and New Orleans; drawing in portfolios, pen- 
 manship and compositions in bound volumes, pupils' work 
 from Japan, Belgium, America an immense exhibition. 
 One room is reserved for a chemical laboratory, another for 
 a physical laboratory. These are used for lectures to the 
 teachers who pass through a special course in the natural 
 sciences. The apparatus here collected would rouse the envy
 
 374 PARIS. 
 
 of any teacher who is obliged to rely on home-made appara- 
 tus. In the basement, in small alcoves, and broad, light cor- 
 ridors are seen the results of manual training-schools. 
 
 Here are on exhibit collections of tools forged by pupils, 
 specimens of joiner's work, carpenter's work, wood-carv- 
 ing, turner's work, inlaid work, scroll-sawing, and building. 
 Here is also seen the entire course of industrial education 
 for girls, beginning with paper-work done in the maternal 
 schools (Kindergarten) and ending with complete garments. 
 All departments are well arranged, systematically showing 
 the courses of instruction and the methods employed. It is 
 altogether a marvelous exhibition. 
 
 How all else sinks into insignificance when these treas- 
 ures, made by little hands and comparing favorably with 
 master-works of adults, are viewed by one who is interested 
 in them ! All the priceless treasures of the Louvre and the 
 Ecole des Beaux- Arts seem to lose their luster when com- 
 pared with these beginnings of art. It may sound heretical, 
 but I assure my readers that I had more genuine pleasure in 
 this museum than in looking at the miles of painted canvas 
 in the Louvre. My admiration and interest grew with every 
 new room opened to me, and I soon gave up trying to pre- 
 pare a detailed account of what I saw. Weeks of study would 
 barely suffice for it. 
 
 A few items I picked up may close my report. How 
 systematic the instruction in geography is in Paris, may be 
 
 FIG. 446. 
 
 seen from this fact: In a collection of work furnished by the 
 pupils of the normal school in Paris I noticed an ideal relief- 
 map on the margin of which were placed other reliefs such 
 as seen in Fig. 446. The work led over from the idea face 
 to surface of objects. The same school had also exhibited a 
 number of fine specimens of china painting and embroidery.
 
 A CALCULATING-MACHINE. 
 
 375 
 
 The many devices for illustrating number lessons were be- 
 wildering, and the director told me frankly he was unable 
 to explain some of them. One department is filled with 
 children's toys. 
 Among the black- 
 boards there seen, 
 I sketch an ad- 
 justable one. It 
 is easily made, 
 works up and 
 down, and can be 
 turned. Fig. 447. 
 Had I known 
 what treasures 
 this quaint-look- 
 ing, ancient build- 
 ing contained, I 
 shouldhave timed 
 my stay in Paris 
 so as to spend 
 
 several days in the museum ; but my departure was neces- 
 sary, to fulfill an engagement for addressing an assembly of 
 teachers in a city on the Rhine. I am grateful, though, for 
 having lived to see the " Musee Pedagogique " in Paris. If 
 any of my colleagues should chance to go to Paris, I advise 
 them urgently not to neglect to ask for a permit to see it. 
 This, I believe, can be readily obtained of Monsieur Buisson, 
 at the ministry of Public Instruction, in the Rue de Grenelle, 
 No. 110, third floor, door to the left. 
 
 12. A CALCULATING-MACHINE. 
 
 The " arithmograph," an apparatus for absolutely correct 
 arithmetical calculation, was on exhibition in the " Musee 
 Pedagogique " in Paris. In an educational journal pub- 
 lished in Paris, entitled " Le Progres de 1'Enseignement Pri- 
 maire," I met with a description of the apparatus. The arti- 
 cle contains some interesting facts concerning the history of 
 
 FIG. 447.
 
 376 PARIS. 
 
 inventions of arithmetical calculators. I translate a few 
 passages for that reason. The author does not seem to know 
 much of similar inventions in other countries : 
 
 " Pascal was convinced of the possibility of reducing all 
 arithmetical calculations to mere mechanical manipulations. 
 He invented the first arithmetical machine in 1642. Em- 
 ploying in his work all his extensive mathematical knowl- 
 edge, he came to helieve in the possibility of making an 
 apparatus which would successfully replace thought and 
 calculation. This conviction led him to expend large sums 
 in the manufacture of more than fifty different devices. 
 Nevertheless, he did not live to see his speculations realized. 
 Being the first who undertook this kind of work, he may be 
 said to have shown the way and to have pointed out the aim 
 to be reached. 
 
 u The number of those who during nearly two hundred 
 and fifty years endeavored to replace mental activity in solv- 
 ing arithmetical problems by mechanical contrivances is 
 quite large. Some few of the most noted are Leibnitz, 
 D'Alenibert, De Lepine, and Dr. Roth, all of whom con- 
 tinued the labors of Pascal. Napier invented the calcula- 
 tion by logarithms ; Thomas de Colmar the " arithmometre " ; 
 Babbage, aided by the English Government, spent (or shall 
 we say squandered ?) a half -million of francs and the best of 
 his years upon a " universal calculator," which, like so many 
 other similar inventions, remained incomplete. 
 
 " It may be said that, despite the astonishing amount of 
 labor that has been employed in its solution, the question, 
 like that of a manageable air-ship, has not yet been solved, 
 though it would be presumptuous to say it will never be 
 solved. Still, the work begun by Pascal has not been with- 
 out tangible results. There are several indispensable quali- 
 ties which a calculating-machine must have to make it prac- 
 ticable and applicable everywhere, and it has until recently 
 been impossible to furnish a device which could boast of all 
 these qualities. It must be inexpensive, must be easily trans- 
 ported and manipulated. It must be so arranged that every
 
 A CALCULATING-MACHINE. 377 
 
 average intelligence is able to make use of it in all con- 
 ditions of life and for all simple calculations. Simplicity, 
 indeed, is its most necessary condition. So simple it must 
 be in its workings that one would not care to expend 
 brain-power in solving problems such as life offers every 
 moment. 
 
 "The 'arithmograph' of Monsieur Troucet offers all 
 these advantages at the first glance ; but it works only prob- 
 lems in the four fundamental rules addition, subtraction, 
 multiplication, and division. The apparatus is remarkably 
 simple. It has no cylinders, no cranks, no wheels, no 
 springs, no mechanical clock-work, subject to disturbance 
 and disorder, but consists of a light white board on which 
 are fastened a number of slats set in grooves. These slats 
 work independently of each other, and are moved up and 
 down by a peg. 
 
 "It can not be asserted that the ' arithmograph,' like 
 many other inventions, is the result of a happy accident. 
 On the contrary, the simpler an invention is, the more 
 time, labor, and expense it takes to realize it. This inven- 
 tion is the result of six years' hard, incessant labor. The 
 passion of the inventor is perhaps the most ethical of all 
 human passions, since it is not destructive, but of benefit 
 if not to the inventor himself, it is so at least to the 
 human race; but it is to be hoped that M. Troucet will 
 find the remuneration he deserves before he dies. He 
 seems to be a professional inventor, for he has secured 
 a number of patents; but this one is destined to pay for 
 them all." 
 
 When carefully examining the apparatus I asked myself, 
 Will it not be of serious evil consequences for the intellectual 
 culture of children to replace their mental activity by a ma- 
 chine ? For this machine adds, subtracts, multiplies, and 
 divides with absolute accuracy, provided one makes no mis- 
 takes in touching the correct digits. All the manipulator 
 has to do is to put the peg into a little aperture corresponding 
 with the digit beside it and pull the slat down or push it up
 
 378 PARIS. 
 
 as the operation demands, and the answer appears at another 
 hole provided for it. Or rather, Is not all addition, sub- 
 traction, multiplication, and division a mechanical process 
 depending upon the memory ? To me it was and still is a 
 perplexing question. Perhaps the apparatus will soon make 
 its appearance in America. I leave my colleagues to decide 
 upon its merits. 
 
 13. CRUMBS. NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF PARIS. 
 
 A French flag (the tricolor) hangs over the entrance of 
 every communal school-house in Paris. These flags look 
 rather shabby, being exposed to all kinds of weather. 
 
 I found a room filled with plaster casts, geometrical bod- 
 ies, and other models for drawing purposes, in every school- 
 house I visited in Paris. 
 
 The city maintains many evening schools for young men. 
 In one of them I saw the students model human forms from 
 life. Think of a nude person posing before a class of unripe 
 boys under or li ttle above twenty ! 
 
 Drawing and mathematics are the chief subjects of study 
 in the evening schools. 
 
 Most of the young boys and girls in the schools of Paris 
 wear black blouses, not jackets and coats. When I asked 
 whether that was a sort of uniform, my informant smiled 
 and answered no ; that was the usual style of children's 
 outer garments in Paris. 
 
 When a guest or the principal enters a school-room in a 
 boys' school, the pupils promptly jump up and salute him 
 by raising the right hand to then* head that is, give the 
 regular military salute. If the guest fails to answer in the 
 same manner, they remain in that position until he does an- 
 swer or leaves. 
 
 The pupils here are not dismissed by classes, but in 
 groups according to the streets they live in. All the pupils 
 of one street go together till they reach the boulevard, where 
 a policeman pilots them safely through the maelstrom of 
 cabs, wagons, and omnibuses.
 
 CRUMBS. NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF PARIS. 379 
 
 Comparatively few children are seen in the streets of 
 Paris, partly owing to the high houses, the upper stories of 
 which they inhabit, partly because the French families have 
 fewer children than the Germans, for instance. 
 
 The hissing sound sss ! or sh-sh-sh ! as an order for silence, 
 is not heard in Parisian schools. Both male and female 
 teachers here, in order to call for silence, make either that 
 smacking sound which we employ in driving horses, or the 
 sound of a kiss. It sounds odd if one is not accustomed 
 to it. 
 
 In the corridor of each school in Paris is seen a very 
 elaborate and beautiful " Table of Honor " in heavy gilt 
 frame, containing the names of meritorious pupils. 
 
 In one of the girls' schools I noticed that canceling was 
 resorted to in the study of arithmetic as early as the fourth 
 year of school. 
 
 In another girls' school, in a class parallel to our D Gram- 
 mar (fifth year of school), I found girls of ten and eleven 
 years of age working problems in percentage and interest. 
 This was the problem : " To find the interest on 52,100 francs 
 for two years and a half at the rate of 3 '75 per cent." 
 
 The schools in Paris do not teach singing as thoroughly 
 as this is done in Germany and in the United States. Their 
 songs are not melodious and harmonious, but dramatic like 
 the " Marseillaise." The children's voices are weak, and the 
 most difficult song I heard in Parisian schools was two-part 
 music. 
 
 In regard to the manner of teaching seen in Paris, I am 
 confident that altogether too much reciting in chorus is re- 
 sorted to. To hear a class solve a problem in chorus has 
 something like the aspect of a panic in a theatre the strong 
 ones reach the door, the weak ones are trampled under foot 
 or are dragged along. 
 
 To see the happy crowds of French boys employed in 
 sawing, planing, polishing, turning, carving, modeling, 
 building, etc., is a sight never to be forgotten. They jabber, 
 spit into their palms, and handle hammer, saw, and plane as
 
 330 PARIS. 
 
 though their lives depended upon the completion of the work 
 under hand. 
 
 But to see the pale and yellow countenances of all these 
 children, among whom the red, healthy, glowing cheeks of 
 our Western school -children is rarely found, is also a sight 
 worth remembering, and pondering. 
 
 The number of " ecoles primaire " (elementary common 
 schools) in Paris is four hundred and fifty-four, namely, one 
 hundred and seventy-four boys' schools, one hundred and 
 seventy-five girls' schools, and one hundred and five mater- 
 nal schools. The latter have pupils below six years of age, 
 and resemble the Kindergarten. 
 
 The faces of the children in Paris are not pretty, to put it 
 mildly. Many very ugly visages are seen among them. 
 
 Teachers are not the same all the world over. I noticed 
 a peculiar indefinable air of immaturity among them here 
 in Paris which is not found among American teachers. 
 Principals and inspectors are much more men of the 
 world, since they come in contact with the world more 
 frequently. 
 
 Among all the teachers I saw in Paris, the women prin- 
 cipals make the best impression. They are very refined in 
 manners. They are splendid-looking women, indeed, and 
 the teachers look up to them with much reverence. 
 
 The principal of one of the schools I saw is an Alsatian. 
 He had his school in very good trim, discipline and order 
 were perfect, and the results exhibited were quite commend- 
 able. He spoke with great enthusiasm of the excellent re- 
 sults he had noticed in German schools lately. During the 
 last summer he had employed his vacation in making a trip 
 through southern Germany. When I spoke to him about 
 the excitable nature of the French children and teachers, he 
 said: "We know no better, and think this the normal state 
 of being. When I was in Frankfort I wondered greatly 
 about the (what seemed to me) listlessness of the pupils. 
 They were very quiet and apparently stupid, and raised their 
 hands only when questions were asked. It was a strange
 
 MAKING BEAUTY CONTAGIOUS. 381 
 
 spectacle to me. I suspect, though, that this quiet, slow 
 movement hides a great, robust, physical, and mental 
 strength. France experienced something of that strength 
 and discipline at her expense in the war of 1870-'71." 
 
 This principal regaled us with a taste of Alsatian wine 
 which proved genuine " stocking- wine " (so 'sour that it draws 
 the holes in the drinker's stockings together). Do not be 
 shocked, kind reader; it was in his own dwelling that he 
 offered us the wine. And please remember that it is not 
 well to air your American predilections and principles when 
 journeying through Europe. When in Rome, do as the 
 Romans do ; and when in Paris, drink wine. Shun the water 
 as you would poison, for reasons too near at hand to men- 
 tion them. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 1. MAKING BEAUTY CONTAGIOUS. 
 
 WHILE I greatly admired the beauty of the French dis- 
 play of school-work at the New Orleans Exposition, and the 
 skill it betrayed, I harbored a lurking doubt as to its genu- 
 ineness, and an apprehension of sham. At least I suspected 
 that the splendid apparatus, contrivances, and devices for 
 objective teaching, exhibited there, were the results of a feAV 
 advanced schools only, so to speak ; of a few bright educa- 
 tional lights. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. 
 On my tour through northeastern France I was determined 
 to set my mind at rest with regard to this. 
 
 Undoubtedly in Paris the schools are doing fine work, 
 but Paris is not France. I am now prepared to say that my 
 doubt was justified, and that the majority of schools in 
 France are much inferior to the average of our city schools
 
 382 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 in America. Yet, at every place where I stopped, and in 
 every school I visited, I found a strong onward movement. 
 The heroic efforts of the lamented Minister of Education, M. 
 Paul Bert, and those of his less famous but equally active 
 successors, are beginning to be felt everywhere. The dead- 
 ening influence of the monks and nuns in school has ceased, 
 only lay-teachers being now allowed to teach. 
 
 It is only a few years since this new order has gone into 
 effect, and one can not stamp and thereby raise an army of 
 well-equipped teachers from the ground. But already one 
 can see the beneficial influence of the act which separated 
 church and school in France. Many are the indications 
 which tend to prove the progressive spirit that has entered 
 the French school, but I can not enumerate them here for 
 want of space. One instance may suffice, one which will be 
 found characteristically French. 
 
 Let me tell what I saw in a convent school that had been 
 changed into a city school. The city authorities either the 
 council or the school authorities when assuming control 
 over the school, ordered the walls of the class-rooms to be 
 decorated with fresco-paintings. That order was carried out 
 regardless of cost. It is a charming sight to see these walls 
 beautifully bedecked with exquisite workmanship, truly ar- 
 tistic allegorical figures in glorious, luminous colors ! It was 
 said, when the matter came up for deliberation, that many 
 pupils never have the opportunity of seeing beautiful rooms 
 at home, living in squalid, filthy houses. They should there- 
 fore be surrounded by beauty in rooms where they were 
 obliged to live six hours every day. 
 
 I mention this fact because it is freighted with the sug- 
 gestion to imitate it. The American people, perhaps the 
 richest nation on the face of the globe, can well afford to 
 surround then* children the hope of the future with things 
 of beauty, which are "joys forever." ^Esthetic education, 
 however, is yet in its infancy in America. The children 
 need to see beautiful things to learn to appreciate them. 
 Much is done with us by beauty-loving women teachers, who
 
 COMPOSITION-BOOKS IN FRENCH SCHOOLS. 383 
 
 succeed, with hardly any means at their disposal, in deco- 
 rating their school-rooms with pictures, flowers, etc. ; but it 
 should be preached from the house-tops that the schools 
 ought to be perfect treasuries of art and beauty. Money 
 spent in that direction is never thrown away. We must 
 accustom our children to beauty and make beauty infec- 
 tious, just as Superintendent Rowland, of Chicago, says that 
 the good should be made contagious. 
 
 2. COMPOSITION-BOOKS IN FRENCH SCHOOLS. 
 
 It is well known that the French people have a trained 
 eye for beauty. All the patterns of their machines and 
 other contrivances, even the boxes in which they pack their 
 goods, are ornamented elaborately and artistically. This 
 highly developed sense of form and beauty I knew was due 
 to the loving care which French teachers bestow upon draw- 
 ing and sketching in school, and in no small degree to the 
 many art-schools maintained by the state and by com- 
 munities. 
 
 But I was struck with wonder when I went through a 
 
 lyceum at R (a high-school). I was requested to look 
 
 over the composition-books of the pupils. There I thought 
 I had found the secret spring of French art its fountain- 
 head. 
 
 Each composition was headed by a pencil-sketch drawn 
 either in rude outlines or beautifully shaded. Some of these 
 illustrations were real masterpieces of drawing, representing 
 landscape scenery ; others were clumsy delineations, but all 
 compositions contained at least some attempt at illustration. 
 (Compare also page 356.) 
 
 Being desirous of showing my readers some specimens, 
 I selected a few composition- books and asked for their loan 
 with a view to copying some of the designs. After school a 
 delegation of students called at the hotel and brought the 
 books, asking whether they might assist me in copying. I 
 could not well accept their services though politely offered 
 and traced some sketches myself. Here is the result : 
 26
 
 384 
 
 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 The subject of one of the compositions was " The Zones," 
 and this was the sketch accompanying it. (Fig. 448.) 
 
 FIQ. 448. 
 
 Another was " The Digestive Organs," and the liver, here 
 minutely reproduced as I found it sketched, served the writer 
 as one of his illustrations. (Fig. 449.) 
 
 FIG. 449. 
 
 Fia. 450. 
 
 The third composition was profusely illustrated with 
 sketches of flowers. I copied the simplest, to show the ac- 
 curacy of representation. One glance shows what flower 
 it is (Fig. 450.)
 
 COMPOSITION-BOOKS IN FRENCH SCHOOLS. 
 
 385 
 
 FIG. 451. 
 
 A fourth, again on a physiological subject, was illus- 
 trated with sketches of bones and muscles. This is one cf 
 them. (Fig. 451.) 
 
 A fifth treated of 
 the human teeth, and 
 these sketches may suf- 
 fice to prove the ar- 
 tistic skill of the boy. 
 (Fig. 452.) 
 
 I will refrain from 
 reflections which are 
 crowding my mind 
 with regard to this 
 practice, but call at- 
 tention to the fact that 
 the subjects of all the 
 compositions I exam- 
 ined were taken from 
 the studies the pupils 
 then pursued. A class 
 studying astronomy 
 would write composi- 
 tions on astronomical 
 subjects ; a class in 
 history would write on 
 historical subjects, and 
 sketch battle-fields and 
 maps, chiefly exhibiting changes in boundaries and move- 
 ments of armies, etc. And so on, ad infinitum. 
 
 It is worthy of our notice that composition thus treated 
 is the legitimate offspring of the day's studies. These pupils 
 can not complain of having to write of something foreign 
 to their comprehension or experience. The compositions 
 they furnish are summaries of what they learn in a certain 
 study, and such com position- work greatly assists the reten- 
 tion of matter in the memory. 
 
 I sincerely hope that my readers will give this a little 
 
 FIG. 452.
 
 380 
 
 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 consideration. The practice of composing in pictures as 
 well as in words seems eminently suggestive and worthy 
 of imitation. Don't let us say, " What good can come from 
 Nazareth ? " but try the sketching, and see whether we can 
 not, in ten or twenty years from now, beat the French in 
 their models and patterns. The Centennial Exposition in 
 Philadelphia has opened our eyes, as it did those of the 
 Germans. To-day, our endeavors in art are vastly better 
 and much in advance of those previous to 1876, but a sys- 
 tematic propagation of the art of sketching in our high- 
 schools, academies, and other secondary schools, will do 
 wonders, as it did in France and Germany. 
 
 3. MORE DEVICES, NOT METHODS. 
 
 In the pretty, picturesque town of M , in France, about 
 
 twenty miles southeast of Sedan, I visited several schools 
 with the view to mining them for treasures of methods of 
 
 Flo. 453. 
 
 teaching such as I found in Germany and Holland ; but I 
 was very much disappointed until the rector who took me 
 around was called away. Being left to myself, I began to
 
 MORE DEVICES, NOT METHODS. 
 
 387 
 
 search without help, and, chatting more at ease with the 
 teachers, I unearthed a few things worthy of notice. The 
 most practical thing was a set of pigeon-holes called a " nu- 
 meration-box." Here is a sketch of it (Fig. 453). 
 
 Each compartment was large enough to hold nine little 
 blocks of uniform size only nine, not ten, as one would 
 naturally suppose when speaking of numeration and nota- 
 tion. I inquired why not ten, and was told that just so soon 
 as ten units were completed they were exchanged for a dif- 
 ferent-colored block which stood for one of the next higher or- 
 der and was placed in the second compartment. Numeration, 
 addition, and subtraction, multiplication and division, were 
 practiced by means of this device, of course with rather lim- 
 ited numbers. 
 
 The same idea, illustrated by a similar home-made con- 
 trivance, I had met in the Female College of Dr. S. Lander, 
 
 ooo o oo oooo 
 
 oooooooa 
 
 FIG. 454. 
 
 in Williamston, S. C. He had invented it, and you can im- 
 agine my astonishment when here in France I found it in 
 general use. The idea of giving room for only nine units 
 of each order in each compartment certainly is the same, 
 whatever differences there may exist in the shape of the de- 
 vices in France and South Carolina. 
 
 One would naturally suppose that room for ten units 
 should be provided for as I did in my " numeration board," 
 explained in "Chips from a Teacher's Workshop." (Fig. 
 454).
 
 388 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 There will perhaps always be an honest difference of 
 opinion, as to whether nine or ten units of each order should 
 be provided for. So much, however, is clear to my mind, 
 that the fact of the blocks being of uniform size confuses 
 the child, who can not see that the mere placing a block in 
 the second compartment should raise its intrinsic value ; 
 and if it is not to be thus understood, the whole device is 
 valueless. 
 
 I understand that a digit being placed or moved to the 
 left should change its value. A 6 in the second place is the 
 same kind of a 6 used in the unit's place ; but it will not do 
 to make symbols of the objects. While on the numeration 
 board ten pencils fastened together make a bundle of ten or 
 one unit of the ten's column, the numeration-box does not 
 permit the fact to be illustrated. It only symbolizes the 
 fact, and that at the very moment when the fact itself 
 should impress itself upon the child's mind. 
 
 I discussed this question with the French teacher, who 
 grew quite eloquent on the matter much more eloquent 
 (and vehement, too) than the cool and level-headed genuine 
 American, Dr. Lander, could ever be. Neither gentleman 
 convinced me, perhaps owing to my obtuseness, and we 
 agreed to disagree. By placing the two contrivances before 
 my readers, I am prepared to rest the case and to submit it 
 to the decision of the jury. 
 
 4. ALSO A DEVICE, BUT OH! 
 
 Noticing a queer - looking, rubber, hose-like apparatus 
 hanging in easy reach of a teacher in a French school, I in- 
 quired after its use, and was shocked to hear that this instru- 
 ment was employed in flogging bad boys. " Why don't you 
 use an old-fashioned switch or elastic cane ? " I asked ; and 
 with a cunning wink and a look of deep comprehension of 
 all the bearings of the case, the teacher said, in subdued tone, 
 " This stings better, clings to the body, and leaves no welts 
 or discolored marks." Of course, this led us into a conver- 
 sation on corporal punishment, which revealed the fact that
 
 IGNORANCE AND CHAUVINISM. 389 
 
 we barbarians at home are better than these highly civilized 
 people, who with all their varnish of artistic culture are ig- 
 norant of the true dignity of the human being which should 
 be respected even in the child. 
 
 5. IGNORANCE AND CHAUVINISM OF FRENCH TEACHERS. 
 
 Several amusing incidents occurred during my visits in 
 
 French schools. In N a teacher (a monk) asked me, 
 
 when I was introduced to him as coming from Ohio, whether 
 I had come Overland or by way of Panama. Perhaps he mis- 
 took Oregon for Ohio. Another claimed that " the French 
 language was the ruling language in Louisiana and other 
 States (sic) which were originally settled by the French." 
 That we in Ohio need not necessarily daily dread the loss of 
 our scalps, being in such immediate neighborhood of the 
 wild Indians (as they believe), is a thing impossible to make 
 them see. 
 
 The worst case of " mistaken identity " I ever met with 
 in a school-teacher I found in a French school, where the 
 teacher taught a middle grade, something like the sixth 
 school year, I should judge. It was a geography-lesson I 
 heard, and America was the topic of the day. The teacher, 
 without blushing on the contrary, with the chest tone of 
 conviction and the gestures of a stump-speaker told his 
 class that the United States were founded by men who were 
 nurtured by the grand and lofty ideas of the French Revo- 
 lution, which great event had actually changed not only the 
 European modes of government, but those of America also. 
 During the short recess which followed, my patriotism got 
 the better of me, and I asked him for the date of the French 
 Revolution, which he gave correctly, to wit, 1789. Then I 
 asked him for the date of our national birthday, and his an- 
 swer was a blank stare. I quietly told him it was 1776. I 
 will do the man justice, though. He blushed like a girl of 
 sixteen, remembering the vainglorious statement he had 
 made to the class in my presence.
 
 390 FROM OTHER FRENCH CITIES. 
 
 6. MOLDING MAPS. 
 
 Interesting was a lesson in molding I saw in France in a 
 class of young children studying geography. Nothing but 
 putty and a small board of hard, polished wood was used. 
 And thus the teacher proceeded : 
 
 " Children, spread out the putty evenly, as you see me 
 do it. Now, when you see land level like this, without 
 hills and valleys, we call it a plain. Do we live on a plain ? 
 No, we do not. Over yonder is a pretty big hill. Now, let 
 us make a hill on the right side of the molding-board. 'Tis 
 done. But, Charles, your hill is too steep ; no person could 
 climb it. Look through the window at the hill there. Is 
 that as steep as your hill ? Now suppose the hill was very 
 high, so high that it reached into the clouds, what would we 
 call it ? A mountain, assuredly, a mountain. Just think, 
 there is a mountain in la belle France, the top of which is 
 always covered with ice and snow ; it is more than 15,000 
 feet high." (The actor pardon, the teacher did not give 
 the height in metres; perhaps he thought "15,000 feet" 
 would make a deeper impression. Everything for effect !) 
 u Now suppose that another hill is on the other side. Make 
 one. Make it higher than your first hill. Very well, in- 
 daed! What is that low place between the hills called ? 
 Oh, yes ; a valley. But if the hills were very near together, 
 and the valley very steep, would you call it a valley ? No ? 
 Quite right; we would call it a gully, or ravine." 
 
 Then he let the pupils see that water seeks its level by 
 pouring water from the top of his hill of putty. It filled 
 the ravine and formed a river. Now rivers, lakes, water- 
 sheds, and sundry topics were mentioned, cities were located, 
 and soon the lesson was brought to a close. It was as good 
 as going to the theatre to hear this excitable man talk and 
 see his gestures. The pupils, of course, were like so many 
 globules of mercury. Moral. A sedate, calm, self-possessed 
 teacher has quiet pupils ; an excited teacher unruly pupils, 
 and not only in France, but all the world over.
 
 "AD OCULOS" EVIDENCE. 
 
 391 
 
 7. "AD OCULOS" EVIDENCE. 
 
 As to the work done in French schools, it remains for- 
 ever true that that depends entirely and exclusively upon 
 the teacher. A good teacher is very conspicuous here, 
 though, being a ram avis. 
 
 A little incident amused me greatly when attending a 
 class which wrestled with the rudiments of geometry. A 
 very active and demonstrative French teacher, and evi- 
 dently a successful one, proved to his class that the sum of 
 the three angles of any triangle is equal to two right angles. 
 And he did it by first cutting a triangle out of a sheet of 
 pasteboard ; then drawing a straight line on the blackboard, 
 he laid one side of the triangle on the line and drew the 
 angle a. Then he placed angle b side by side with angle a, 
 and of course angle c completed the space above the straight 
 line. That there are two right angles on a straight line was 
 known from the definition of right angles. 
 
 FIG. 455. 
 
 It was a demonstration ad oculos, though not new to me, 
 
 having seen it used by Dr. R , of New York. The amusing 
 
 part of it was, that it was " performed " by a French teacher 
 who was a born actor, and it afforded a rare sight, equaled, 
 perhaps, only by Prof. Sauveur's inimitable movements 
 when he intends to indicate a French word, but does not want 
 to translate it into Engl ish. This same French teacher caused 
 his pupils to make of pasteboard most of the geometrical 
 bodies used in the class. The well-developed sense of form 
 of the boys was proved by the faultless specimens exhibited. 
 However, that feature of school-work I had seen so often 
 in German schools that it did not interest mo any longer.
 
 392 VIENNA. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 1. A SUCCESSFUL AND AN UNSUCCESSFUL LESSON. 
 
 IN a people's school in Vienna I chanced to hear a lesson 
 on metals. Iron, lead, copper, silver, and gold were discussed, 
 and numerous specimens handed around, rather to illustrate 
 the lesson, as I thought, than to aid the comprehension of 
 the subject-matter. The teacher lectured, only throwing in 
 a question now and then, like, " Is it not so ? Don't you 
 think so too ? " A handsome reference was made to a prov- 
 erb and that was applied in a new way. A dim specimen of 
 gold quartz gave occasion to quote the wise saw, " Not all 
 is gold that glitters," and then amend it by adding, " Neither 
 does everything glitter that is gold." One feature of the 
 lesson struck me as worthy of mention. When the weight 
 of different metals was spoken of, it was difficult to convince 
 the pupils that gold is heavier than copper. But the teacher 
 showed an Austrian copper kreutzer (worth one cent) and a 
 German golden ten- mark piece (worth $2.50). Both coins 
 are of the same size and thickness. He laid the two on the 
 scale, and thus proved that gold outweighs copper. No bet- 
 ter ad oculos proof could be brought. 
 
 When the methods of obtaining gold from mines were 
 touched, the digging and washing were first mentioned, 
 then the crushing of ore; and thus the teacher lectured: 
 " The quartz is brought up from the mine " (a specimen was 
 handed around); "it is laid under a heavy iron column 
 which vibrates up and down, and with its tremendous weight 
 crushes the ore, so that it becomes fine sand. The little gold 
 leaves that adhered to the mineral are thus loosened. The 
 column is worked up and down by cog-wheels, as this sketch 
 shows." (Teacher drew the figure on the board.) " Now the 
 question arises, How to separate the gold from the sand ? 
 It is done by giving the gold a friend that takes hold of it,
 
 A SUCCESSFUL AND AN UNSUCCESSFUL LESSON. 393 
 
 namely, quicksilver." (Specimen is shown, and its affinity 
 for gold proved.) " This unites with the gold and gathers 
 up all the small particles loosened from the mineral. 
 
 " Now the gold is severed from the mineral, but the next 
 question arises, How to sep- 
 arate the quicksilver from 
 the gold ? This is done by 
 letting the quicksilver evap- 
 orate in a furnace. The 
 gold remains in the bottom 
 of the crucible. Thus the 
 gold is set free from useless 
 matter." The manner in 
 which the teacher presented 
 facts might have been very 
 interesting to older pupils, 
 and on the surface the les- 
 son appeared a highly suc- 
 cessful one. But, while I 
 must admit that the pupils 
 followed him in his " lect- 
 ure " very attentively, I 
 doubt whether their being 
 left mere passive recipients 
 of knowledge insured the 
 success which he expected. 
 
 In another grade of a 
 similar school I witnessed a 
 lesson in physics which on 
 the surface appeared a most 
 unsuccessful one. Magnet- F IO . 456. 
 
 ism and electricity was the 
 
 subject. The experiments performed miscarried in many 
 instances, because the pupils who performed them did not 
 employ that care and circumspection which is so necessary 
 with apparatus for illustrating this subject. But the teacher 
 made his pupils work out every problem, think out every
 
 39i VIENNA. 
 
 conclusion, and be as self-active in the pursuit of knowledge 
 as they could be. He never made a positive statement, never 
 announced a result himself, but allowed and even begged the 
 pupils to do that for him, " to help him a little," as he craftily 
 termed it. 
 
 One experiment failed also under the skillful hands of 
 the teacher, and, when he appeared much worried (not that 
 he was so, but he wanted to appear so), he said : " I want to 
 prove this and that, and my experiment has failed; what 
 can be the reason ? " Suggestions were made by the pupils, 
 and each was tested, until some one's suggestion proved to be 
 right, namely, that the glass rod had not been rubbed suffi- 
 ciently to cause electricity which could be noticed. Thus, 
 with laudable perseverance of both teacher and pupils, the 
 desired effect was produced, and was the more gratifying, 
 inasmuch as the cause of the failure had been discovered 
 without aid. 
 
 The pupils' sympathy with the teacher's feigned discom- 
 fort, when his experiment failed, was touching to behold, 
 and one said, " We believe your statement without seeing 
 the experiment." But he replied : " No, children, though I 
 heartily thank you for your confidence, I can not rest sat- 
 isfied ; you must see it to remember it. " With rare circum- 
 spection the teacher kept order, looked after the language 
 of his pupils, reviewed from time to time to keep the whole 
 train of causes and effects vividly before the class ; he 
 animated the class to ever-new efforts, and, while seeming 
 to be a " side-show," he really was a motive power of rare 
 effect. 
 
 Is it necessary to state which of the two lessons was the 
 successful and which the unsuccessful one ? 
 
 2. AN OBJECT-LESSON IN THE PRIMARY GRADE. 
 
 It was in the practice-school of the classic "Paedago- 
 gium " in Vienna (Dr. Fr. Dittes was rector of the institution 
 for many years), that I heard a lesson in arithmetic ac- 
 cording to Grube. The children were just climbing from 10
 
 AN OBJECT-LESSON IN THE PRIMARY GRADE. 395 
 
 to 20 in numbers, and solved such examples as 8 + 6, 9+8, 
 7+5, etc. Every example was solved by doing (that is, per- 
 forming it with match-sticks and other objects) and thinking. 
 At the close of the lesson, all " helps " were laid aside, and 
 examples were solved orally alone. The subject is too well 
 known to sketch this beautiful lesson. 
 
 Then followed a language-lesson, which had for its sub- 
 ject " The Winter. " A large picture (published by Eduard 
 Hoelzel, in Vienna) was used. It is a magnificent winter 
 landscape. In the background was seen a city, with smoke- 
 stacks, church-steeples, etc. On the left, a road with a black- 
 smith's shop; on the right, a pond on which children skated; 
 in the foreground, a coasting-slide and a group of children 
 making a snow-man, were seen. The picture offered sev- 
 eral other interesting scenes, such as cutting ice on the pond, 
 sleighing, shoveling snow, etc. High up, in the gray, win- 
 try air were seen crows. The hill-sides, roads, roofs, trees, 
 and bushes were covered with snow. This picture is 
 quite large and can be folded together. It belongs to a 
 series of four pictures (mounted on muslin) representing 
 the four seasons. I found these lovely pictures in many 
 primary schools on the Continent of Europe, they are even 
 more frequently provided in England than in Germany 
 and France. 
 
 I can not sketch the entire lesson. Only one episode is 
 vividly imprinted on my memory. I will endeavor to re- 
 produce it, for it is a proof of how consistently little children 
 of six years can " reason out things," and how well they talk 
 when they have something to say : 
 
 Teacher. " What kind of a bird is this ? " 
 
 Pupil. "A crow." 
 
 Teacher. " What do you notice on the snow around the 
 bird?" 
 
 Pupil. "Many of the crow's footprints." 
 
 Teacher. " What do they tell you ? " 
 
 Pupil. " That the bird must have hopped about there." 
 
 Teacher. " What may it want there ? "
 
 396 VIENNA. 
 
 Pupil. " It is looking for food ; it may be hungvy." 
 
 Teacher. " Is the crow a shy bird, or as free and easy as 
 a sparrow ? " 
 
 Pupil. " I think it is a very shy bird." 
 
 Teacher. " Where does it build its nest ? " 
 
 Pupil. "High up in the trees of the woods, far away 
 from houses. " 
 
 Teacher. " What, then, may be the reason of its coming 
 so near to the blacksmith's shop, where boys are playing and 
 dogs are kept ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Because it is likely to find food near a shop like 
 that." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, but, if it is so shy a bird as you say it is, 
 I should think it would not dare to come so near men and 
 their houses ? " 
 
 Pupil. " Well, I think it wouldn't if it could find any 
 food in the fields. But don't you see the fields are cov- 
 ered with deep snow ! how will a poor crow get food 
 there ? So it comes near the blacksmith's shop. It is very 
 hungry, and I think those crows high up in the air have 
 sent this one down to see whether there is any food to be 
 found. If they get a chance, they will come, too, and get 
 some." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes, dear, that's very well said. I think that 
 must be it." 
 
 The language of the school-children in Vienna is very 
 good. The absence of those detestable dialects found near 
 the Rhine, in Berlin, in Bavaria, and especially in Switzer- 
 land, makes teaching in Vienna delightful. Aside from the 
 word " halt," used perhaps too frequently, the German of the 
 people in Vienna is very good. 
 
 3. A LESSON IN GRAMMAR. 
 
 A very instructive lesson, illustrating the '* constructive 
 method " in grammar, was given in my presence in Vienna. 
 The subject of the lesson was the use of prepositions requir- 
 ing the "genitive case." The so-called adverbial preposi-
 
 A LESSON IN GRAMMAR. 397 
 
 tions instead of, for the sake of, without or outside, within 
 or inside, in virtue of, according to, in spite of, on account 
 of, for the sake of, notwithstanding, in consequence of, in 
 behalf of, in presence of, in the midst of, and numerous 
 others, were placed on the board, and it was required to in- 
 troduce or apply them in sentences all of which, stood in 
 connection and formed a composition. Since the children 
 of Vienna, as a rule, speak the German language singularly 
 free from grammatical errors, the cases dependent upon 
 prepositions make little difficulty. While children in other 
 parts of Germany avoid a noun in the genitive case and sub- 
 stitute the nominative or the preposition of (von) the chil- 
 dren in Vienna say correctly, for instance, " Des Welters 
 wegen," " In Gegenwart des Lehrers" " Diesseits des Fluss- 
 es," etc. 
 
 The work I saw was class- work, and all the pupils worked 
 to make a readable composition. The above-mentioned 
 prepositional phrases, together with simpler prepositions, 
 such as above, below, along, were used, and the result was a 
 very pretty description of the city of Gratz. When this was 
 finished, the prepositions were underscored, and the nouns 
 dependent upon them marked. It was a most interesting 
 lesson, which proved that grammar may be learned by doing 
 better than by learning it by heart verbatim et literatim. 
 But the best part of the lesson followed when the teacher 
 suggested to the pupils that they might make similar com- 
 positions. The result of this work was very gratifying. 
 One of the compositions was a description of "A Pretty 
 Spot," somewhat like the one in my " German by Practice," 
 which is reproduced here. 
 
 The reader who has not studied German grammar will 
 perhaps object to the use of the term " prepositional phrases " 
 as used above ; but it is really the most convenient name for 
 such expressions. I reproduce also a little narrative which 
 was used to illustrate the use of prepositions governing both 
 the dative and accusative case. It is reasonable to suppose 
 that children find more pleasure in thus practically learning
 
 398 VIENNA. 
 
 grammar than in first learning rules by heart and then 
 applying them. 
 
 " A Pretty Spot. Not far from our house stands a pretty grove. 
 People from the city often come to have a picnic in it during the hot 
 season. Above a mighty rock in the middle of the grove a spring bubbles 
 forth. Its water flows along within a narrow bed between flowery banks. 
 77m side of the brooklet a foot-path leads toward the mill-dam. Below 
 the latter stands an old mill leaning against the rocks. A narrow bridge 
 without a railing leads across the brook, and on the other side of it a 
 shady arbor invites the weary wanderer to take a rest. Inside of the old 
 building the mill clatters lively, and outside of it the great mill-wheel 
 turns slowly. Despite its slow course, it sets the whole machinery in 
 motion. The splashing water and the shade-trees cause a pleasant cool- 
 ness, even during the hottest season. I like to sit here with my books 
 on account of the beautiful scenery before me." 
 
 " The laght of tJie Faithful Sister. Many years ago there lived a girl 
 in a lonely fisherman's hut on the coast of the North Sea. Father and 
 mother were dead, and her brother was far out on the sea. With a long- 
 ing heart she remembered the dead, and waited patiently for the return 
 of the absent brother. When the brother went to sea, she had prom- 
 ised him that she would place a light in the window every night. The 
 light would shine far over the sea, and it was to tell him that his sister 
 Elke was still alive, and waiting for him. She faithfully kept her prom- 
 ise. Every evening she placed her lamp near the window, and many an 
 hour in the daytime was spent by her in looking out on the waves and 
 passing vessels. Whenever a ship hove in sight, she hoped it would bring 
 her dearly beloved brother back to her. Months passed, years passed, 
 but the brother did not return. Perhaps he was shipwrecked. Elkc 
 grew old and gray, but, still faithful to her pledge, she often sat near 
 the window of her lonely hut, gazing out upon the sea, and not an even, 
 ing passed on which she did not place on the window-sill a lamp well 
 provided with oil. Thus she waited and waited ; she waited fifty years. 
 One night the light went out ; her window remained dark. The neighbors 
 saw it from afar and cried, " Ah, at last, Elke's brother has come ! " 
 They hurried to her hut to welcome him home. When they opened the 
 door they found old Elke dead and stiff, still leaning toward the window, 
 as though still gazing out on the troubled waves. Beside her stood the 
 lamp, the light of which had gone out."
 
 MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 399 
 
 4. MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 
 
 Introduction. It is difficult to decide which of the two 
 cities Vienna or Leipsic accomplishes most in manual 
 training. In Leipsic the efforts are more concentrated ; in 
 Vienna they are spread over the different parts of the city, 
 and I believe in due course of time this wise policy will re- 
 sult in popularizing the work sufficiently to call for its in- 
 troduction into the common schools. At present (March, 
 1888) manual training is not a part of the curriculum of the 
 common schools, though all the manual training-schools are 
 held in public-school houses. The work is done after school 
 hours ; but the popularity which manual occupation has ob- 
 tained among pupils, teachers, and school authorities in 
 Vienna bids fair to predict an early introduction of manual 
 training into the daily programme. 
 
 The manual training normal school in Vienna is rapidly 
 increasing the number of instructors who can teach the occu- 
 pations rationally and methodically, and teachers who have 
 a professional preparation are considered -the conditio sine 
 qua non in Austria as well as in Germany. I am aware of 
 the stubborn fact that the average American school official 
 argues differently. Professional training is not so much in 
 demand here as in Europe. The question whether a nor- 
 mal-school graduate or a college graduate is the better pre- 
 pared teacher is still a mooted question with us. We are 
 very apt to shirk responsibility by introducing new methods 
 without the wherewithal to maintain them. Singing, draw- 
 ing, objective teaching, Kindergarten occupations, and other 
 things, were introduced without much, if any, preparation 
 on the part of the teachers. The result has been, as Dr. Hail- 
 mann has so convincingly shown, that they were seized by 
 " the machine." I am very much afraid that manual training 
 will have a similar fate, because not a sufficient number of in- 
 structors can be had in America to teach the work to justify 
 so broad and general an introduction as recently took place 
 in New York. Still, I shall be happy to find that 1 have been 
 27
 
 400 VIENNA. 
 
 mistaken ; and, if this book contributes its mite toward help- 
 ing manual training along, it will find in that its best 
 reward. 
 
 Mr. Alois Bruhns, the rector of one of the manual train- 
 ing-schools, has published a hand-book which is used exclu- 
 sively in Vienna. The sketches of pupils' work on the fol- 
 lowing pages are selected from this hand-book ; but before I 
 selected them I convinced myself that they were copies of 
 pupils' efforts. I found the boys at work at them, and what 
 they accomplished agreed exactly with the drawings I here 
 submit. 
 
 They are typical selections, and are here inserted to 
 show: 
 
 1. That the occupations of the boys aie more like those 
 in Leipsic than those in Paris. The boys produce articles of 
 utility, and not merely exercises for the purpose of learning 
 the use of hands and tools. 
 
 2. That, like the work in Leipsic, that in Vienna, is me- 
 thodically arranged and well graded. 
 
 3. That in wood-carving and modeling they accomplish 
 more than in Leipsic, though less than in Paris. 
 
 4. That they confine themselves in Vienna to pasteboard 
 work, joiner's and carpenter's work, wood - carving, and 
 modeling, and that they have not introduced metal-work as 
 yet. 
 
 My observations in the Vienna manual training-schools 
 lead me to say that their educational influence upon the 
 boys is far greater than that of " travail manuel " schools in 
 Paris, because the teachers are specially prepared for this 
 kind of work and are public-school teachers, while the in- 
 structors of the " travail manuel " schools in Paris are artisans 
 who pay more attention to the technical results than to the 
 educational influence which the work may have upon the 
 pupils. Nowhere in Germany and in Vienna did I find any 
 non-professional teachers at work in manual training-schools 
 except in one instance. This case is worth mentioning. In 
 Leipsic I met a master-joiner as instructor in the common
 
 MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 
 
 401 
 
 school who sneered at American tools, saying that the wav- 
 ing handles of our axes and other " so-called " improvements 
 (sic) were useless ; that for effectiveness he wanted straight- 
 handled German tools, etc. In justice to the institution I 
 must say that he stood alone in his opinion ; all others 
 present instructors and students agreed that American 
 tools far surpass the German in durability and usefulness. 
 
 THE VIENNA SCHOOL WORK BENCH, MADE 
 OF OLD SCHOOL DESKS AND SEATS. 
 
 VIENNA MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL" 
 
 FIG. 457. 
 
 National pride is a virtue, but it becomes a vice as soon 
 as it is bund to the excellent progress other nations are mak- 
 ing, and effectually prevents the individual from improving 
 iimself . It matters not whether we find it in an Austrian 
 workman, or in an American teacher who objects to " Ger-
 
 402 VIENNA. 
 
 man methods " on the plea that this is America, etc. We all 
 know the song; and we know the author, too. 
 
 A Work-bench. The reader will find in the following il- 
 lustrations some attempts at " doing exercises," but they are 
 not by far as numerous here as in Paris, and the articles 
 made are, indeed, very elaborate affairs, as will be seen by 
 comparing them with the work done in Paris. Lake all other 
 schools of this kind, those in Vienna insist upon drawing 
 and sketching. No article is made which the pupil has not 
 first represented in lines on the flat surface with or without 
 shading. Only when the object stands clearly before his 
 inner eye will he be allowed to produce it in paper and paste- 
 board, in wood, clay, or plaster, etc., as the case may be. 
 
 In Vienna I found a novel and rather practical work- 
 bench made of old-fashioned school-desks and seats. This 
 bench enables the teacher to do more class-work than he can 
 do where single work-benches are in use. I copy a sketch 
 of this bench, since it may give some of my readers an im- 
 petus to do likewise with old, discarded double desks that 
 drag out their existence, under a load of dust, in the garret or 
 cellar of the school-house. Making use of this old furniture 
 may considerably decrease the cost of a first outfit for a man- 
 ual training-school or class (Fig. 457). 
 
 I. Pupils' Work. A few samples of articles made of 
 pasteboard and paper may show the variety and exactness 
 of the work done in the Vienna manual training-schools 
 (Figs. 458-465). 
 
 II. Pupils 1 Work. A few samples of joiner's work, show- 
 ing the practical bent the boys get in the Vienna manual 
 training-schools (Figs. 466-476). 
 
 III. Pupils' Work in joinery and carpentering done in 
 the Vienna manual training-schools (Figs. 477-491). 
 
 IV. Pupils' Work. The work in turning is not by far as 
 tedious here in Vienna as I found it in Paris. The desire to 
 apply the skill gained by making articles of use is well illus- 
 trated by the few typical specimens I here offer (Figs. 
 492-510).
 
 MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 403 
 
 FIGS. 458-405.
 
 404 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 V. Pupils' Work. In wood -carving the work is also 
 more practical in Vienna than in Paris. Although decora- 
 tion is the chief object of all wood-carving, it is easily seen 
 
 FIGS." 466-176.
 
 MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 405 
 
 FIGS. 477-491.
 
 406 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 from the following specimens that the hoys will lahor with 
 more pleasure at this kind of work than at doing exercises 
 exclusively (Figs. 511-518). 
 
 Flos. 403-510.
 
 MANUAL TRAINING-SCHOOLS IN VIENNA. 
 
 407 
 
 VI. Pupils' Work. Though all the work done in the 
 manual training-schools in Vienna is commendahle and 
 even praiseworthy, the best is that in modeling in clay and 
 casting in plaster. Instead of many specimens, I will offer 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,-, i 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 -D 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 u l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 n| 
 
 In 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' i 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 L - J 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FIGS. 511-518.
 
 408 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 only one of the handsomest figures I found in the collection. 
 It will speak more eloquently than I can do it of the devel- 
 opment of the form, sense, and skill of the hand secured by 
 modeling. I had frequently seen drawings made by pupils 
 
 Fio. 519.
 
 SIMPLICITY IN THE WRONG PLACE. 409 
 
 shaded beautifully ; but here I saw the drawing executed in 
 clay and plaster by boys about fourteen years of age. Need- 
 less to say that I admired them, and, I am afraid, showed it 
 too plainly (Fig. 519). 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 1. SIMPLICITY IN THE WRONG PLACE. 
 
 SIMPLICITY in manners and customs is a proverbial virtue 
 in the citizen of a republic ever since the time of Lycurgus; 
 and Cincinnatus and Curius, Fabricius and Fabius are noted 
 examples of ancient Rome of that simplicity and civil virtue 
 which seem to vanish before the conquering progress of 
 culture. Without being conscious of it, we connect in our 
 mind simplicity with honesty, and, though luxuriously in- 
 clined ourselves, we can not but do homage to a true example 
 of simplicity when we meet it. I went to Switzerland, and 
 there found what I never expected to see a sample of sim- 
 plicity in the wrong place, a misdirected simplicity, coupled 
 with a miserly economy and a brutal honesty mark the 
 words ! 
 
 The Germans, and in these latter days the French also, 
 consider the best barely good enough for their children. 
 They are therefore always on the alert to catch what im- 
 provements are offered in common-school education. I 
 will not speak of material things, such as books, etc., but 
 will confine myself to the world of ideas. There is no new 
 idea in the realm of education that they do not instantly 
 welcome; no device whose usefulness they will not test with- 
 out delay ; no method that they will not at once apply in 
 some experimental station ; no principle which they will not 
 quickly seize to serve them as a subject for discussion ; no 
 branch of study which they will not give a place in the cur- 
 riculum of some school.
 
 410 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 It is an undeniable fact that the German school lives in 
 the most unrivaled luxury with regard to ideas, branches of 
 study, text-books, and other material things. Whether the 
 fact that it is equally well supplied with teaching forces is the 
 natural consequence of the undying aspiration and remark- 
 able activity of the German school, or whether the latter is 
 the result of the fact that the schools are manned with pro- 
 fessional teachers, is a question of no importance here ; for 
 Switzerland, where I found a deplorable absence of that 
 luxury referred to, has also a profession of teaching. 
 
 Having spent nearly nine months in France, Germany, 
 Austria, and other countries of Europe, I came to Switzer- 
 land fully prepared to witness in the land of Pestalozzi a 
 progress in the schools of the people such as would take my 
 breath away; but never was I more disappointed than when 
 I did see schools in Switzerland. The poverty, or let me say 
 the simplicity, of these schools in aims, in methods, and in 
 equipment fairly disgusted me. I confined my observations 
 to " people's schools " that is, the primary schools, which in 
 many places have a four years' course. Spending some time 
 in many classes of various schools, and comparing the courses 
 of study and the methods applied, I gathered a fair picture 
 of the status quo of the Swiss public school for the lower 
 strata of society, which does not satisfy me. 
 
 In order to be able to defend this sweeping assertion in 
 case it should be attacked, I provided myself with the printed 
 courses of instruction, the manuals used by the teachers, and 
 some samples of pupils' work which were offered me by the 
 teachers as excellent specimens. Judging from these proofs 
 in black and white and from ocular evidence, I concluded 
 that the proverbial republican simplicity is here found in the 
 wrong place. Since education in Switzerland is, as with us, 
 not a matter of legislation of the Confederation, but of each 
 separate canton, it is reasonable to suppose that my experi- 
 ences are exceptional ones, and I am perfectly willing to 
 offer the benefit of the doubt to any one who feels unjustly 
 treated by my criticism.
 
 SIMPLICITY IN THE WRONG PLACE. 
 
 411 
 
 Let me proceed to state in what way I met with the " sim- 
 plicity " referred to. I purposely avoid mentioning the 
 names of the cities I visited. The results in drawing are 
 very poor. There is a manual for instruction in drawing, 
 in use in one of the larger cities, showing the work to be 
 done in four years. This course is primitive to a fault. It 
 can not be alleged to be an antiquated document, for it bears 
 the date January, 1887. At the beginning of the fourth 
 year, after three years' practice on slate and paper, the pu- 
 pil's sense of form is still fed with " forms " like these : 
 
 FIG. 520. 
 
 In arithmetic there is equally little progress made. In 
 the primer grade only addition and subtraction within 
 the compass of 1 and 15 are practiced. In the second 
 grade the children learn to count up to 100 by two's, three's, 
 etc., and begin multiplication ; at the close of the second 
 year, easy examples in division, such as 15 -f- 3 = 5. In 
 the third year the compass is widened to 1,000, but each of 
 the four fundamental rules is treated separately. No Grube 
 method, or indeed any approach to it here. Grade four 
 works long and short division examples in abstract numbers 
 and is introduced into the world of denominate numbers. 
 No fractions! And when by rare chance an expression, 
 such as " i of 16," escapes the lips of the teacher, he intends 
 it to mean, "Divide 16 by 3 and tell the remainder." I in- 
 quired very anxiously after fractions, and was told that there 
 was no attempt made at teaching fractions till the pupils en- 
 tered the intermediate grades. Compare with this mental 
 poverty what I observed in other schools. See, for instance, 
 page 152, "The Augusta School in Berlin." 
 
 I awaited a lesson in geography anxiously, to see whether
 
 412 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 in that branch also the same " conservatism " was exhibited. 
 To be sure it was ! The geographical horizon of the pupils 
 in the fourth year did not extend beyond the little landscape 
 surrounding the city, and the maps made by the pupils of 
 this home geography were the rudest possible. I was re- 
 quested to look them over. The pride of the teacher over 
 this work was so evident that I asked him to let me have a 
 few to show my friends in America. The request flattered 
 him, and he selected a few of the best, which I am ready to 
 exhibit as proofs of my statement. From these best ones 
 one may judge of the worst. 
 
 In language the results seemed anything but satisfactory, 
 the teachers having to contend with an abominable dialect. 
 How narrow the teachers of these Swiss schools are may be 
 seen from the fact that they actually make a difference in 
 pronunciation of ei and ai, two diphthongs for which the 
 German language has but one sound : Rhein and Rain, mein 
 and Main, are indistinguishable by the ear. Exercises in 
 orthography are painfully monotonous, and the school-tone 
 in reading and reciting found here is so abominable that it 
 resembled a sing-song such as can be surpassed only by the 
 old-fashioned oral spelling of the American school of times 
 gone by : " C-o-n, Con, s-t-a-n, stan, Constan, t-i, ti, Constanti, 
 n-o, no, p-l-e, pie, Constantinople." 
 
 In singing, too, the results were unsatisfactory. No two- 
 part music in the fourth school year, nothing but the simple 
 melodies of popular and sacred airs, did I hear. Since it 
 is reasonable to suppose that teachers and pupils put their 
 best foot foremost when a visitor is present, I take it for 
 granted that they regaled me with the best they could set 
 before me. My visit occurred during the last month of the 
 school year, and it can therefore not be urged as an excuse 
 that the course of each school year had only just begun. 
 The school year in Europe generally closes at Easter. 
 
 A hand-book for teachers, entitled " Principles of Instruc- 
 tion in the Primary Schools," which I procured, is full of 
 narrow views and antiquated methods. No wonder the
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS. 413 
 
 teachers looked like sleepy horses in a treadmill! No- 
 where here did I find that fire of enthusiasm, that person- 
 al magnetism, so often observed in other European and in 
 American schools. Oh, what a disappointment that was 
 for me, who had come to Switzerland with eager expecta- 
 tion to find ideas and practices worthy of being transplant- 
 ed to the fertile soil of the New World! Three cities I 
 visited in Switzerland, and much money I spent in travel- 
 ing and in costly hotels, and found nothing worthy of 
 note. I left the country sorry that I was poorer by a 
 cherished illusion. 
 
 Still, I must not close this chapter without doing justice 
 in some manner to the fact that reports of others are not in 
 harmony with mine. Whether these people applied a dif- 
 ferent standard of measurement, or I happened to strike 
 the wrong places, I can not say. I read glowing accounts 
 of some special Swiss schools, regular mines of information 
 regarding theory and practice, and the professional jour- 
 nals published in that country also are, as a rule, not so 
 conservative and backward as one would think, judging 
 from what I saw in the schools I visited ; but my sense of 
 justice will not permit me to gloss over what seemed to me 
 faulty in toto. 
 
 In one place in Switzerland I found a school for dullards 
 (such as I described on pages 77-91), the influence of which 
 was noticeable in the other schools, since it raised their 
 standard considerably. I also found manual training- 
 schools, but nowhere so finely an organized one nor such 
 brilliant results as in Prussia, Saxony, Austria, and France. 
 
 2. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS. 
 
 In Miilhausen (in Alsace) the schools have undergone 
 great changes since Germany has regained it. Under the 
 firm but wise management of Inspector Hipp, one improve- 
 ment after another has been introduced, so that to-day the 
 schools of this busy town rank among the best known in 
 Alsace. The French rulers grievously sinned against the
 
 414 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 best interests of the province by neglecting school education. 
 The buildings are still wretched, for the increase of pupils 
 makes too great a demand upon the city treasury. Old fac- 
 tory-buildings are changed to school-houses, and it needs no 
 fertile imagination to picture to one's self the inconveniences 
 arising therefrom. 
 
 I found a "unicum" of a school here such as I hope 
 never again to see a school containing no less than sixty- 
 two class-rooms, several offices, and the rector's dwelling, 
 all in a conglomerate of buildings rickety and shabby. The 
 pupils on the third floor must wait till the other floors are 
 empty before they can be dismissed. The whole building is 
 one gr6at dangerous man-trap. In case of a fire, thousands 
 of children's lives would be in danger. This school is a blot 
 upon the fair reputation of the city of Miilhausen. 
 
 But what excellent work is done in this old building! 
 Here is found an industrial school for boys, having four 
 workshops. Here is also a most successful industrial school 
 for girls. Compare these figures : Within the year 1887 the 
 girls worked articles, such as stockings, shirts, tidies, etc., 
 which were sold for 5,534*23 marks, the material having 
 been furnished by the city authorities, and had cost 3,218 '81 
 marks, so that the busy hands of the little girls had 
 produced a value of 2,315*42 marks. This entire gain 
 is used to furnish the schools of the city with means of 
 instruction charts, apparatus, musical instruments, tools, 
 etc. 
 
 How practical the women are who teach in this depart- 
 ment is seen from the fact that there is no waste. The 
 bands or straps knitted by the six-year-old girls, on which 
 they learn the different kinds of knitting, are sewed to- 
 gether to make pretty little petticoats. The pieces of mus- 
 lin left over from cutting out aprons are sewed together 
 for quilts, and thus all waste is prevented. The exhibition 
 of girls' needlework was fully as interesting as that in 
 Cologne. 
 
 That the work in this industrial school is no mere me-
 
 INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS. 
 
 415 
 
 ehanical humdrum is seen from the care with which each 
 article is drawn and cut according to given measurements. 
 1 append a few sketches which will illustrate this. 
 
 28 
 
 FIGS. 521-523.
 
 416 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 The different benevolent societies of the city buy the arti- 
 cles made by the little school-girls. Thus, for instance, I 
 find the following societies mentioned " The Benevolent So- 
 ciety," " The Lying-in Hospital," " The Sisters of the Poor," 
 " The Maternal Society " as purchasers. Darning and other 
 kinds of mending are important branches of needlework 
 here in Miilhausen. 
 
 3. A LESSON IN PHILOLOGY. 
 
 It was a rare treat that I had one day in a school of Al- 
 sace, where I listened to a language - lesson. The word 
 " Kleinod" (jewel) occurred in a sentence, and the pupils 
 were requested to define or paraphrase it. There being 
 some difficulty in this, the teacher asked, "Separate the 
 syllables." The pupils hesitated, not knowing whether to 
 write Klein-od or Klei-nod; but they finally determined 
 to separate them thus, " Klein-od" " Well, then, there 
 are two words in one, namely, Klein and od. There 
 is no difficulty in understanding the first part (little), but 
 the second must have a meaning also. What is it ? " No 
 response. 
 
 Teacher. " The word is quite old. We have to search 
 for its meaning in the oldest records of the German lan- 
 guage. Who was the greatest of the gods in German 
 mythology ? " 
 
 Pupil. "Odin." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes ; Odin was the greatest of gods. And 
 what did the word god mean originally ? " 
 
 Pupil. " I think it meant gut (good)." 
 
 Teacher. " Yes ; and up to the present day the word gut 
 is used to signify a possession (goods). Mention a word in 
 which this is apparent." 
 
 Pupil. " JMndgut (farm)." 
 
 Teacher. "True. Now remember that gut (good or 
 goods) and od are the same words, and mean as in ancient 
 time so even now both Gott (God) and gut (good or goods). 
 Now, what does Kleinod mean ? "
 
 A LESSON IN PHILOLOGY. 417 
 
 Pupil. " It must mean a little possession, or perhaps a 
 little treasure." 
 
 Teacher. "Exactly some valuable goods, as precious 
 stones, small, yet whose intrinsic value is greater than that 
 of many bulky possessions. A synonym of Kleinod is jewel. 
 Now, think of the opposite meaning of Kleinod." 
 
 Instantly the reply came, " It must be Allod." 
 
 Teacher. "Yes; state its meaning." 
 
 Pupil. " Possessions in land belonging to an ancient 
 aristocratic family." 
 
 Teacher. "Correct; the allodial possessions could not be 
 divided, but remained forever inalienable in a family. Such 
 allods are still found in England, where only the eldest sons 
 of aristocratic families inherit the lands and titles. From 
 the explanation of such words as Kleinod and Allod you 
 may judge how consistent the German language is in word- 
 building." 
 
 The conversation did not last many minutes. But what 
 an amount of thought - bearing information was given ! 
 What openings into other realms of thought were offered ! 
 What an interest was awakened among the pupils who thus 
 " made the acquaintance of words " ! This short episode of 
 the lesson reminded me of that inscription over the gate of 
 an Arabian school. "Here is a place where children are 
 taught the beginning of words " ; and again it reminded me 
 of the fact that English and American children often use 
 words thoughtlessly which might be to them as transparent 
 as crystal if the dictionary were diligently used. Such a 
 word as atonement, Latin as it looks and sounds, is yet 
 an easy word to understand if built over again from at-one- 
 ment. Children who are taught to apply to the diction- 
 ary acquire a remarkable command over the queen's Eng- 
 lish, while without it they forever remain as ignorant as my 
 servant who " spelled " through a newspaper in his leisure 
 hours, and thought "the constitutionality of a measure 1 ' 
 meant the size of a bushel or yard-stick I
 
 418 SWITZERLAND AND ALSACE. 
 
 4. CRUMBS. NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF MULHAUSEN. 
 
 A good deal of sketching is done here, such as I described 
 in other chapters of this book. The children talk with 
 chalk as readily as they express their thoughts orally and in 
 writing. Thus, I saw a boy go to the board and illustrate 
 his recitation of the bees by sketching rapidly and very ac- 
 curately the wings, head, and feet of a bee. Another, speak- 
 ing of birds, sketched the characteristic forms of wings 
 and beaks. This sketching is an enviable skill, and possi- 
 ble only where the practice of sketching is made a daily 
 occurrence. 
 
 When I inquired for the causes of the almost faultless 
 orthography I noticed in the composition- books, I was told 
 that they had a rule 'n these schools which made mistakes 
 almost impossible to wit, u Do not correct but avoid mis- 
 takes." Every word dictated is looked at and dissected before 
 it is written. If, perchance, a pupil does err, he is made to 
 erase it and insert the correct form so carefully that the pro- 
 ductions or reproductions are absolutely faultless. 
 
 While the recitations here are generally individual where 
 the pupils' own thoughts play an important rdle, a novel 
 thing to me was the perfection in class recitation. I heard 
 classes speak in chorus as though it was but one voice. 
 Poems were thus recited faultless in emphasis and accent. 
 In no other school in all my wanderings through Europe 
 did I meet a similar perfection in concert recitation. 
 
 Each teacher here keeps a k 'diarium," a day-book, in 
 which the subject of each lesson is noted down. When the 
 inspector, whose desire is to keep the different classes of the 
 same grade on a level, enters a school-room, he never fails to 
 inspect this book, and he frequently takes occasion to enter 
 a note of commendation or reproof. The teachers are nearly 
 all of Prussian descent, not natives of Alsace, and the use of 
 the French language is consistently discouraged. 
 
 The citizens of Alsace and Lorraine are still somewhat 
 obstinate against the German rule, but they are unanimous
 
 NOTES FROM THE SCHOOLS OF MftLHAUSEN. 419 
 
 in praising the common schools with which they have been 
 blessed. During the French rule their schools were kept by 
 superannuated men, who " did much in patriotism " but lit- 
 tle in real teaching. I gathered these facts from men of the 
 people, with whom I took occasion to speak of the schools 
 while traveling through Alsace. 
 
 THE END.
 
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