the treaty of Kiel in 1814, and the history of Europe after the Vienna
Congress, using Schjoth and Lange's General History. The more important
features are presented in oral synopses. Besides this Taranger's Civil
Government of Norway.
The study of history in the gymnasium builds very definitely upon the
foundations laid in the primary and middle schools. The supposition is
that the pupils are by this time capable of getting from texts the
information they contain.
The class periods are devoted partially to texts of lesson preparation,
but mostly to free discussion and to presentation of relevant material
by the instructor. Bits of information regarding the private life of
historical characters, minor incidents in their careers, and varied
personal touches given by the teacher infuse spirit and vitality into
the entire course. The lessons are brought directly home to the pupils
and they are able to appreciate the fact that they are inheritors of
past accomplishments and participants in present activities. Some of the
most interesting and enthusiastic recitations I visited were in history.
All through the course in history Norway is given first attention and
consideration. Its history is begun first, all along it is made the
center around which the history of other nations is grouped, and finally
it is given the concentrated, mature, and crowning efforts of those
pursuing the long course of instruction. The closing year is generally
devoted to a study of social and political conditions in the fatherland.
Norway's constitution with its many provisions and administrative
features of government (general and local) is given to the youths in
clear, concrete, and concise presentations. Upon leaving the gymnasium
the young people, therefore, are in a position to appreciate the
meaning, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship. While they
have their affections centered in their native land, they are able to
comprehend the relative accomplishments, standing, and conditions of
other countries.
_Geography_
_Class I._ (One hour.) Haffner's Physical Geography.
_Class II._ (One hour.) Steen's Mathematical Geography. Completed and
reviewed.
_Class III._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Economic Geography. Review all
requirements.
The gymnasial course in geography includes physical geography,
astronomy, and political geography. It is rich and profitable. Under the
head of physical geography are included such topics as physiography,
petrography, dynamic geology, history of the world's development, the
earth's surface, oceanography, and the atmosphere. While only a general
survey of the respective fields is possible, the pupils obtain a pretty
fair grasp of fundamentals and feel that they have a very good and
adequate idea of what their home--the earth--really is.
The work in astronomy or mathematical geography, as it is frequently
called, is concerned chiefly with the earth's place in the universe, the
Copernican system, Keppler's laws, the moon, the earth (form, size, and
motion), the celestial world in general, the sun's apparent motion, the
sun as a measurer of time, etc., etc.
Political geography provides acquaintance with the earth in special
reference to man's presence and welfare. It treats of his means of
livelihood, ways of communication, and the conditions under which he
colonizes, builds up cities, and develops generally.
_Mathematics_
_Class I._ (Four hours.) Algebra: Bonnevie and Berg's text. From
beginning to "Series." Geometry: Bonnevie and Sorensen's text. Entire
text covered and reviewed. Examples at home and at school.
_Class II._ _Real_ (Six hours.) Algebra: Bonnevie and Berg's text. From
"Series" to end of text. Trigonometry: Johannesen's text. Completed and
reviewed. Stereometry: Guldberg's text. Completed and reviewed.
Analytical Geometry: Guldberg's text. From beginning to "The Ellipse."
Problems at home and at school.
_Class II._ Linguistic (Two hours.) Algebra: Bonnevie and Berg's text.
"Series." Trigonometry: O. Johannesen's text. Solving of problems.
_Class III._ _Real_ (Six hours.) Guldberg's Analytical Geometry. E.
Holst's Higher Arithmetical Series. Review of all requirements in _real_
course. Solution of problems.
_Class III._ Linguistic (Two hours.) Review of the entire requirement.
Examples at home and at school.
In addition to completing the work begun in the middle school in
arithmetic, algebra, and geometry; instruction in the gymnasium includes
trigonometry, stereometry, analytical geometry, and higher arithmetical
series. The methods of instruction are the same as those used in the
middle school though, of course, adapted to the greater maturity and
stronger mentality of the pupils. By the time pupils enter the
gymnasium considerable ability should have been gained in working
independently. Where necessary, the teacher cooperates in solving
problems and makes sure that the principles involved are thoroughly
understood.
Frequently during the recitation period several members of the class are
called to the blackboard, one at a time, to perform operations under
consideration. As the pupil develops the problem he explains every step
taken as he proceeds. The other pupils observe closely, take notes, and
offer suggestions. The instructor carefully supervises every move,
giving explanations when necessary not permitting erasures or leaving
any operation until all in the class understand fully. In this way
hearty cooperation is secured. Every mind is actively engaged and the
excellent results testify of the validity of the method.
Work in analytical geometry and higher arithmetical series is taken only
by those in the _real_ course of instruction.
_Natural History_
_Class I._ (Four hours.) Chemistry: Waage's The Chemistry of Daily Life.
Gone through and reviewed. Physiology: Knudsen and Falch's The Human
Body II. Studied and reviewed.
_Class II._ _Real_ (Five hours.) Isaachsen's Physics. From the beginning
to "Heat." Review after having carefully studied. Exercises at home and
at school. Botany: Th. Resvoll's text. Completed and reviewed.
_Class II._ Linguistic (One hour.) Botany: Resvoll's text. Completed and
reviewed.
_Class III._ _Real_ (Five hours.) Isaachsen's Physics. From "Heat" to
end of text. Entire text reviewed. Zoology: Chr. Bonnevie's text.
Studied and reviewed. Botany: Th. Resvoll's text reviewed.
_Class III._ Linguistic (One hour.) Zoology: Chr. Bonnevie's text.
Studied and reviewed. Botany: Th. Resvoll's text reviewed.
Natural Science or Nature Study in the earlier years of school life is
less differentiated than it becomes in the gymnasium. Here we find the
fields very definitely separated. The more important chemical laws,
animal and vegetable development and growth (botany and zoology), and
the more essential features of human physiology and hygiene form centers
of attention throughout the three years. In the _real_ course physics
also is stressed, though in the other courses of study little time is
provided for it.
Not as much is made of the laboratory method as seems advisable. While
every school has some provision for it they do not go at it in real
earnest. Only one or two at a time can do first hand work. The others
cooperate mentally and get some benefit, but they cannot reap the
greater results which immediate individual experimentation yields.
One day during the progress of a lesson in zoology (where I was a
visitor) a supply of live specimens arrived from the marine biological
station at Drobak, and the remaining portion of the hour was devoted to
investigations at close range. Interest was intense. Pupils dipped in
(literally) and investigated at their own pleasure quite informally. The
material was soon divided up into several receptacles, and around each
of these gathered an eager group in an effort to use, handle, and
examine every specimen. Those who had no interfering appointments for
the succeeding hour accounted it a great favor to be privileged to
continue this study for an extra class period. This is but one
illustration of the interest attending laboratory work where each pupil
may handle and examine for himself--where he may be a doer, an active
participant instead of merely an observer.
Chapter IV
INTERPRETATIVE CONCLUSIONS
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]
1 2 3
I II III I II III I II III
---------- ----------- -----------
Religion 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Norwegian 5 6 6 5 6 7 5 6 6
German 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3
English 4 2 1 4 7 7 4 2 1
French 4 2 2 4 3 5 4 3 3
Latin 7 11
History 3 3 3 3 5 5 3 3 3
Geography 2 1 2 2
Natural Science 4 5 7 4 2 4 2
Mathematics 5 6 6 5 3 5 3
Drawing 1 1
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
30 31 31 30 30 30 30 30 30
[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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Erichsen, A. E., _Bergers Kathedralskoles Historie_.
Hertzberg, N., _Paedagogiskens Historie_.
Holst, Axel, _Skolehygiene_.
Monroe, W. S., In Viking Land. Norway: Its People, Its Fjords and Its
Fjelds.
Paludan, J., _Det Hoiere Skolevaesen i Danmark, Norge og Sverig_.
Salmonsens Store, _Illustrerede Konversationsleksikon_.
Thieste, J. Schaan, _Byskoleloven med Forklarende Anmerkninger_.
Thieste, J. Schaan, _Landskoleloven med Forklarende Anmerkninger_.
PERIODICALS AND REPORTS
Anderssen, Otto, _Fra Norske Skoleforhold i 1908, Vor Ungdom, 1909_.
Anderssen, Otto, _Fra Norske Skoleforhold i 1909, Vor Ungdom, 1910._
Anderssen, Otto, "_Norwegisches Schulwesen," Sonderabdruck aus_ W. Reins
_Encyklopadischem Handbuch der Pädagogik, 2. Auflage_.
Anderssen, Otto, _Skolen for Skolens Opgaver_.
Anderssen, Otto, "The New Laws for the Secondary Schools in Norway,"
Special Reports on Educational Subjects, Gt. Britain, 8: 168.
Heiberg, J. V., "Education in Norway," Norway (Official Publication for
the Paris Exhibition 1900), pp. 266-294.
Nissen, Hartvig, "Public Instruction in Norway," The American Journal of
Education, 8: 295-304.
Norsk Skoletidende, Published since 1869.
Pogue, Belle C., "Education and Schools of Norway," Education, 10:
420-424.
Report of the Commissioner of Education of the United States, 1871,
1873, 1878, 1881, 1882-3, 1885-6, 1888-9, 1889-90, 1891-2, 1894-5,
1896-7, 1897-8, 1902, 1903, 1906, 1910.
Skolebladet, Published since 1898.
Thornton, J. S., "Schools Public and Private in the North of Europe,"
Special Reports on Educational Subjects, Great Britain, 17: 36-65.
Vold, J. Mourly, Report of Royal Commission of Secondary Education,
Great Britain, 5: 640-644.
OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS
Beretning om Skolevaesenets tilstand i Kongeriget Norge. Yearly since
1861.
Forslag til en forandret Ordning af den høiere Almenskole af den ved
kgl. Resolutions af 3 die September 1890 nedsatte Kommission.
Gymnasiet: Lov om høiere Almenskoler; Reglement for de høiere
Almenskoler; Undervisningssplan; Eksamensreglement; 1911.
Lov af 9de June 1903 om forandret Prøver ved Universitetet.
Lov om abnørme Børns Undervisning.
Lov om behandling af forsømte Børn.
Lov om det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet.
Lov om Folkeskolen i Kjøbstaederne.
Lov om Folkeskolen paa Landet.
Lov om høiere Almenskoler.
Lov om Laererskoler og Prøver for Laerere og Laererinder i Folkeskolen.
Middelskolen: Lov om høiere Almenskoler; Reglement for de høiere
Almenskoler; Undervisningsplan; Eksamensreglement. 1911.
Naermere Bestemmelser angaaende de offentlige Laererskoler og
Laererprøver.
Norwege: Lois sur L'Enseignement Public.
Odelsthings Proposition Nr. 36 (1909) om forandringer i Lov om høiere
Almenskoler av 27de Juli 1896.
Odelsthing Proposition Nr. 12 (1910): A. Om forandringer i lov om høiere
Almenskoler av 27de Juli 1896. B. Om forandring i lov om forberedende
prøver ved Universitet av 9de Juni 1903.
Reglement for Aarsprøver, Middelskole-eksamen, og Eksamen Artium.
Reglement for de høiere Almenskoler og Undervisningsplan for
Middelskolen, 1903.
Reglement for den ved Lov af 18 de Januar 1902 anordnede Optagelsesprøve
ved Laererskolerne.
Reglement for det Paedagogiske Seminar og Paedagogisk Eksamen.
Statistisk Aarbok for Kongeriket Norge. Yearly.
Sorthings Proposition Nr. 1, Hovedpost V. (1910) om bevilgning til det
høiere Skolevaesen.
Undervisningsplan for Gymnasiet, 1903.
Universitets-og Skole-Annaler. Yearly.
INDEX
Age of pupils, 44-49;
completing secondary schools, 48;
on entering the university, 48;
in teachers' seminaries, 49.
Age of teachers, 49.
Agriculture, 24.
America of interest to the Norwegians, 173.
Apparatus, 145-146.
Astronomy, 177.
Attendance at school, 54, 77.
Authority, 189.
Certificates, 80.
Centralization of authority, 191.
Christiania's central kitchen, 75, 76.
Christianity established, 20.
Church and state united, 115, 184.
Classes, size of, 40.
Classics, in America, 204;
in Germany, 204;
their decline, 202.
Climate, effects of, 183.
Co-education, 40, 210-214;
in America, 211-213;
in Germany, 211.
Cooking, 148.
Co-ordination, between grades, 149;
between subjects, 162;
of educational agencies, 186.
Correlation, 223;
between schools 189, 190.
Course of study, 57, 96-181, 197-207, 209, 218, 219;
aim of, 148;
changes in, 97;
development of, 97-101, 222, 223;
during middle ages, 96;
linguistic-historical, 31;
Latin, 31;
_real_, 31;
secondary, 171;
suited to people served, 219;
uniformity of, 198.
Defective children, 186.
Department of Ecclesiastical and Educational Affairs, 51.
Delinquents, mental, 187; moral, 187.
Diocesan directors, 52.
Discipline in school, 76, 77.
Distribution of schools, 34, 35.
Drawing, 146, 147.
Educational commission, 52.
Educational attainments, Norway and America compared, 216-219;
time required, 217, 218.
Educational authority, 188.
Educational equipment, Norway and America compared, 49, 50.
Educational requirements, 27, 34;
parents held responsible for, 55.
Educational standards, 54, 55.
Educational system, 184, 188.
Electives, 207, 208.
English, 156, 172, 173;
in elementary schools, 173;
its grammar, 156;
length of course, 173;
methods in, 156.
_Examen artium_, 31.
Examinations, uniformity in, 188.
Exceptional child, 186.
Eyesight, 77, 78.
Fisheries, 24.
French, 168-170;
difficulties in study of, 170;
length of course, 169.
Geography, 129-134, 158, 159, 177;
aim in, 129, 159;
methods of presenting, 130-133;
of America, 133;
texts, 159.
German, 154, 155, 167, 168;
authors studied, 168;
methods in, 155.
Grammar, 153, 154, 156.
Gymnasium, 100, 163-181, 207-210.
Gymnastic halls, 69.
Gymnastics, 69, 70, 74, 75, 148, 204-206;
apparatus, 148;
during intermissions, 69, 70;
Swedish system of, 75.
Hall, G. S., 189, 190.
Harold, the Fair-Haired, 19.
Health of pupils, 77, 78, 148, 205.
History, 19, 134-139, 156-158, 174-177;
aim of, 134, 138;
beginnings in, 134;
methods in, 157, 158, 176;
of Norway, 176;
nature of work in, 157;
related to geography, 135;
stories, 134, 135, 138.
Houses for janitors, 70;
for principals, 70;
for teachers in the rural districts, 70, 71.
Ideals of the people, 182, 183.
Illustrative materials, 66.
Imitation, law of, 82.
Industrial training, 147, 148.
Industries and occupations, 24.
Infant schools, 53.
Intermissions, 69, 70.
Laboratories, 67, 68, 69.
Latin, 173-174, 202;
courses in, 167;
length of course in, 174;
methods in, 174.
Libraries, 67, 68.
Lumbering, 24.
Lunches, 75, 76, 215, 216.
Lunch rooms, 69;
in Christiania, 215, 216.
Luther, influence of, on education, 184.
Lutheran church, 114, 115.
Management of schools, 188-191.
Manual training, 147, 148.
Martin Luther's influence in education, 184.
Mathematics, 125-129, 160, 178, 179, 223;
aim in, 125;
connection between phases of the subject, 160;
co-ordination in, 128;
methods in, 128, 129;
texts in, 129;
thoroughness in, 160;
use of, 128.
Medical inspection, 77, 78.
Mental delinquency, 187.
Methods, 72, 73, 74, 82, 83, 219-222;
in German, 155;
in history, 157, 158, 176;
in mother tongue, 118, 119;
in nature study, 140;
in religion, 163, 164, 200.
Middle school, 31, 32, 100, 149-162;
its aim, 149, 150;
its foundation, 149;
length of course in, 149, 150;
its limits, 149;
work of, 31, 32.
Moral delinquents, prevention and care of, 187.
Mother tongue, 118-124, 152-154, 164-167;
aim on instruction in, 118;
correct use of, 123;
in America, 124;
inclusiveness of work in, 123, 124;
methods in, 118, 119;
nature of work in, 166, 167.
Natural history, 179-181;
laboratory work in, 180, 181.
Nature study, 139-146, 161, 162, 179-181;
aim of, 139;
illustrative material in, 140-146;
character, 161, 162;
laboratory work in, 180, 181;
methods in, 140;
scope of, 139.
Norway, adopts constitution, 20;
area of, 22;
becomes independent, 22;
climate of, 23;
development of, 20, 183;
geography of, 22;
history of, 19;
nights in, 24;
period of transition in, 183;
political divisions of, 22;
revolt of, 20;
its union with Denmark, 20;
its union with Sweden, 20.
Normal schools in the United States, 193, 194.
Norwegians, characteristics of, 25, 26, 27;
as colonizers, 20;
as sailors, 25;
conservative, 184, 185;
democratic, 184, 185.
Observation and practice, 83, 84.
Occupations, 24.
Offices, 67, 68.
Officials, duties of, 188;
efficiency of, 189.
Organization, needed in America, 189.
Paganism overcome, 20.
Pedagogical seminary, 84, 85, 185, 193, 195.
Pensions, 92, 93.
People, ideals of, 182, 183.
Permanency of teaching positions, 87-89;
advantages of, 87;
objections to, 88;
present tendencies with reference to, 89.
Physical culture, 204-207.
Physician, 77, 78.
Physical geography, 177.
Political geography, 177.
Practice teaching, 83, 84.
Private citizens, their part in school affairs, 61, 62.
Primary education, 52.
Private institutions, 81.
Private schools, 42-44, 54, 186;
equipment of, 43;
inspection of, 43;
recognition of, 44;
secondary, 186;
teachers' seminaries, 186;
technical institutes, 186;
tuition in, 43.
Primary schools, 36-39, 185;
attendance in, 36-39;
course of study in, 102, 104, 106;
curriculum in, 99;
rural and city, 101;
their financing, 62.
Professional training, 33, 79-85, 194, 195;
amount of, 194, 195;
attitude toward, 194;
standards of, 33.
Promotion of teachers, 198.
Pupils, in gymnasia, 40;
in lower schools, 40;
in middle schools, 40.
Recitation, method of, 72, 4.
Religion, 108-117.
Religious characters, 114.
Religious education, 115-117, 151, 152, 163, 164, 199-202;
advantages of, 116;
excused from, 117;
loss of interest in, 163, 164;
methods in, 163, 164, 200;
objection to, 116, 117;
required, 116;
results of, 115-117.
Royal Frederic University, 32.
Schools, agricultural, 33;
ambulatory, 29;
cathedral, 30;
communal, 63;
elementary, 20, 30;
gymnasial, 30;
maintained by industrial concerns, 53;
middle, 30;
military, 33;
peoples', 28;
state, 63;
technical, 33;
their distribution, 34, 35.
School boards, committees of, 56;
officers of, 56;
organization of, 55, 56.
School buildings, appointment and equipment of, 64-69;
construction of, 205.
School committees, appointed by board, 56;
duties of, 57, 58, 59.
School curriculum, 197-207.
School discipline, 76, 77.
School districts, 53.
School funds, 62.
School grounds, 205.
School life, in Norway, 217, 218;
in America, 217, 218.
School physician, 77, 78.
School principal, 60;
duties of, 60, 61.
School room decoration, 67.
School system, its development, 197.
School year, 54, 55;
compared with American, 50;
length of, 28;
in America, 214.
Secondary schools, 52, 149, 185;
select strongest pupils, 149.
Sewing, 148.
Special classes for defectives, 186.
Special teachers, 80.
Specialization in university, 51.
Standards of work, 190.
Superintendent, 60, 85;
duties of, 60.
Teachers, attitude toward youth, 83;
certificates, 80;
life of, 195-197;
rooms for, 67, 68;
salaries of, 63, 91-95;
sex of, 71, 72;
special considerations, 91, 92;
their tenure of office, 71, 72.
Teacher's qualifications, 79, 80, 146, 196;
improvement of, 196;
in secondary schools, 79, 80.
Teachers' seminaries, 83, 193;
attendance at, 42;
curricula in, 82;
private, 41;
weaknesses of, 83;
work of, 81.
Teachers' tenure of office, 86-91;
in America, 89.
Teachers' titles, 85-86;
significance of, 86;
use of, 86.
Teachers' training, 81, 83, 84, 85, 191-195;
for secondary schools, 85;
in Germany, 192-193.
Teaching as a profession, in Norway, 79, 80;
its value, 196.
Technical schools, 185.
Vikings, 19.
Vocal music, in America, 207;
its influence, 206;
Napoleon on, 206;
nature of, in Norway, 147.
Writing, 146.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Constitution (_Grundlov_) adopted at Eidsvold, Norway, May 17,
1814.
[2] Statistics for 1907--the last published.
[3] The law requires the opening of residences having sufficient room
for the accommodation of these groups of pupils for instructional
purposes. Law for Rural Schools, Sec. 41.
[4] Law for Higher State Schools, Sec. 2.
[5] Statistics for 1907.
[6] Law for City Schools, Sec. 5, as amended on August 15, 1908.
[7] Schools undertaking educational work of this character must meet
specified standards in course of study, equipment, teaching staff, etc.,
to have their work accredited by the state.
[8] The only difference between state and communal schools consists in
the fact that in the one case the state and in the other a commune takes
the initial step in the establishment of the school and bears the larger
portion of the burden in its maintenance. The work of the two is uniform
in every particular. They are together referred to as state schools in
contrast to private schools.
[9] Law for City Schools, Sec. 28 as revised in 1908. Law for Rural
Schools, Sec. 26 as revised in 1908.
[10] Some are always appointed from outside the city of Christiania.
[11] Law for Rural Schools, Sec. 42.
[12] Law for Rural Schools, Sec. 5.
[13] Gathered from Law for Rural Schools, Sections 5, 15, 16, 56, 57,
and 59.
[14] In communes where the number of regular teaching positions in the
primary schools is fifteen or over, of which at least five are positions
for females, one male and one female teacher occupying regular posts are
chosen. In communes where the number of positions is under fifteen, one
male or female teacher occupying a regular post is chosen. Where a male
and a female teacher are to be chosen, the elections take place in
separate meetings of the male and the female teachers, each selecting
its representative; in the other communes election takes place in a
common meeting. Election is for two years. The meetings are conducted by
the chairman of the school board. Schools provided and sustained by the
owners of industrial concerns within the communes may each be
represented in the meetings of the school board, by an owner of such
establishment, while matters pertaining to the school in which he is
interested are being considered. Law for Rural Schools, Sec. 47.
[15] The law provides that there shall be on the school board a priest
for each pastorate within the commune, though not to exceed three. In
all cases of necessity the bishop having direction of church affairs in
the locality appoints the ministerial members of the board. Their
appointments are for three years.
[16] The executive board of the communal council each year elects one of
its members to act on the school board for one year.
[17] In cities where the number of regular teaching positions is fifteen
or more there are elected one male and one female teacher; and in cities
where the number of regular teaching positions is less than fifteen, but
at least five, one male or one female teacher. In cases where two
teachers are elected, the sexes separate, each selecting its own
representative; but where only one is elected they all meet together and
choose one of their number. Election is for two years. The meetings are
conducted by the chairman of the school board.
The above notes are from: Law for City Schools, Sec. 40.
[18] Law for Rural Schools, Sec. 15. A crown is equal to about
twenty-seven cents.
[19] Law for Secondary Schools, Sec. 33.
[20] Reported in 1905 as already effective or to become effective
immediately.
[21] Year 1905.
[22] Year 1910-1911.
[23] Law for City Schools, Sec. 4.
[24] An organization providing a series of weekly lectures by men of
prominence from various places, for the populace and especially adapted
to the working classes.
[25] The course with Latin includes 4 hours of French in the first year
and 5 hours in the second; the _real_ course offers it 4 hours in the
first year, and 2 hours in the second and third years.
[26] A school law passed in 1896 omitted Latin from the course of study.
Another act of the same Storthing granted privilege of offering Latin as
an elective in several schools.
[27] Hall, G. Stanley, Educational Problems. Vol. I. p. 294.
[28] Plato, The Republic, p. 424.
[29] Bolton, F. E., The Secondary School System of Germany, 375.
[30] Report of Bureau of Education, 1891-1892, Vol. II. p. 807.
[31] Special Report, No. 2, 1883.
[32] Report of Commissioner of Education, 1878, p. 71.
[33] Whetham, W. C. D. and C. D., Decadence and Civilization, The
Hibbert Journal, Vol. X. No. 1.
[34] Betts, G. H., The Recitation, p. 2.
[35] Hall, G. Stanley, Educational Problems, Vol. II., p. 295.