Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-07-06
Education in Iceland.

u 0uT7lGt of Education by MISS
Henrietta Noa, Of the Mary In
stitute, of st. Louis:
There are only two schools for
children (primary schools) in the
whole island of Iceland. One is
in Reykjavik, the principal place
of Iceland, containing about two
thousand inhabitants; the other
is at a place called Akuregri, in
the north of Iceland, containing
about three hundred inhabitants
This will be better understood
when | mention that the size of
Iceland is $4,000 square miles,
and the number of s:,ssabitants
10000 only; and these are not
collected together in villages, but
live on isolated farms from ten to
thirty miles apart, the inmates of
each farm numbering from six to
twenty. When this is known it
will be understood how there are
so few primary schools.
But the education of the peo-
pie is By no means in proportion
to the number of their schools.
1t will be difficult to find in Ice
lard a boy or girl of ten who is
not able 10 read well. As rule,
mothers teach their children to
read, as we'll as the catechism.
This is begun sometimes when
the children are only three or four
years old. [ have known man y
children that were able to read
well when only five years Old
This primary education is in a
manner compulsory. There was
first an old law which enacted
that no couple should be allowed
to merry unless the bride at least
was able to read. This law is,
however, never heard of at the
present day, for the good reason
that there are no persons in the
island unable to read. Pauper
children are boarded out with
families, and there they are taught
to read, and the catechism. The
clergyman of every parish has to
visit every family in his parish at
least once a year (by some 1T is
done more frequently,l in order
to ascertain whether children are
taught to read and instructed in
religion. II he finds any parents
that neglect to impart this prima-
ry instruction to their own chill
dren or children in their charge,
he and the overseer of the parish
are by law empowered to remove
the children of those parents
from their home and board them
with others who are willing tc
teach them their catechism and to
read, and the parents of those chill
dren have .t6 bear the expense fol
their board and instruction, unless
they are paupers ;-in that case il
is betrayed by the parish. Such
cases as | have just mentioned
are, however, very rare, for it is q
common desire of parents in Ice.
land almost without exception,
that their children should obtain
as much knowledge as possible
and therefore they not only teach
them all they know themselves
but, in many cases, they send
them to a more erudite neighboi
to acquire what knowledge he
may be in possession of.
The primary rules of arithme
tic are almost as universally
hnown as reading, and there the
children learn, | may say, by
themselves, without teaching
Writing is not quite SO universal
as reading, at least not among
the female population; almost ev
cry male is, however, able to write
and the majority of the women
and when it is considered that the
only instruction they, in most ca
/ ses, have, is a copy of the alpha
5 bet given by some friend, we may
: wonder that so many are able t.
: write at all.
The Icelanders ar, better &C
5 quainted with the literature oi
5 their own country than the sam'
r class of population in most othe
E countries. Their knowledge OF
S general geography and genera
|, history has astonished many
: foreign traveller. l may mention
i. one instance. l once happened
to be present at a divine servic
n in an out-of. the-way place in Ice
S land. After The service, th
8 conversation ofthe peasants turne,
r upon the Turks, of whom th
e Tcelanders are greatly afraid, since