German letters on English education

Introduction

The " intelligent foreigner " who in these letters gives us the results of his observations, and the impressions made upon his mind by our educational institutions and arrangements, deserves, for many reasons, to be listened to with more than ordinary attention and respect, and the suggestions he makes deserve our serious consideration. Not only has he earnestly striven to arrive at a right understanding and appreciation of our educational systems, as he has testified by his repeated visits to the schools of England and Scotland, but his extensive and thorough knowledge of the educational establishments of Germany, with the superintendence and technical administration of which he has been intrusted by his government for many years, point him out as the man who. above all others, is competent to express his opinions on the educational questions which of late years have engaged, more than any other, the attention of Englishmen, and which are still far from being satisfactorily settled.

More than twenty years ago Dr. Wiese visited England for the purpose of making himself acquainted with the systems of education and instruction pursued in our public schools, and after his return home he published

I 2

Jt^-^fljl

IV INTRODUCTION.

his impressions in a little volume entitled ' Dentsclie Briefe liber Englisclie Erziehung,' which was translated into English by Lieutenant W. B. Arnold, the son of Dr. Arnold of Eugby, and published in 1854. The work created consideral)le sensation, and was extensively read both in this country and on the continent. At that time Dr. Wiese was a comparatively young man, and one of the heads of the oldest Eoyal Foundation School at Berlin, the constitution of which greatly resembles that of our ancient public schools. Dr. Wiese at that time had the entire management of that rich foundation, while his colleague, A. Meincke, as head-master, had the superintendence of everything connected with the instruction. It was his connection with that great establishment that made Dr. Wiese desirous to visit the English public schools and to study their systems and arrangements. What he then saw and heard in England, especially of the noble work of Dr. Arnold at Eugby, as described in Dean Stanley's Life of that great educator, filled him with an admiration of our public school system, which would probably have been somewhat tempered, if he had had opjjortunities of examining the actual working of other schools ; but even then he correctly apprehended, on the whole, the great and characteristic features of English public schools. It is an excellent custom in Prussia to associate with the Minister of Public Instruction men, as councillors, who have large practical experience in educational matters, and have given evidence of their administrative powers in that department. Dr. Wiese was pre-eminently such a man, and accordingly, in 1852, he was raised to the position of Councillor to the Minister of Public Instruction. In this position he had virtually the superinten-

INTEODUCTION. V

dence and the technical administration of all the higher schools (hoth the Gymnasia and the Bealschiden) throughout the kingdom of Prussia. After the formation of the North German Confederation, and still more after the restoration of the German Empire, his influence was felt, more or less, in all the states of Germany. During this last period it was found necessary to revise the scholastic arrangements of the empire, and a commission was appointed, with Dr. Wiese as chairman, the object of which was to regulate and superintend the higher schools of Germany, especially in reference to the privileges enjoyed by their pupils in regard to military service. Independently of this, he was appointed to prepare the way for introducing in Alsace-Lorraine the German system of schools, for which purpose he repeatedly visited that country to examine its educational institutions. As regards Prussia and the adjoining smaller states, to which his services at all times were more especially devoted, there is scarcely any public school which Dr. Wiese did not personally insj^ect and help to improve by his advice and his suggestions.*

In 1875, after having filled the office of Ministerial Councillor for upwards of twenty years, Dr. Wiese resigned and retired into private life, not on account of his age, for he is still a man full of vigour and energy,

* It may, jierliaps, interest some English readers to know that Dr. Wiese, under the authority of the Minister of Public Instruction, has published two works which alone contain official and authentic information on the Prussian schools. Their titles are: 1. 'Historischstatistische Darstellung des hoheren Schulwesens in Preussen/ in three vols., the last of which was published at Berlin in 1874 ; 2. ' Verordnungen und Gesetze iiir die hoheren Schulen in PVeussen,' 2nd edit., Berlin, 1875.

VI INTRODUCTION.

but because, after a long official life of nearly fifty years, he naturally desired, during tlie rest of his life, to enjoy the pleasure of pursuing his own favourite studies. It is not improbable, however, that his retirement was partially owino- to his feeling that he could not conscientiously carry out the ideas of the present Minister of Public Instruction.

Being relieved from all official duties, and having gained an amount of educational knowledge such as few men can boast of, Dr. Wiese last year again visited this country for the sole purpose of seeing what progress had been made in its educational development ; for he still follows with loving interest the course taken by the educational movements both in Germany and in England, being convinced that a nation's moral and intellectual well-being mainly depends upon its education.

He thus came among us enriched with all his official experience, and at an age when illusions have given way to sober reflection. The whole of last summer he devoted to visiting all classes of English schools, attending meetings of teachers, conversing with men of all shades of opinions on educational matters, and, in short, availing himself of every opportunity of gathering information. By this means he has been enabled to give to the world an unbiassed picture of our educational condition, which though not free from serious defects, yet contains elements which justify the hope that at no distant time the education of English youths will be equal, if not superior, to that at present given in the best educated countries of Europe.

There ore a few points which Dr. Wiese, in common with all true friends of education, would wish to see

INTRODUCTION. Vll

reformed, and I venture to draw attention to them here, because upon them depends the success of all our other reforms. First, there ought to be a proper method of ascertaining the qualifications of a person before he is allowed to undertake the functions of a teacher. Hitherto the possession of a certain amount of knowledge has been thought sufficient, and the degree of B.A. or M.A. is generally considered satisfactory evidence of a man's possessing the qualifications necessary to undertake the education of the young in our great public schools. But there is no lack of examples to show that a man may possess any amount of learning or knowledge and yet be a very inefficient teacher. In addition to his knowledge he must possess other indispensable qualities: he must have the power of communicating knowledge in a clear and attractive manner ; he must have sympathy with the young in order to be able effectively to guide their actions and inclinations in the right way ; he must be enthusiastic in his profession, and not regard its duties, as is but too often the case, as mere drudgery ; and lastly, he must be able to inspire his pupils with a love for their studies, and for everything that is good and noble. It is obvious that these qualities cannot be discovered by a mere examination for a degree.

A second defect to which Dr. Wiese directs our attention is our present system of examinations, which has produced that peculiar species of industry called " cramming " or " coaching," than which nothing can be more dangerous to the interests of true education.

I must leave it to the readers of Dr. Wiese's letters to ponder these important questions, and to devise remedies for the existing evils. My task has been simply to put viu INTEODUCTIOK

his book in an English dress before the English public ; and tacitly to correct a few errors which were almost unavoidable in a work which has to deal with so great an amount of detail collected in a comparatively short period t)f time. May the book contribute its mite towards a iinal and satisfactory solution of the all-important question of public education !

THE EDITOR.

FEOM THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

The following letters were written in England, but after my return home tliey have been revised and somewhat extended for publication. They were originally addressed to friends who, from having been my colleagues for many years, have become dear to my heart. The epistolary form will be at once an excuse and a justification of the character of my communications. Completeness in statistical and other matters, even if it had been attainable, has not been aimed at any more than a strictly objective form or the precision of a systematic report. I have rather availed myself fully of that freedom in the treatment of my subject, which is allowed in letters to a friend. I have endeavoured to reproduce the impressions made upon me during many observations and on different occasions, and to unite them into one picture, without refraining from giving free expression to my own thoughts and recollections, as they were called forth by circumstances. This is also the reason why the letters are called " German," which is not an idle attribute. Without wishing everywhere to compare England and Germany, I could not in my descriptions conceal either my knowledge of German schools or the interest I take in them, especially at a time when the union of Germany and the preparation of

X PREFACE.

an educationfil law for the largest of the German states have called forth new hopes and new problems for onr schools.

In our days there is danger, arising from various causes, of schools becoming unfaithful to their duty as educational institutions, and of confining their function to the communication of knowledge and the cultivation of the intellect. But, however indisputable the right and dominion of the intellect may be in investigation and demonstration, yet in active and moral life for which the young are to be educated, it very often happens that the will is not determined by the intellect, which permits itself but too often, under certain impulses, to be used as a tool by the desires and inclinations of man. The problem of education is to purify and to strengthen the will. In England it has always been admitted that in developing free and independent characters the school and the family must go hand in hand, and that, accordingly, the acquisition of knowledge is not the principal object in education. The more recent development of public-school affairs is taking a different direction ; but in the old public schools, and in those formed after their model, the same educational idea still prevails and bears its fruit. To acknowledge this is no depreciation of that which is peculiar to Germany ; and whoever looks at my account as a whole wall find that it is impartial, and that my only desire has been to assist my countrymen in. acquiring an accurate knowledge of a foreign country, which may be instructive to us by its defects as well as by its excellences.

Where the present letters show discrepancies from opinions I have expressed on a former occasion, the reader

PREFACE. XI

will not, I hope, at once charge me with inconsistency, for many things appear different when looked at from different points of view and at different times. The passages I quote from English writers are for the most part intended to confirm my own opinions, for it not imfreqiiently happens that the expressions of men who live in the midst of the educational movement show a dissatisfaction with the actual state of affairs, where my own observations had led me to the same conclusion. But as at all times only those strictures are just and fair which are united with a recognition of the real value of a thing, and grow out of such appreciation, the things which I have said in praise of English schools, both on a former occasion and in my present work, perhaps give me the right to speak with freedom also on other aspects of the subject in the manner I have done in these letters.

L. WIESE.

Potsdam, Novemher 1876.

Letter I. Pack

]\Iotives of the Journey— Personal Meetings — First Impressions 1

LETTEE II.

Favourable Circumstances promoting a manly Education in England — Self-made Men — Difference between the Higher Schools of England and those of Germany — Agitated Questions — Fundamental Features of the Character of Englishmen ........ 9

Letter III

The State and the School— Difference in the Historical Development between Prussia and England. Effects of it in the two Countries — Self-Government — Efforts of the Middle-classes in Educational Matters — Actual Condition of English Schools in general ...... 22

The Universities continued— Eton— International Schools . 72

Letter VIII

Comparison of the School Administration of Germany and England — The Committee of Privy Council on Education — School Inquiry Commissions — The Governing Bodies — Dulwich — Schools of First, Second, and Third Grade — University Reform ....... 87

Letter IX

Head-masters' Conferences — The Universities, and their Relation to the Schools — Local Examinatious — The College of Preceptors . . . . . . . .112

LETTER X. The present System of Examinations in Universities and

Schools — Competitive Examinations .... 130

LETTER XL

A Glance at the Working of the Schools — Plan of Instruction — National Games and Physical Exercises— The Ancient Languages and Practical Subjects {IleaJid) — Instruction in Natural Science — Terence and Plautus in Schools — The Pronunt.'iation of Latin — French and German — The English Language, History, Geography, Gymnastics . . 153

Letter XII

The preceding Subjects continued— Practical Schools (Ikalschulen) — School Books — Selection of Special Subjects — Mode of Instruction — Results of Instruction — Holidays — Prizes and Rewards — Reports — Discipline— Pupils' Magazines— Fagging — Flogging — School-houses . . . 17G

CONTENTS.

XV

LETTEK XIII.

Eeligion in Schools — Biblical Knowledge— Ecclesiastical Character of Schools — The keeping of Sunday

LETTEE XIV.

The Position of Teachers— Their Preparation, Examination, Appointment, Salaries, Pensions — The Profession of Teacher .........

LETTEE XV.

Instruction of Girls — A Glance at America — The mixed System and Female Teachers in Boys' Schools there — English Efforts to increase and improve Girls' Schools — The Education of Women in general ...... 232

LETTEE XVI.

The Elementary Schools before and after the Education Act of 1870— The Eeligious Difficulty — The Birmingham League — Payment by Eesults — Uhe Education Act of 1876 246

LETTEE XVII.

Brief Eetrospect— School Legislation in Prussia and in England— Public Opinion — Consideration as to what is to be done at present for the Higher Schools in England — Conclusion ........ 264