XVII.-TYPICAL COURSES OF STUDY FOR PRUSSIAN MIDDLE SCHOOLS. [NOTE.-Those two schools come nearer the American high schools than the Prussian high schools, hence the comparison is more interesting.] III.-For Citizens' Schools. (1) Religion.-Biblical history of the Old and especially the New Testament. Catechism with Bible verses [and quotation from tradition] serving as evidence. The movable festivals of the church. Memorizing of favorite hymns. Acquaintance with important contents of the Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament. Religious ethics and creed. Knowledge of the chief events of church history [notably the lives of the great saints.] (2) German.-Acquaintance with the 'most vital rules of etymology and syntax; introduction into German literature of the classic period. Information regarding the lives of great poets, also about kinds and forms of poetry. Memorizing of selected ballads and memory gems. Practice in correct oral and written language, and easy exercises in composition. (3,4) French and English.-Correct pronunciation; skill in reading; practice in etymology and syntax. Acquisition of a vocabulary sufficient for the comprehension of the reading matter selected. Some practice in copying French and English correctly. Reading of prose, such as historic and descriptive, and easy poetry. Some fluency in speaking the languages. (5) History.-Acquaintance with the essential events of Greek and Roman history, but more minute knowledge of German history from the time of Luther. (6) Geography. - Elements of mathematical and physical geography. Knowledge of important topographical conditions and their relations to the present political divisions. Special attention to be paid to central Europe. (7) Arithmetic and mathematics.-Facility and skill in operating with denominate numbers, and their application in practical life. General arithmetic to logarithms and progressions. Algebra to easy equations of the first degree. Principles of plane and solid geometry; elements of plane trigonometry. IV.-For Girls' Academies. (1) Religion.-Substantially the samo as in the boys' schools (citizens'). (2) German.-Reading of selected works of modern literature; training in the correct use of language, oral and written; only essentials of grammar. Memorizing of selected ballads and memory gems. Compositions mostly on matters connected with literature. At times compositions in form of letters. History of literature in outlines. (3) French.-Substantially the same as in the opposite column, only more prac tice in speaking and less literature. (4) English.-Substantially the same as in the opposite column, only more attention is paid to the oral use of the language, hence irregular verbs and rules of syntax to be emphasized. Reading of English classic productions in poetry and prose. History of English literature. (5) History.—Biographical studies from ancient and modern history. The great women in history. (6) Geography.-Knowledge of home Topowidening in concentric circles. graphical, political, and elements of mathematical geography. (7) Arithmetic and mathematics.-Facil ity and skill in operating with denominate numbers with constant reference to domestic application. Of the business rules, only percentage, interest, partnership, etc. The most elementary parts of geometry sufficient for simple mensura tion of planes, III.-For Citizens' Schools-Continued. (8) Natural history.-Botany: Training in observing and describing plants; knowledge of important families of plants and their best known phenomena of life. Zoology: Training in observing and describing animals; a few representatives of important orders of vertebrates and insects. Thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the human body. (9) Physics.-General qualities of bodies learned through experiments; the principles of equilibrium and motion, electricity, magnetism, light, heat, also the simplest laws of acoustics and optics. (10) Chemistry.-The commonest chemical elements and their principal compounds. References to commercial facts. (11) Drawing.-Practice of eye and hand, facility in drawing free-hand imitations of flat-surfaced ornaments. Sketching simple solids, furniture, etc., in outlines from nature. Imitation of simple plastic ornaments with shading. Practice in the use of instruments. (12) Focal music.-Three part music. See course for Gymnasium. (13) Gymnastics.--See Gymnasium. IV.-For Girls Academies-Continued. (8) Natural history.-Similar to that in opposite column. The methods employed in girls' schools are different. Physiology or anatomy of the human body is omitted entirely. (9) Physics. Similar to that in opposite column. (10) Chemistry.-Similar to that in opposite column. References to domestic facts. (11) Drawing.-Imitation of flat-surfaced ornaments. Application of drawing to industrial handicrafts. (12) Vocal music.-See opposite column. (13) Gymnastics.-Calisthenics and light apparatus. XVIII.-TYPICAL COURSE OF STUDY FOR FRENCH MIDDLE SCHOOLS. V.-For the superior elementary schools. [NOTE.-In order to understand the place and organization of these schools, consult Diagram III, As in previous courses, a condensed statement only is made.] (1) Morals.-Principles of morals; rights and duties of citizenship; elementary ideas of political economy. (2) French.-Orthography to a reasonable degree of correctness; etymology and syntax. Expressive reading with explanation of text; frequent exercises in composition writing; leading ideas concerning the history of literature. (3) Penmanship.--Both round and bastard styles. (4) History. The principal personages of antiquity; leading events of French history to the present time; progress of national institutions; principal epochs of ancient history, Middle Ages, and modern times; biographies of great characters. (5) Geography.-Topographical and political geography of the five continents; special study of the geography of France and its administration and organization; commercial and economical geography of France; map drawing. (6) Foreign languages.—One modern language at least. (7) Arithmetic and mathematics.-First year: Theoretical and practical arithmetic; first elements of geometry. Second year: Arithmetic completed; elements of algebra; plane geometry and its applications. Third year: Algebra to equations of first degree; elements of trigonometry; geometry (plane and solid) completed. (8) Bookkeeping.-Principal ideas of commerce and bookkeeping; practical application in keeping a set of books; commercial arithmetic. (9) Natural history.-Organs (and their functions) of man and animals; practical study of the principal groups of animals and plants; application of hygiene to local industry; the principal facts of geology, and examination of the commonest minerais. (10) Physics.-The most important phenomena and the principal theories of physics; modern discoveries and scientific facts in their applications upon every-day life. (11) Chemistry.-Exercises in observation and examination of such familiar facts as will introduce the study of chemistry. The most useful metals and metaloids; "iron and its laws;" elementary ideas of organic chemistry. (12) Drawing.-Geometric figures; flat-surfaced ornaments; elements of shading; drawing of solids; orthographic and perspective projection; outline sketches; parts of machines and building plans; sketching from relief and embossed models. (13) Vocal music.-Three part music. (14) Gymnastics.-Calisthenics; exercises on apparatus, military drill. (15) Manual work.-Exercises in wood and iron; gardening. XIX. TYPICAL COURSE OF STUDY FOR FRENCH HIGH SCHOOLS, [NOTE. In order to facilitate comparison with the foregoing courses a mere outline is given. A detailed course is found in "Plan d'Etudes des Lycées," official decres of January 22, 1885.] (1) French.-Grammar finished; extracts from French classics, poetry and prose; compositions, literary and scientific; prosody. (2) Latin.-Grammar, prosody; extracts from Phædrus, Ovid, Nepos, Virgil, Caesar's Gallic War, Quintus Curtius, Lucretius, Livy, Cicero, Horace, Pliny, Sallust, Tacitus. Reading, writing, translation. (3) Greek.—Grammar, paradigms and syntax; extracts from Xenophon, Lucian, Homer, Herodotus, Euripedes, Sophocles, Plato, Plutarch, Aristhophanes, Demosthenes. Reading, writing, translation. (4) German or English.-Grammar. English texts -First year: Edgeworth's Tales, Aiken and Barbauld's Evenings at Home, Primer of English History. Second year: Scott's Tales of a Grandfather, Franklin's Autobiography, Primer of Greek History. Third year: De Foe's Robinson Crusoe, Irving's Voyages of Columbus, History of Rome. Fourth year: Vicar of Wakefield, Tales from Shakespeare, Macaulay's History of England, Vol. I. Fifth and sixth years: Julius Cæsar, The Deserted Village, The Traveller, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Extracts from English historians. German texts similar to the English. (5) History.-First year: Ancient History of the Orient-Egypt, Assyria, Palestine, Phoenicia, Persia. Second year: Greece. Third year: Rome. Fourth year: Europe, particularly France from 395 to 1270 A. D. Fifth year: Same up to 1610. Sixth year: Same up to 1789. Seventh year: Cotemporary history and philosophy. (6) Geography.-First year: Europe and the Mediterranean basin, the oceans. Second year: Topography of Africa, Asia, Oceanica, and America; principal states, cities, commercial ports, European possessions. Third year: Topographical and political geography of France and Algiers. Fourth year: Physical, political, and commercial geography of Europe. Fifth year: The other continents. Sixth year: Physical, political, and commercial geography of France and its colonies, also administrative and economical aspects. (7) Arithmetic and mathematics.—First year: Review of fundamental rules; common and decimal fractions; mensuration; elements of mathematical geography. Second year: Rule of three, percentage, simple interest, discount, mensuration of solids; arithmetic completed. Third year: Plane geometry. Fourth year: Algebra through fractions, plane geometry completed. Fifth year: Algebra through equations of the seeond degree; solid geometry. Sixth year: Geometry and trigonometry; cosmography or astronomy. Seventh year: Review of entire course in mathematics with practical applications. (8) Natural history, physics, and chemistry.-First year: Zoology (vertebrata and articulata). Second year: Botany; grand divisions of vegetable kingdom (phanerogania and cryptogamia). Third year: Geology. Fourth year: Physics; properties of matter; mechanics. Fifth year: Physics; electricity, magnetism, acoustics. Sixth year: Chemistry, inorganic and organic. Seventh year: Physics and chemistry, optics, and review of both sciences extended in practical applications. Anatomy and physiology of animals and plants. (9) Philosophy in seventh year: This course consists of lectures and the reading of one Latin, one Greek, and two French authors. It includes an account of sensibility, futelligence, and volition, of formal and applied logic, of conscience and duty, family and country, of political duty, of labor, capital, and property, of immortality and natural religion. (10) Drawing.-First and second years: Perspective with shadows, drawing from ornaments in relief, from architectural fragments, from the human head. Third year: From architectural fragments, the human body, from prints of bas-reliefs; some mechanical drawing of architectural designs. Fourth, fifth, and sixth years: Decorative figures, caryatides, friezes, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, the human figure, and figures of animals. XX-AN AMERICAN OPINION ON THE VITAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GERMAN AND AMERICAN SCHOOLS. In answer to the question, What is the vital difference between a first-class German school and an American school of the same standing? the editor of the Popular Educator (Boston) makes these pointed remarks: Generally speaking, we should say that the difference between the two schools is that which one would expect when the temperaments and the governments of the two peoples are compared. The German boy is quiet-dull he sometimes seems to be to the American eye, and he is trained by the laws and customs of his country to strict obedience. The German boy, therefore, knows more of books, has greater ability of mental concentration than the American boy at the same age. The teacher, too, because of these traits, is not obliged to be so apt in governing as the American teacher; and so, if not always so brilliant as our best teachers, he is broader and more thorough. But the German teacher dislikes the American boy. And this is evidence, given the boy and the teacher (and the fact that adaptability of the one to the other is essential to successful teaching), that the difference between the German teacher and the American is one of kind rather than quality. The German school differs from the American school more in its curriculum of work than in anything else. Germany has taken care that the schools shall not only be filled by competent teachers, but that these instructors shall be supervised and assisted by equally competent educators. There are no polities in the German schools. From end to end of the Empire reaches the oversight of the minister of instruction. Teachers are selected with great care, are officers of the state, and retired at the proper time on a pensiou. With us there is no system. Committees come and go, and so do the officers they elect. The result is, that, while our first-rate schools are, so far as the teachers are concerned, quite as good as those of Germany, nowhere will there be found the same care and thought in adapting the work to be done to the growth of the child, in supplying the school rooms with the necessary apparatus and material for work, and the consequent all-round development of the child. There may be a compensation for our defects in these particulars-defects which we shall have to attribute to our democratic institutions. XXI.-FRENCH STUDENTS IN GERMAN HIGH SCHOOLS. The superiority of German public schools over those of other nations has been acknowledged repeatedly, but it has of late been recognized by the French school officials in a manner which is both unique and acceptable. In "European Schools" an account is given under the above heading which may be quoted here as circumstantial evidence of the superiority of German schools: It is now nearly twelve years since the French national school authorities resolved upon a direct acknowledgment of that superiority by sending annually several graduates of French lycées 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 it is stated elsewhere (see also page 36 of this report), 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 directed 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 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 see a good deal of the country. The author says further: I had opportunities to learn something of the contents of the report 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 the pupils. however, are loud in praising the instruction they get in school. All, They are unanimous in saying that the German high schools are superior to the French lycées. Especially in mathematics, they think, the German schools prove superior. 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. Instruction 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 indulged 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 Frenchmen 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. 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 uuripe youths. In another particular the German high 'D. Appleton & Co., New York. |