This chapter is for the consideration of some of the more important phases of the school system presented in greater detail in the foregoing chapters. The aim is to bring some features of Norway's system under close inspection, to interpret them in the light of commonly accepted pedagogical principles, to make comparisons between them and our own, and to suggest possible improvements where they seem to be needed. It is clearly evident that school practices admirably adapted to the social conditions in one country may be far from desirable in another. On the other hand, it is well-known that some educational means may be equally suitable in more than one country. Furthermore, certain fundamental principles are effectual wherever education is attempted. We shall hope to find some things worthy of being adopted bodily by us and others capable of transformation into shapes calculated to improve our educational practices.

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR IDEALS

The Norse are a sturdy race having potentialities capable of great accomplishment when once aroused and rightly directed. Conditions prevented these capacities from functioning with freedom until the middle of the last century when the store of energy which had accumulated during preceding decades and centuries asserted itself and effected a rapid rise in the political and intellectual status of the nation.

It is believed that Norway is now in a period of transition from a condition of mediocrity to one of eminence among the nations of the world. Politically, ethically, and educationally she assumes larger proportions daily.

As individuals the Norwegians are recognized among the leaders in literature, art, and science, and equal to any as pioneers in the development of the rich frontiers. As citizens they are enthusiastically welcomed everywhere. Climatic conditions and habits of life have given them the sturdiness of physique and vigor of mind which make them fearless and undaunted in the face of great undertakings and critical situations. They have become habituated to overcoming all obstacles in their way, and they naturally concentrate their energies for the achievement of their desired ends.

It is reasonable to expect similar traits in them as a nation. Their past actions declare these same tendencies and their present attitudes confirm the observer in the belief that the history of Norway will continue the story of regular and ever higher development. Their strongly democratic individuality seems to have been a factor in enabling them to realize and recognize their self in a very successful way. Matters of importance put the entire state into action and it ploughs through to the bottom of things. While very conservative, the state will not permit precedent to stand in the way of accepting new conditions when they are proven superior to the old. After thorough examination of every detail it passes judgment on the situation and then stands on that solution. Conservation has been an operating principle with them all along the line. A step in advance, some worthy achievement, new or loftier ideals, greater political freedom, and the like when once gained are always retained.

The union of church and state for example has been to their advantage. Matters of religion and politics were handled by the same hands and as a consequence both were strengthened. Each found in the other sources of inspiration and power. They both recognized education as a necessary fundamental means for their preservation and advancement. Acting in the main on the educational ideals of Martin Luther the church accepted the chief responsibilities in the direction of school activities, while the state very cheerfully undertook the burden of their support. Through the processes of growth direct responsibilities have been more and more shifted to the state, though the church continues to exert very strong influence and render every possible assistance.

Resulting from this cooperative activity a system of education has evolved which is effectual in the improvement of the state and in the maintenance of the noblest ideals of the church. According to its design this system of schools qualifies all children in the land for intelligent citizenship, and prepares them severally for the performance of every function of state, the service of the church, and for the various arts, professions, and other occupations of life. In other words, Norway provides for her children educational advantages suitable to every legitimate requirement or desire. Thus its school system develops a loyal, well-trained citizenship capable of maintaining its highest ideals and eager to cooperate in moving the fatherland forward into greater and nobler achievement.

FACILITIES FOR EDUCATION

To satisfy the varied requirements of the nation along the line of educational facilities it has been necessary to establish a complex system of diversified schools. Fundamental in the system are the primary schools providing the thorough elementary training so essential and effectual in the qualifying of citizens. Following these are the secondary schools—middle school and gymnasium—which afford the advantages of higher education along the more liberal lines. Besides these are the many institutions—public and private—for technical and professional study. There are general technical schools, schools of trades and manual arts, agricultural and horticultural institutions, naval and military academies, schools of art, teachers' colleges, a technical high school—an engineering college and institute of technology of high rank—in the city of Trondhjem, and the Royal Frederik University in Christiania which is devoted to specialized study and research in science, letters, and learned professions, including theology, law, medicine, and education. The last is provided for in the affiliated Pedagogical Seminary recently established.

At this point we may speak a word in commendation of the important part played by private institutions in Norway. Among them may be enumerated primary and secondary schools, teachers' seminaries, and technical institutes. Being of high merit and operating side by side with the state schools, they have rendered valuable service and exerted a wholesome influence. The state has recognized their work and expressed its appreciation of their efforts by giving them standing and by voting annuities to certain of them.

The uniformly high standard of preparation required for entrance to and the close correlation between the several special schools make easy the passage from one to another when it is desired, and give solidarity and unity wherein cooperation is natural and mutually beneficial.

It should be noted that provision is made for the proper care of the exceptional child in Norway. This is more particularly true of the defective. The child who is dull of comprehension along some lines receives individual assistance from his regular teacher or another who is employed to do the work. Recognition is given to disparity in physiological and mental age of children. Those who are definitely lacking in mentality are segregated into classes in the large schools and into separate schools in the larger cities, where they are provided with abundant, well-selected equipment and expert teachers who exert every effort to improve the conditions and to overcome the handicaps of the unfortunates. Morally delinquent children are placed in children's homes—homes for correction—where they are supervised and taught. Each child is placed under the conditions best suited to his needs—where he will be most profited. All of this work comes under the authority of the school officials, and as a result there is close coordination between the regular and the special schools.

Not only do these officials care for the mentally and morally delinquent but they are also authorized and required to take children from environments that are likely to develop evil and lawless traits. Unfit parents may be deprived of the control and authority over their offspring who are taken and placed in private homes of moral influence or in children's homes where they receive proper care and training. Being vested with such authority the school officials are able to do much toward the prevention of delinquency as well as to attend specifically to the individual cases where a lack of moral responsibility is evidenced.

Here are wholesome lessons for our American schools. Instead of giving sufficient individual help or providing expert teachers for the less intelligent, we permit them to become repeaters or to drop out altogether; in place of taking the child from an evil environment before he becomes a moral delinquent and placing him under moral surroundings in some good home, we hesitate to interfere with parental rights—as though they were greater than social—and permit him to become a law-breaker; and rather than give to school officials the authority and necessary equipment to care rightfully for the child who has committed some error, we place him in the hands of the law and he is probably sent to a reformatory having neither facility for his proper treatment nor any connection with the schools whatsoever.

Closer co-ordination of these educational functions and institutions would prevent much misfortune, cure a vast amount of misery, and accomplish more efficient results.

DIRECTING AUTHORITY AND MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS

Norway's educational authority is definitely centralized in the person at the head of the Department of Ecclesiastical and Educational Affairs, who is a member of the King's cabinet. The several departments, bureaus, commissions, and boards for control are radiations from this central focus. Furthermore, their schools are parts and parcels of one very definite, though somewhat complex, system; each class of schools, in its respective field, is ordered according to certain specifications; and all are coordinated so as to result in a unified whole without overlapping, or exposure of ragged and loose ends.

The controlling features of greater importance such as curriculum, appointment of teachers, plans of instruction, and the determination of qualifications for teaching positions are in the hands of the higher authorities. In effect the state determines the policies, the officers are expected to respect them, and the patrons exercise but little direct control. For example, the law provides that completion of certain grades of school work shall mean practically the same throughout the country, that the middle school and gymnasium examinations shall be uniform everywhere in the state, that standards of academic fitness for teaching positions must be the same, and that teachers' salaries shall not be below a certain minimum amount. Local opinion never has a thought of departing from these requirements.

Being vested with considerable authority the school officials are able not only to make suggestions and recommendations, but also to enforce all school regulations. This plan is successful in securing the most efficient service of which the officials are capable. They are expected to pursue their duties and perform their obligations according to directions without being too largely influenced by the opinions of individuals or community sentiment. Local politics plays a very small part in determining what shall be the educational trend, though the patrons of the school do enjoy considerable liberty and bear some responsibilities in arranging minor factors with reference to local situations.

We Americans might avoid a vast amount of leakage and unnecessary expenditure by improved organization of our educational institutions. A unified system of education, manned by competent officials with some authority, might easily raise the standard of efficiency of our schools several grades, and at the same time reduce the proportional cost. President Hall has given optimistic expression along this line. He writes:—"The time is not far off when we shall coordinate all educational agencies for all classes of children of school age.... All... institutions for the care and betterment of the bodies, minds or morals of children should correlate their work so that eventually it may all become so consolidated that each child can be placed in that position in the whole great system which will do most and best for it at each stage and so that changes from one to the other can be made whenever it becomes for the welfare of the child.... Diversities of agencies, aims and method should increase; and incorrigibles, defectives, homeless, neglected, backward children and the rest should each have special provision; but integration should keep pace with this differentiation."[27]

Were our public schools, reformatories, schools for defectives, etc., etc., all combined into one system they might perform their offices more effectively than they do now. Instead of permitting each to run along independent of the rest, they should be made to supplement each other.

Again, it is a matter of common knowledge that in our own country high school graduation, qualifications for teaching positions in the several grades of school work, college entrance requirements, college degrees, etc., are without uniform standardization. At present even a college degree has meaning only when the work and equipment of the institution granting it have been carefully estimated; state teachers' certificates may or may not be valid in other states; and reciprocity among the states in recognizing certificates is not in operation generally. While state certificates are not always demanded, some of the states are now requiring that all teachers in the high schools must be college graduates. In all too many instances the only effectual prerequisite to obtaining a position as teacher in the schools—primary or secondary—is the vote of the school directors. The gradation of educational activity according to a fixed basis and the raising of standards in academic and pedagogical preparation and in personal fitness for teaching positions would make the schools vastly greater factors in the country's progress and do the nation an inestimable service.

Centralization and uniformity in authority and purpose are distinctly evident in every school activity in Norway. The authority of the state is clearly stamped on the work of every official from the directing head to the last in position. Everyone connected with the system feels the obligations of the position occupied and, at the same time, recognizes his own security while keeping within the limits of the law. They all concentrate their energies in an earnest endeavor to realize the ends which the educational system is designed to reach. Even individual subjects of instruction are presented for specific purposes which in turn contribute to the general end to be reached through the course of study as a whole. Purposes, aims, and ends are always in the foreground of attention, and when teacher and pupils cooperate and are actuated by common ideals, their efforts are sure to be vital and successful.

TEACHERS' TRAINING

Proper pedagogical training is perhaps the most potent factor for good in educational activity. But few systems, if any, adequately meet the needs along this line. Some are well supplied with institutions devoted to the training of teachers so far as their number and distribution are concerned but they are lacking in quality; others have training schools very high in quality but they are poorly distributed and insufficient in number.

The ideals and equipment of these special institutions are factors of prime importance in determining their real values. These center in the personnel of the directing and teaching force. Too frequently thorough scientific preparation for the specific work of supervising and instructing in teachers' seminaries is wanting. Natural endowment coupled with long, varied, and successful experience has been regarded as sufficient qualification. To be sure, native ability is an absolute essential; experience is of immeasurable value; but intensive scientific research in the fields of child nature and development, psychology, and pedagogical principles, together with scientific methods, are equally indispensable.

Now it is a truism that teachers teach as they have been taught. Hence, to achieve greatest results, prospective teachers should secure their education (general and professional) from ideal teachers as far as possible and obtain experience through practice teaching under the personal supervision of masters in education. Preparing under such conditions, their natural capabilities would be brought more nearly to maximum efficiency and they would become powers for good in the profession. To have seminaries so distributed and equipped that all prospective teachers might have the best training within easy access would be an ideal condition.

Germany affords an unparalleled example in the development of teachers' seminaries. No other nation ever had a system of training schools as efficient as the one there provided. Her right to the title of "School mistress of the world" is in large measure traceable to the excellent training provided for and required of the teachers in the schools.

Norway early recognized the importance of this phase of school work and established six teachers' seminaries. Subsequently four private seminaries have been opened and the state has instituted the Pedagogical Seminary in affiliation with the university in Christiania. This gives them a liberal number of training colleges well distributed. While they are subject to some adverse criticism for failure to keep pace with the development of their school system as a whole, we must admit that the excellent results achieved by the schools of Norway are due largely to the early provision of these seminaries and insistence upon special training for teaching positions.

It is probable that certain normal schools of the United States deserve the honors so far as ideals and results are concerned even though we have accorded first ranking in system to Germany. Our plan, however, is too individual in nature to accomplish greatest good. We lack a centralized authority with power to do things. We have practically no co-ordination between state systems and no uniformity. Even in certain states the several schools do not cooperate or supplement each other as they should. The waste occasioned by the looseness of our system is enormous. Could we unify our resources, systematize our equipment, and provide efficient direction along cooperative lines of activity, the American schools would advance by leaps and bounds such as have not been known up to the present time in any nation.

A word is in place here with reference to the process of obtaining professional preparation. One of the best things to be gained by special training is a professional attitude toward the work of teaching. This cannot be attained by spasmodic effort but must be grown into. It comes rather as a result of long-continued study and application of principles than by intensive training for a short while. Direct instruction and experiment extended over a long period of time affords opportunity for innumerable associations and interrelations which no "hurry-up" process can provide. When professional training and study along the general lines of academic learning parallel each other they become interwoven in such a way that each contributes to the other, and simultaneously the proper attitude with respect to educational processes becomes a very real part of the student's life.

There are a number of important pedagogical principles which should become ingrained in the life of the individual in order that he make a success in the teaching profession. It is a generally conceded and commonly practiced rule in education that to thoroughly master any field of knowledge and really get into its vital parts it is necessary to keep the mind acting upon it, at least intermittently, through several years of time. Principles acted and reacted upon, viewed in this light and that, examined under a certain condition and then another, and tested in various ways may result very differently in one's life than when given a hurried, even though intensive, examination. They are certain in the one instance to sink deep into the life of the individual while in the other case they may or may not affect his behavior.

It seems, therefore, that if the excellent features which now characterize Norway's Pedagogical Seminary might be carried along through the whole or a large part of the college course, or if the work of the seminary might be supplemented by studies such as principles of education, history of education, child study, and psychology, carried along with the college work the results would be more effectual—the preparation for teaching more thorough. However, considering the short time that has elapsed since the founding of this Seminary, its work is of high order and its ideals are praiseworthy. The expressed intent of the director is to develop the field as rapidly as possible until it shall be characterized by the best means of professional training known to the science.

THE TEACHERS' LIFE

The life of the teacher is one of service, calling for an expenditure of the self to an extent perhaps greater than any other profession. Among the Norse, however, it is not as strenuous as that experienced in American schools. The Norwegian teachers have more time than we for recreation, self-improvement, or any of the activities opened up by leisure hours. Life generally is set at a more moderate pace with the Norsemen than with the rushing Americans, and the schoolmen enjoy the attendant advantages along with those in other professions or occupations.

While leisure among certain classes leads to idleness and corruption, it has quite opposite results among the better class of citizens. Windelband says that "The cultured man is he who in his leisure does not become a mere idler." The cultured men of the past have in their leisure developed science, art, literature, and philosophy. They have had reserve energy after the performance of their regular labors to use in fruitful, self-selected activities. There are always innumerable avenues through any one of which an earnest servant of the state may bring great gain to its people.

There is no nobler profession than that devoted to the development of youth; neither is there any occupation which brings more satisfying recompenses. The child is the most precious asset of the nation and deserves the maximum service possible for teachers to render. To perform the most efficient service the teacher should have health, vigor, and time for recreation in addition to scholastic and professional qualifications. When school authorities make conditions conducive to these ends, the results will be of such character that teachers, pupils, patrons, and community will all obtain greater profits.

Where school activities are not overtaxing, the teacher has opportunity to build up his physical being, increase the buoyancy of his spirits so as to enthuse his pupils to a greater extent, or improve his educational qualifications. One may concentrate his efforts along some given line of research and from day to day give the pupils under his tuition the benefits derived from these specialized efforts. An individual by persistent study may become the discoverer of new laws or truths which reach the ends of the earth and profoundly influence human affairs. Whatever the particular activity, leisure consecrated to the uplift of mankind is sure to result in great good.

When institutions drive their servants to the limit of their powers they must inevitably be the losers in the long run. They extinguish the light of ambition, reduce to machines the individuals who should be contributors to human progress, and make legion "the man with the hoe." Such practice in our schools results in waste of energy, depletion of our teaching force, and irretrievable loss in many ways.

It is my candid opinion that the rapidity of the evolution of the Norwegian school system, its excellencies, and the highly satisfactory results coming from it are in large measure due to the fact that it does not overtax the powers of its teachers and educational leaders, but on the contrary allows them opportunity for the exercise of initiative and encourages a professional attitude towards their work.

THE CURRICULUM

The course of instruction in the primary and secondary schools of Norway is uniform for all pupils except in the second and third years of the gymnasium where diverse lines of study are offered. The arrangement is unfortunate in that the individual is sometimes required to pursue subjects of study for which he has no adaptability and in which he can develop no interest. Teachers in Norway tell me that this requirement is a great handicap; retarding the progress of the class, demoralizing the individual, and increasing the burden of the teacher. More flexibility in this regard would doubtless be an advantage. The elective system, so common in our own schools, when rightly supervised preserves sufficient coherence between the studies taken up and gives opportunity for more perfect adjustment.

Not only in the course of study but also in organization, plans of instruction, and equipment, the schools of Norway are too uniform to result in the freest development of the intellect, the richest growth of individuality, or the greatest conservation of time, energy, or money. There are a few variations from their regular routine but these are not sufficiently numerous.

One favorable innovation is the promotion of teachers along with classes through a part or all of the primary school. The consensus of opinion seems to be that better results accrue when a teacher continues with a class through several years of work. This plan is generally followed unless the special fitness of a teacher for work within particular limits renders it highly advisable for assignment to be made to such place. While special aptness for a particular class of instruction should be recognized, the promoting of teachers along with classes generally obviates any tendency to staleness and usually emphasizes special qualifications.

While it would be interesting to discuss the methods used in presenting each subject in the curriculum a few must suffice.

Religious Instruction and Moral Education

The church was first to establish schools in Norway, putting them into operation in connection with their cathedrals, probably about the middle of the twelfth century. The chief aim was to prepare the pupils for a religious life, either as ministers or as faithful disciples. Having these as definite ends, the materials for study were selected because of their fitness to contribute along these lines. Instruction was almost wholly in religion. Since morality is such a fundamental part of religion, moral education in large amount was given indirectly. The aim was religion and the result was both morality and religion. Schools came to be generally regarded as institutions wherein moral and religious instruction were the prevailing if not the dominating features. This phase of work early became traditional and gained such momentum that it has ever formed a conspicuous part of every grade of instruction throughout the primary and secondary schools.

During the formative period the instruction in religion maintained a vitality which was quite in keeping with the demands of the times. However, as the school system developed, especially during the closing half of the last century, it became necessary to arrange more definite plans of instruction in religion as well as in other subjects in the school curriculum. The adapting of instruction to the various grades of school work was a difficult task. The adjustment made to needs in the primary schools seems a very happy one. In this elementary section of the school system the instruction in religion consists mainly in story telling. The work is made concrete and personal, and its influence is most excellent.

Not so fortunate has been the attempt to present the great truths and ideals of religion in the secondary grades. The human appeal, so fruitful in the lower classes, does not appear in the higher, at least to the same degree. Instead the work is formal and prescribed. Interest dies out and even respect for the work rapidly wanes as the pupil passes into more advanced grades. I have often thought while observing the listlessness of the pupils during the period for religious teaching that the effects upon morals and religion would be better by far without the instruction as now provided.

To find lodgment in the heart and expression in the experiences of youth, religious principles must be made to appear practical and vital. They must be shown to be desirable in themselves and in their ends.

To teach religion successfully one must be a living example of its true values, an earnest interpreter of its meaning and power, and a sympathetic friend of the pupils. Besides this he must be a genuine teacher with a knowledge of youth and ability to help others obtain a clear conception of the beauty and worth of the nobler life.

Religion and morality are so intimately bound up with life's activities that it is difficult to consider them in and of themselves. It is quite impossible to curriculize and present them as subjects for study and instruction without building up in consciousness the idea that they may or may not be phases of life. When this is attempted it is liable to diminish rather than to increase their true meaning.

It is at least possible that the most favorable results come through specific occasions which arise apart from set requirements. A genuine experience in real life is the best illustration of what morality and religion mean, and it furnishes the most secure foundation for instruction along these lines.

Few lessons and no subjects of instruction can be fully presented without giving considerable attention to their moral and religious phases. If a lesson is completely mastered its moral and religious contributions will have been taken over and appropriated along with any and all other contents. When the moral and religious values inherent in school studies receive their proportionate emphasis there will be no crying need of arranging special courses for their study. The seriousness of the situation at present lies not in the fact that there are no special courses of instruction in morality and religion, but rather in the condition that teachers fail to recognize their opportunities for giving such instruction. They should impress the children with the fact that morality and religion are component parts of life and that they give meaning and reality to every human experience. While it would be gratifying to see these subjects taught as separate branches by individuals who could make them profitable, it is much more imperative that all teachers recognize their own responsibility in this regard, whatever subjects they have to teach.

The Classics

In common with those of many other countries, the school curricula of Norway have been saturated with the classics. For a long time the secondary schools were devoted largely to the presentation of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages. About 1850, there arose a demand for an education which was more utilitarian. Nature study, the sciences, manual training, modern foreign languages, and home economics pressed their claims for recognition and the people became convinced of their values. The masses then began to investigate what right the languages of the ancients had for occupying so large a proportion of attention in school work.

Gradually the ancient classics were replaced by more modern educational materials. Hebrew and Greek were in their turn dropped from the list of required subjects and the time thus saved was given to work regarded as more vital and beneficial. In 1896, a very decisive step was taken when by legislative enactment Latin—the last of the dead languages—was omitted from the list of subjects required in the school curriculum.

This act of the Storthing has been severely criticised by some. However, the people whose right and duty it was to decide studied the matter carefully and thoroughly at home and abroad, and after calm consideration, acted in harmony with their best judgment, passed the law, and put in into immediate execution. The momentum of former practices, the force of tradition, or the example of other nations was not sufficient to control the Norwegian state in its action. It does not permit precedent to determine its policies, foreign nations to do its thinking, nor "well-enough" systems to prevent reform.

When higher ground is seen clearly Norway moves forward with all its power, determined to occupy and utilize the greater opportunities. Such was the condition of the state in its consideration of the classics in their school curriculum. They were willing that those individuals who might elect to pursue the study of the ancient languages should have the privilege to do so and they provided for them such opportunity. However, they were definitely convinced that to require all pupils to study these subjects in order to complete courses of study or enter the university was an injustice. To their credit be it said that when they are convinced that a certain course of procedure is best they have the moral courage to pursue it. In this particular instance the people were fully aware of the fact that they were taking a step which was a decided deviation from the straightforward course pursued for centuries by the leading national educational systems. Yet they became converted to the idea that for their own good, under their own conditions, and looking forward to their future as a state and nation, it would be the wiser solution to leave the classics behind and devote more time and energy to studies which they conceived to be more efficacious.

It is interesting to note the recent tendencies in this direction in other countries. In the United States Latin is becoming less and less a required subject of instruction in the high schools, and each year lengthens the list of colleges which do not require it for entrance. Even conservative and classic-loving Germany has recently opened the doors of her universities to those who have finished the Real-gymnasia. Thus they, too, acknowledge that the way of the classics is not the only road to higher culture and learning.

It has come to be almost universally recognized that the schools exist for the learner rather than the learner for the schools. To debar an individual from privileges for which he is prepared simply because he has not met certain inherited traditional prescriptions is rapidly becoming unorthodox. Norway seems to have set the pace for other nations in at least this one respect, and her clearsighted move in displacing the classics by the introduction of larger amounts of modern foreign languages and other branches of greatest present utility is being followed by other nations of sound pedagogical principles.

Physical Culture

Few are the instances where the physical development of the children is so effectually provided for as among the Norwegians. Gymnastics is a regular feature throughout the entire course of study until the completion of the gymnasium. In addition to this the universal rule of requiring the pupils to go into the open air during the intermissions which follow every class meeting has its good effects. Athletic sports also have recently become more important features of school life. Fortunately they have not reached a point of specialization where their values are open to question.

Buildings and grounds are constructed and laid out with the physical welfare of children in mind. As a consequence we find gymnastic halls well equipped and grounds supplied with the advantages most essential in the accomplishment of the desired end, viz., a strong and vigorous body in which to develop a sound mind. Their school grounds are small, making a crowded condition the rule in the larger schools. Strange as it may seem, the same unfortunate condition prevails almost universally in our own land where there appears to be little excuse for congestion. However, the size of the grounds is perhaps a matter of minor importance, especially when compared to their use. Space and equipment may be regarded as incidental; use is the all-important part. Our grounds are not used. We rarely have but one, if any, intermission except the noon hour, the greater portion of which is occupied in going for the midday meal. The results of the Norwegians' enforced, frequent, and regular use of the playgrounds are in evidence on every hand. Robust, vigorous, buoyant, active, healthy, sound, alert, and the like adjectives are the appropriate ones to use in speaking of the physiques of their pupils.

Were the influences of bodily conditions upon mental growth and activity fully appreciated, the schools would doubtless make a sudden shift toward providing adequately for physical education. Physical development has been regarded with considerable favor for some time, but it has usually been a secondary affair when it should have been introduced as a vital feature. Educational systems should provide for the training and development of the physical as well as the mental life. They are dependent upon each other and are in fact two phases of the same life It is obviously wasteful to seek to develop the one without regard to the other, or to attempt the cultivation of one at the expense of the other.

Vocal Music

Music is among the most potent factors in developing national spirit and loyalty. Plato wrote: "Any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole state, and ought to be prohibited.... When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them."[28] Napoleon stated that if he might write the nation's songs he cared not who might write its laws. Music in the better forms has moved individuals and nations to great accomplishments, and its efficacy is generally recognized. As a means of education, however, it receives far too little attention.

The quality of music sung in the schools of Norway has some points of superiority. One feature in making it a powerful contributor in developing loyal and competent citizens is the use they make of the best compositions from their own writers. Their poets and musicians have furnished large amounts of excellent productions. They sing of their heroes and of their national ideals and achievements. The spirit in their songs reflects the soul of their fatherland. The influence upon the lives of the pupils contributes to solidarity of the nation and to love for its institutions.

Contrast this with the results of the rattle of rag-time and jigs. Too much of our public school, Sunday school, and church music has been of this order. Public school music and education along this line are matters deserving more attention than they receive. Recent introduction into many schools of victrolas with records of masterpieces produced by the leading artists of the world point to a recognition of the educative value of the better quality of selections. To hear the same productions direct from the soul of the artist would be many times as effectual as any mechanical reproduction, but this is beyond the reach of the masses. Present indications give assurance that the near future will see music more nearly occupying its legitimate place in our educational provisions.

LINES OF INSTRUCTION IN THE GYMNASIUM

In the second and third years of gymnasial work three courses of study are open, viz., Real, Language-History, and Language-History with Latin. Here pupils get their first experience in electing the line of work wherein their study shall center. This seems a rather fortunate provision, for by this time likes and dislikes for certain subjects of study, special aptitudes along specific lines, and choice of life work are coming into the foreground of consciousness. The pupils' likes and aptitudes working together influence their decisions concerning life's activities. Again the disposition and nature of individuals render one line of study more attractive and beneficial than either of the others. There are, indeed, many influences at work upon pupils of such age which make it appear highly advisable to follow some particular line of study.

Whether pupils go into the chosen line of life work directly from the gymnasium or by way of the university, it is of distinct advantage to specialize along the line for which they are preparing. Should they intend to teach, they would doubtless prefer studying most the subjects to be taught. In these they would have deepest interest, and from their pursuit they would derive greatest profit. If they determined to study theology, law, medicine, or some other special phase of learning, they would make selection of gymnasial course with that object in view. Whatever the work to follow completion of the gymnasium, the different courses prepare for the narrower specialization which characterizes life's activities and all their university study.

The following table presents the exact work represented by the three courses in form convenient for comparisons.

TABLE XII.

The Three Courses of Study in the Gymnasia of Norway Showing Weekly Hours Given to Each Subject.[A]

[Note A: 1. Singing and gymnastics—5 or 6 hours per week are omitted from the table.

2. 1, Real course, 2, Language-History course, 3, Language-History course with Latin.]

As the table shows, the three courses are identical during the first year and uniform in religion and German throughout the three years. The Language-History course lends itself favorably for purposes of comparison. It stresses the importance of several modern languages and history, giving to them a preeminence over all other work. The Real course reduces the work in English, French, Norwegian, and History and increases the amount of science and mathematics. The course including Latin makes similar reductions but emphasizes Latin instead of the sciences and mathematics.

The Norwegians believe it better and cheaper to offer the different courses in the same school than to provide separate schools. This plan necessitates less duplication and at the same time affords quite as adequate facilities for whatever specialization the different courses represent.

CO-EDUCATION

Whether schools should be co-educational has been a live question among many nations for generations, and considerable time will yet elapse before unanimity of opinion is reached.

Nearly all the schools of Norway are co-educational. However, in some of the city systems boys and girls use different playgrounds, and in certain schools they are segregated also for purposes of instruction. These matters are governed according to the wishes of the inspector or the desires of the principals of the different schools. The aim is to combine the better phases represented in various methods and to adopt the plan best suited to the local situation, or the one to which the person in charge is converted and in which he can, because of his convictions, accomplish best results.

"The separation of the sexes is complete in all the schools of Germany excepting some of the primary classes. The advisability of this is a large question, but by no means a settled one.... Germany feels that she has the proper solution, while in America, with an opposite answer, we feel for the most part satisfied."[29]

In American public schools co-education is almost universally practiced. In reference to this matter we give the opinions of some prominent educators. The lamented Dr. Harris, while engaged in the St. Louis, Mo., schools, wrote: "Discipline has improved continually with the adoption of mixed schools;... the mixing of the male and female departments of a school has always been followed by improvement in discipline, not merely on the part of the boys, but on that of the girls as well. The rudeness and abandon which prevail among boys when separate at once give place to self-restraint in the presence of girls. The prurient sentimentality engendered by educating girls apart from boys... disappears almost entirely in mixed schools."[30] The Honorable John Eaton while Commissioner of Education of the United States made report concerning the co-education of the sexes in several hundred large and small cities in the Union. The tenor of the entire report is well summarized in the following sentence: "We are created male and female; all the impulses and activities of nature enforce co-education; if we must live together we must be educated to that end; to educate separately is an attempt to change the natural order of human economy."[31]

In our higher institutions of learning the situation is much the same. The Commissioner of Education, referring to the State University of Iowa, writes, "The report of the president says that the experience of the institution has uniformly been favorable to the co-education of the sexes; that their influence on each other in the acquisition of learning has been most beneficial as well as conducive to orderly habits. The presence of both sexes is considered 'an invaluable feature' in restraining indecorum and an 'inducement to every virtue.'"[32] The practice has continued with similar results throughout the entire country.

Instances favorable to co-education might be multiplied. Its adoption has become a foregone conclusion so far as our general system of education is concerned. True we do have some colleges and a few secondary schools devoting themselves exclusively to the education of one or the other of the sexes. Not many of them are state institutions. They are usually private schools and they answer a certain demand whether well founded or not.

There are certain questions in connection with the education of the sexes which are fundamental and need considerable attention. However, no attempt can be made here to solve the many important problems suggested. It is the intent only to emphasize the necessity of being awake to real conditions and to indicate the fact that herein lies a field for the educator's most careful consideration.

The questions arise: Are the natural functions of man and woman enough alike to justify making their education identical, and will the adoption of such a plan of education result in the advancement or deterioration of the race? A recent article referring "to the endeavor to use women industrially, socially, and politically on the same footing as men" sounds a warning note, crying out against the present tendencies which are taking from the flower of womankind thousands who are eminently fitted for motherhood, "woman's essential function on the globe," and diverting their lives to other and less noble pursuits. "It is therefore essential to the race," say the authors, "that the ablest, healthiest, and finest women should be encouraged, tempted, compelled, if necessary, by circumstances to devote themselves to family life by becoming wives and mothers, and it is doubtful how far it is expedient to draw them off, even for a time to other occupations."[33]

While co-education is in agreement with conditions of family life, is economic, and continues to be entirely practicable, the question still remains whether there may not be justification in a demand for certain fundamental differences to be made in adapting educational means and matter to the two sexes. Co-education, however, may continue without making the education of the sexes identical. In fact it is very easily possible to make the education of the sexes fundamentally different even though both institutions and class activities are co-educational in practice. A difference in the amount of work in certain groups of subjects required of men and women, respectively, might furnish a satisfying solution of this question. And if there are certain branches of study which should belong exclusively to one or the other of the sexes, it is a simple matter to separate for such work. On the whole it seems to the writer highly advisable to educate the sexes together as far as possible.

THE SCHOOL YEAR

The regular school year in Norway has forty weeks of six days each. The plan of having school on Saturdays furnishes an additional day of fruitful, well directed activity to the children, who might otherwise be permitted to spend the time in idleness or misguided conduct.

In America we have so many vacations and holidays that our schools are in session only about 75 or 80 per cent of the time utilized in Norway. We may be justified in having the long summer vacations because of the inconvenience and depletion of strength occasioned by the heat, but several of our vacations during the year and the practice of having no school on Saturdays are inheritances without much justification. School activities, when rightly conducted, should be invigorating and exhilarating instead of producing a state of prolonged fatigue requiring seasons of inactivity or other changes in order to regain lost vitality. Again, the relaxation occasioned by diversion of thought and change of activity on Sunday is certainly sufficient to counteract any necessity of using Saturday for recuperation. It appears evident that we are not as frugal in this matter as sound judgment demands that we should be.

SCHOOL LUNCHES

It has been found that mental activity is very greatly affected by conditions of nutrition. The quality, quantity, and preparation of foods, together with regularity in eating, determine to a considerable extent what may be the progress of the pupil in his growth, both mental and physical. The child who is improperly fed or underfed is thereby handicapped, while the one who receives intelligent care along the same line is placed at a distinct advantage.

That in all large cities there are hundreds and thousands of underfed children is a fact of common knowledge. In many cities provisions have been made for supplying at least one meal per day free of charge to all needy pupils. Norway has been in the forefront in this paternalistic movement. Several of her cities have undertaken this noble work and probably no city in the world can boast of more adequate facilities for carrying it on than Christiania.

They purchase the best procurable quality of the most nutritious food, prepare it in a wholesome and palatable manner, and send it out from a central kitchen to the several primary schools of the city in such quantities as are needed to liberally supply the demands. The food is served hot in the regular lunch rooms absolutely free to all children whose parents ask it and at first cost to others. This work in Christiania is typical of the provisions made in other cities but the equipment, and possibly the system of distribution, is superior to that found elsewhere.

In addition to this, nutritious and easily digested foods and drinks are provided at other schools and served at a moderate cost in the lunch rooms at stated hours in the day. This latter provision is generally in charge of the family of the janitor of the building and is most common in the private and secondary schools to which the previously mentioned plan does not extend.

Experiment has demonstrated in our own land that it is entirely practicable to provide at a minimum cost warm, well-cooked, wholesome foods to either supplement or replace the cold indigestible lunches so commonly carried by school children. The cities and towns enjoy few if any advantages over the rural districts in this regard. The plan is workable and advisable, and it should be more commonly adopted.

COMPARATIVE ATTAINMENTS

In the study of the school system of Norway it is interesting to compare the school life and attainments of the pupils with those of American children. It is true that until we have established norms for measuring the results of education, we cannot make accurate statements regarding the relative standing of pupils nor estimate precisely their accomplishments. However, we are able to single out some features of importance and compare them in a general way.

It has been noted that the Norwegian pupils begin school at seven years of age, while the American children commence at five or six. Many prominent educators believe that our American children start to school too young. They are of the opinion that their development, physical and mental, would be better if they did not begin formal school work until at least seven or eight years of age. The greater physical development of the Norwegians, due to their later start, gives them a distinct advantage. Their bodily strength and vigor supplement and aid their mental growth.

Passing through Norway's successive grades of school to the completion of the gymnasium requires twelve years. The same length of time is used in reaching graduation from our American high school. Now it is generally conceded that a graduate of the gymnasium in Norway is two years in advance of a graduate of the American high school; or in other words a student entering the university from Norway's gymnasial course has an education equivalent to that of an individual entering the junior year of work in an American college or university. Some would rank the Norwegian even higher than I have here suggested; however, only a very general comparison can be made.

In consideration of these conditions the question arises: How shall we account for the fact that we use two extra years in order to reach approximately the same standard? It is recalled that the Norwegian entering school at seven and progressing at the normal rate are ready for university work at nineteen while the Americans begin two years earlier in order to reach the same attainments at the same age. If the Norwegian pupils accomplish as much in twelve years, beginning at seven years of age, as our American children do in fourteen years, commencing at five, should we rest satisfied, or should we modify our system so as to profit by their experience? Why permit traditions or precedent to rob us of choice benefits within our reach?

Again, the students entering the Norwegian university are older and more mature both physically and mentally than are ours. Being older, their habits of life are more definitely formed, and they are better fitted to undertake the responsibility of self-direction. It has been suggested by some that we extend the work of the high school in order to keep our children under parental guidance until they are sufficiently mature to care for themselves at less hazard.

The course pursued by Norwegian pupils is uniform for all until the last two years of the secondary school, when certain branches of study may be chosen for major attention. When students start to the university they enter immediately upon specialized lines of work and pursue them to their limits. The American pupils are privileged to elect a considerable proportion of their secondary school work, yet they do not generally specialize at all until their junior year in college; frequently they postpone definite specialization until the beginning of graduate courses.

Fundamental social characteristics enter into educational ideals, and each nation, very naturally, develops a system of schools peculiarly adapted to its needs. There are, of course, general underlying principles which operate in all educational systems and place them on similar bases; there are also certain features, essential in the make-up of the individual systems, which are not common. These peculiar factors give distinctive character to the various systems and are of telling effect in determining their excellencies. Whether these special phases affect the life and accomplishments of the pupils, the nature of their work, the management of school affairs, or other educational activities; they render the different systems almost impossible of comparison. However, they are suggestive, and frequently they may be modified and used in improving the systems of other countries.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

Every successful teacher presents his subject in conformity with some universal principles of method. While these cannot be mechanically systematized and used according to unchanging rules, they form a necessary part of an instructor's equipment. The teacher who knows the subject and is master of the technique of instruction is sure of success, while the one without method will fail.

It seems that the pedagogues of Norway have formed a happy combination of some methods of instruction. They appreciate the value of the class meeting and with them "teaching goes on chiefly in what we call the recitation. This is the teacher's point of contact with his pupils; here he meets them face to face and mind to mind; here he succeeds or fails in his function of teaching."[34]

The excellence of the work of instruction in Germany has long been recognized. That "the German teacher teaches" is very generally known. He transcends all texts and is an authority on the subjects he presents. By pedagogic training he has been exalted to a place of eminence in his profession. It is possible that they over-emphasize the work of the instructor and neglect the part that pupils should play.

In America various methods of instruction are in use. One plan is to regard teacher and pupils as cooperators in activities wherein interests are common. The teacher, having had experience, exercises control and serves as chief guide through the most critical places in the way of progress. So far as possible the pupils are encouraged to exercise individual initiative and to become independent. They are not to be merely recipients from the teacher's vast store of knowledge, but with him they are to become genuine participators in the world's thoughts and activities.

Another plan in all too common use may be designated as the "text book method." According to it the major portion of information comes from the voluminous, logically developed, well-arranged, and somewhat attractively printed and bound readable text. The function of the teacher is largely testing knowledge gained from books, assigning lessons in the text, supplementing the work of the pupils from his own store or by reference to other works on the subject, and stimulating them to earnest effort in every possible way.

President Hall would not regard this text book plan of work as very worthy procedure. He writes that some teachers take time "telling pupils what to do and testing to see if they have done it. But this is not teaching; but a device of ignorance, laziness, or physical weakness, or all combined. The real teacher teaches and reduces recitation to a minimum. Whoever has visited the best continental schools or studied comparatively such national educational exhibitions as those of St. Louis must have been acutely impressed with the fact that we exhibit what the pupil does, Europe what the teacher does. Here he says, 'Go, do this, and prove to me that you have done it.' There he says, 'Come, let us study together; I know and will inform, interest and inspire you to go on.'"[35]

The instructors in the schools of Norway are true teachers but they do not rely wholly upon their own activity. The text finds a place not so large as in American schools but of some consequence. The pupils are privileged to act on their own initiative to some extent though they are not granted unlimited freedom. They cooperate with the teachers in many lines of school work where they find interest and profit. Demonstration is largely in the hands of the teachers. The testing of lessons studied is a common exercise with them, and their class hours are given to intensive activity in which every individual member is expected to be a participant and contributor. They, like we in America, aim to suit instruction to pupils of average ability rather than to the brightest as they do in Germany and France.

CONTINUITY OF EFFORT

By referring to the programs of work arranged for the successive years in the schools of Norway, one readily sees that there is but little variation in subjects of study from the first grades of the primary school to the completion of the gymnasium. The change of greatest importance is the introduction of foreign languages—German and English the first and second years in the middle schools and French the first year in the gymnasium.

When the child enters school he begins subjects of study which represent the several fields of knowledge. The teaching aims to keep him in touch with these in ways adapted to his stage of development. As the pupil grows the scope of each subject enlarges. They advance together. Keeping the subject definitely in mind for a long time tends to the creation of permanent interests and at the same time makes possible its assimilation into the very life of the learner. It becomes vital and usable after being acted upon in the various stages and conditions of life through which the child passes. Inter-relations and associations with other subjects of study and various phases of life are affected, which give to it distinct values. Too often we find in our own schools that hurried and intensive study of certain subjects does not create permanent interests nor prove of real worth.

If natural forces in the child are recognized and utilized they facilitate the learning process and make school activities profitable and delightful. It is a well attested fact that at certain periods in the psychological development of a child mastery of special phases of learning is easy for him. Courses of study and plans of instruction should be prepared in such a way that the different phases of work included may be presented and stressed while the nascent period of interest is on.

We Americans are given to dividing a subject into its separate phases, studying them consecutively for short periods of time, and then forgetting them. The plan is wasteful and unpedagogic. Note the manner in which we break up the work in mathematics and in the mother tongue. It is questionable whether there be a single valid argument favoring such practice.

The Norwegians present mathematics as a single and comprehensive subject. The same is true in their teaching of the mother tongue. The plan is advantageous from every view point. It is certainly conducive to economy of time and efficient results. Instead of breaking up subjects of instruction and isolating their several phases from each other, we ought rather to keep them intact and set about coordinating the several branches of instruction as closely as possible.

Education should seek to associate and interrelate the truths we obtain and to organize our knowledge into an effectual system. The formation of a comprehensive curriculum, with arrangements for its presentation in harmony with sound psychological and pedagogical principles, is a matter of pressing importance.

While the school systems of the present are evidently superior to what any past generation has known, yet the investigations of psychologists and educationists stress the fact that in many ways they are weak and inefficient. The accumulated experience of the past needs overhauling by masters with insight and foresight. Educational methods and principles which have been tested and proven worthy should be put into operation. Each nation should devise and adopt the most perfect educational system possible, and this then should be carried into execution by an army of qualified teachers responsive to the call for truly consecrated service.