Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1871-11-23
The Schools ef Switzerland.
BY 3. O.. NoisTnRor,, CoNNEcT1cuT

{ BY q. @. N~oTeTHRoP, CONNECTICUT.
A visit to overs hundred schools in
the different c~antons, has greatly enha nc
ed my appreciation of the Swiss System
of Public Instruction. The Swiss are a
progressive people and hheire4cellentged-
ucationaI system is both the, evidence and
cause of their general Advancement. 1t
contains some features worthy of imita:
ton. The schools are supported by the
State, are free to all. are we'll attended,
aud highly priced BY the people. :
: In tbessaIaiessof Geography and -arith-
metic, their methods are inferior to those
adopted in, America, but in language-ex-
~ercises, history, and drawing, they greatly
excel. The mastery of the mother tongue
is the first aim, while the culture of the
expressive faculties is made very promi-
nent.+ They justly regard language as not
only The. medium, of thong ht, but the
chief agent in, cultivating the memory and
taste. The disciplinary influence of tie
study.o language is kept in view, and to
talk we'll is held to be-a noble art. The
daily school drills aim at this grand at
tainment. Choice selections of poetry
and prose are committed to memory, and
recited almost daily. Starting early. the
memory is trained with surprising facility.
[ have been reatly1pleasedEwith the re-
citations of poetry by youngtpupTls9long
passages being given without hesitation or
mistake. .s
The fact that there arethree races 10
observation-disclosures; French; and ital-
ian-ahd that these three languages are
spoken in the Federal assembly, as well
inScomr5eociAIdltefeo gives a prac-
teal interest to the stud yeof the modern
languages. Besides 5rhe r%ernacular,"
the study of French or GernanJ is irequir-
ed in the schools, and is begun at a ten
der age. The faculty or language is,
therefore, early developed. Under ten
or twelve years is the memorial age Ior
words and their forms. Beginning at
the right age, the. Swiss youth make most
rapid nc thorough progress IN modem
languages.S The Classics. are 5alsoI COM
menced early. and great proficiency is The
result Insthe STUDY off ANY pew Dap
guage, the pen is ever in hand, and there
is constant practice 9n expressing ideas i
that language. The proficiency of each
pupil is measured BE- his ability to convey
his thoughts in ths new tongue. II com
mend this practice 10 our Americanteach-
ers. K
History, too much neglected IN Amen-
Fca. is here made. a most attractive and
prominent study. This land is classic.
-vestiges of Roman rule and works abound
and memorials o baitfss' and sieges,, in
later times, stimulate inquiry, The
school-building itself has often a history
of its own. / have inspected the college
and academy, founded by Calvin more
than three hundred. years ago. sat in the
pulpit chair occupied by him, heard rscI-
~tations and lectures in the very rooms
where he taught and with which are as
sociated the names OF John Knox, Neck
ar, Sismondi. Albert Gallatin, and a host
of eminent men of Europe; for Geneva
was the educational centrey where Erotes-
tant young men from England u France,
and Germany were educated for nearly
two centuries after JtRs aRefsrmation.4-
Though, with one exception, tie smallest
canton in SwItzcrlana, no place Of is size,