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vision in reading. The last quarter of an hour is occupied by both divisions in prayers, after which they retire. This order applies to all the days of the week but Thursday, when, from eight to ten, the pupils receive moral and religious instruction; from ten to eleven, instruction in the forms of simple, legal, and commercial writings; and from two to four, engaged in the review of part of the week's studies. On the afternoon of Thursday the schools of practice are not in session.

From nine to
service in the
Receive moral
After dinner,

On Sunday, after the duties following their rising, the pupils are occupied in studying and revising some of the lessons of the week. ten o'clock, in religious reading, aloud. At ten they go to parish chapel, attended by the director and his assistant. and religious instruction, on their return, until dinner-time. attend the evening service, and then take a walk. In the evening, assemble for conversation on pedagogical subjects, and for prayers.

NORMAL SCHOOL AT BORDEAUX.

The Normal School at Bordeaux is maintained by the department of the Geronde, and that of Lot and Garonne, each establishing scholarships in it for its own students. In 1859 there were fifty-one students on a course of three years, conforming to the legal programme of the primary school. The student is not allowed to pass from the obligatory to the optional studies until he has given proof of his thorough knowledge, and his ability to teach the former in the practicing school annexed. Much attention is given to method.

The teaching staff consists of a director or teacher, two lecturers, and a chaplain. The main work of instruction devolves on the director, who has just received the decoration of the Legion of Honor for his success. The students are boarded on the premises-sleep in one vast dormitory, and their dietary is regulated by a ministerial decree.

The annual charge is 400 francs. Each student pays from his own resources 100 francs for the first year. After the first year, a certain number of the best students are entitled to scholarships provided by the departments.

A good garden is attached to the establishment, and lessons in horticulture and agriculture are given and greatly enjoyed by the students.

NORMAL SCHOOL*

FOR

TEACHERS OF COLLEGES AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS,

AT PARIS.

THE "Normal School," intended to furnish professors for colleges, was established in 1794, by the same convention which created the polytechnic school. The organization proposed by the law was upon a scale entirely beyond the wants to be supplied; and, notwithstanding the exertions of its eminent professors, the school had but a temporary existence, and ill success, mainly from the unprepared state of the pupils who had entered it, and to whom the kind of instruction was entirely unadapted. There were thirteen courses of lectures, and among the professors were Lagrange, Laplace, Haüy, Monge, Berthollet, Volney, Bernardin St. Pierre, Sicard, and Laharpe. The school was suppressed by a decree of April, 1795, and its pupils dispersed. After the reorganization of the university, in 1806, the expediency of reviving the normal school appears to have been felt, and it was reorganized in 1808. The number of pupils provided for in the new plan was three hundred; but from 1810 to 1826 there were never more than fifty-eight actually in attendance. According to the plan of instruction, lectures were to be attended out of doors, and interrogations and study to take place within the school, under the charge of the elder pupils. The recitations of the pupils to each other were called conferences; a name which is still preserved, being applied to the lessons given by the teachers, who are called masters of conferences. The duration of the course of instruction was limited at first to two years, but subsequently extended to three. The school was a second time suppressed, in 1822; and in 1826 an institution, termed a "preparatory school," was substituted for it, which in its turn was abolished, and the old normal school revived by a decree of the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, on the 6th of August, 1830. A report was made by M. Cousin, Secretary of the Council of Public Instruction, in October, 1830, the recommendations of which were adopted substantially. New regulations for the course of study, the general arrangements and discipline, have been gradually prepared, and the school has commenced a career of usefulness which it bids fair to prosecute with increasing success.

The chief purpose of the normal school is to give its pupils ample opportunities of preparation for the competition for places of adjuncts in the col leges (cours d'agrégation), and its arrangements are all subordinate to this object. In this competition, however, the pupils of the school meet on an equal footing, merely, with all other candidates.

The officers, in 1837, were, the director, who did not reside at the school, nor take part in the instruction; the director of studies, the resident head of the establishment; eight masters of conferences for the section of letters; six masters of conferences, and one for the drawing department, for the section of sciences; two preparers (préparateurs); a sub-director, charged with a general superintendence of the pupils, and two assistants, called superintending masters. The masters of conferences have, in general, equivalent duties to the professors in the colleges. In 1837 there were eighty pupils in the school, of whom forty-nine were supported entirely by the funds allowed by the government, and eighteen had half their expenses defrayed. The normal school at present occupies a part of the buildings belonging

• From Bache's Education in Europe.

to the Royal College of Louis-le-Grand, and the college furnishes the food and clothing of the pupils by agreement with the school. This connection has advantages, and among them, that of enabling the pupils to have some practice in teaching; but they are more than counterbalanced by disadvantages, and the friends of the school are earnest in their endeavors to procure a separate domicile for it. The accommodations for lodging, study, instruction, and exercise, as far as the building and its site are concerned, are certainly of a most limited kind.

Admission. The number of pupils who may be admitted is determined every year by the probable number required to fill the vacancies in secondary instruction. The admissions are made by competition, and for the most successful competitors a limited number of bursaries (bourses) are established, divisible into half bursaries, which are distributed to those who require assistance. The candidates enter their names at the academy nearest to their residence, between the fifteenth of June and of July, every year. Each candidate deposits the following certificates, viz., of the date of birth, showing that he is over seventeen and under twenty-three years of age; of having been vaccinated; of moral conduct; of having completed, or being about to complete, his studies, including philosophy, and, if he intends to become a teacher of science, a course of special mathematics and of physics; a declaration from his parent or guardian, if the candidate is a minor, that he will devote himself for ten years, from the period of admission, to public instruction. These lists are forwarded by the rectors of the several academies, with their remarks, to the council of public instruction, which returns, before the first of August, a list of those persons who may be examined for admission. This examination is made in the several academies, with a view to select the most prominent candidates, whose cases are to be ultimately decided by competition at the school in Paris. It consists of compositions upon subjects which are the same for all the academies, and of interrogations and oral explanations. For the candidates, as future instructors in letters, the written exercises are a dissertation, in French, on some points of philosophy, an essay in Latin, an essay in French, a Latin and Greek version, and Latin verses. The oral examinations turn upon the classical authors read in college, and upon the elements of philosophy, rhetoric, and history. The candidates in science have the same written exercises in philosophy and in Latin versions, and in addition, must solve one or more questions in mathematics and physics. The oral examinations are upon subjects of mathematics, physics, and philosophy, taught in the philosophy class of the colleges. All the written exercises and notes of the oral examinations are forwarded to the minister of public instruction, and submitted severally to a committee of letters and a committee of science, taken from among the masters of the normal school, the director being chairman of each committee. These committees decide whether the candidates are fit to be allowed to present themselves for examination at the school, and those who are deemed worthy, receive a notice to report themselves on or before the fifteenth of October. Previous to this competition the candidates are required to present their diploma of bachelor of letters or of sciences. The masters of the normal school are divided into two committees, one of letters and the other of science, for conducting these examinations, which are oral, and the result of which determines the admission or rejection of the candidate. On admission, the pupil makes an engagement to devote himself to public instruction for ten years.

Instruction. The present arrangement of the courses of instruction can only be regarded as provisional, improvements being gradually introduced, as observation shows their necessity. The principle declared by the director, M. Cousin, to be that of the school in this respect, is worthy of all commendation. "When," says M. Cousin, in his Report of 1835–6,* “ experi* Ecole Normale. Règlements, programmes, et rapports. Paris, 1837.

ence shows the necessity or utility of a measure which the fundamental regulations of the school have not provided for, it is by no means proposed at once to the royal council for adoption as an article of the regulations; authority is asked to put it to the test of practice, and it is only when found repeatedly successful that it is deemed prudent to convert it into a regulation." A close observation of the merits and defects of the system is thus made to pave the way for judicious changes.

The full course of the school, at present, occupies three years. The pupils are divided into two sections, that of letters and of science, which pursue separate courses. In the section of letters, the first year is devoted to a revision, and the second to an extension, of the higher courses of the colleges, and the third is especially employed in fitting the pupils to become professors. In fulfilling this object, however, no instruction in the science or art of teaching is given in the establishment, nor is it obligatory upon the pupils to teach, so that, as far as systematic practice goes, they derive no direct benefit from the school; it is a privilege, however, which many enjoy, to be called to give lessons in some of the royal colleges, particularly in that with which the school is now connected by its locality. When the pupil intends to devote himself to teaching in the grammar classes of the colleges, or is found not to have the requisite ability for taking a high rank in the body of instructors, he passes at once from the first year's course to the third, and competes, accordingly, in the examination of adjuncts (agreges). The consequences of the low esteem in which the grammar studies are held have been much deplored by the present director of the school,* and a reform in regard to them has been attempted, with partial success.

The courses are conducted by teachers called masters of conferences, who seldom lecture, but question the pupils upon the lessons which have been appointed for them to learn, give explanations, and are present while they interrogate each other, as a kind of practice in the art of teaching. In some cases, the students themselves act as masters of conferences.

The course of letters of the first year comprised, in 1836-7,†

1. Greek language and literature, three lessons per week. 2. Latin and French literature, three lessons. 8. Ancient history and antiquities, three lessons. 4. A course of philosophy higher than that of the colleges, three lessons. 5. General physics, one lesson. Chemistry, one lesson, the courses being introduced chiefly to keep up the knowledge of these subjects. 6. German and English language, each one lesson.

The conferences, or lessons on general physics, chemistry, and the modern languages, are by pupils who give instruction and explanations to their comrades.

At the end of the first year there are examinations, according to the result of which the student passes to the courses of the second year, or, in the case before stated, to those of the third year, or leaves the school. These examinations are conducted by inspectors-general of the university, named for the purpose by the minister. Pupils who have passed, may present themselves at the university as candidates for the degree of licentiate of let

ters.

The second year's course of letters does not necessarily include any scientific studies.

The courses of language and philosophy go into the history of these subjects. They consist of-1. Lectures on the history of Greek literature, three lessons per week. 2. On the history of Roman literature, two lessons. 8. On the history of French literature, one lesson. 4. English language, one lesson. 5. On the history of philosophy, two lessons. 6. Continuation of the historical course, two lessons. The recitations are accompanied by suitable written exercises.

Rapport sur les travaux de l'école normale pendant l'année, 1835-6. Par M. Cousin.

The distribution of subjects is taken from a manuscript kindly furnished to me by the director of studies, M. Viguier; it does not agree precisely with the plan marked out in the regulations.

At the end of the year the pupils are examined. Those who have not already obtained the degree of licentiate of letters are now required to do so, or to leave the school.

The examinations for this degree consist of compositions in French and Latin prose, on different days. Latin verses and Greck themes. Explanations of selected passages from the second book of Herodotus, the speech of Pericles in Thucydides, the Gorgias of Plato, the speech of Demosthenes against Leptines, the choruses of Edipus at Colonos, the Hecuba of Euripides, the combat of Hercules and Amycus in Theocritus, the Hymns of Synesius, Cicero de Oratore and de legibus, the Germany of Tacitus, the Treatise of Seneca de beneficiis, the last two books of Quintilian's Rhetoric, the fifth book of Lucretius de natura rerum, the first book of Horace's Epistles, the second book of Horace's Odes, the Troas of Seneca.

These books are liable to be changed, from time to time, on notice being given. The candidate is expected to answer the questions on philosophy, literature, history, and philology, to which the reading of the author may give rise.

In the third year of letters, the courses are special, the divisions corresponding with the courses of the royal colleges, and consisting of grammar, humanities, and rhetoric, history, and philosophy. Each pupil takes his place in one or other of these divisions, and is not required to follow the courses of the others.

The lectures and recitations constituting the entire course of letters of the third year were, during the second half year of 1836-7—1. Latin language and grammar, three lessons. 2. Greek language, two lectures and one lesson. 3. Latin literature, two lectures and one lesson. 4. Greek literature, two lectures and one lesson. 5. Latin eloquence, two lectures. 6. Latin poetry, two lectures. 7. French literature, one lesson. 8. History of the philosophy of the ancients, two lectures. 9. Ancient geography, two lectures. 10. Philosophy, one lesson. The lectures alluded to are those attended by the pupils at the Sorbonne.

The following were the courses of the different years in the section of science during the same term, the lectures being those of the faculty of sciences of the university.

First year. 1. Astronomy, two lessons per week. 2. Descriptive Geometry, two lessons. 3. Chemistry, two lectures, one lesson, and four hours of manipulation. 4. Botany, one lesson. 5. Philosophy, two lessons. 6. German language, one lesson. 7. Drawing, one lesson, during the week, and one on Sunday.

Second year. 1. Physics, two lectures, two lessons, and one hour of manipulation. 2. Chemistry, two lectures. 3. Botany, one lesson. 4. Vegetable physiolo gy, two lectures. 5. Calculus of probabilities, two lectures. 6. Differential and integral calculus, two lectures and two lessons. 7. Drawing, one lesson during the week, and one on Sunday.

Third year. 1. Mechanics, four lectures and two lessons. 2. Chemical analysis, two lectures and one hour of manipulation. 3. Chemistry, one lecture. 4. Natural history, two lessons. 5. Geology, one lesson. 6. Botany, one lesson. 7. Drawing, one lesson. On Sunday, the pupils make botanical and geological excursions into the environs.

The pupils undergo similar examinations to those of the section of letters, and before presenting themselves as candidates for the place of adjunct, they must have taken at least the degree of licentiate of sciences. They are however, specially relieved from the necessity of matriculating in those courses at the university which they attend in the school, and which otherwise would be necessary in order to obtain the degree of licentiate. These are, for the mathematical sciences, the differential and integral calculus and mechanics; for the physical sciences, physics and chemistry; and for the natural sciences, geology, botany, &c. The examination for the degree of licentiate of mathematical science may be made at the end of the second year, by pupils of this section of the normal school, and that for licentiate of physical science at the close of the third year.

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