Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-04-22
The Swedish School Children and
Swedish Educational Institu-

popular education, there are among NATIONS
abroad few things more interesting to observe
than tie agencies and methods now in activ-
| ;tv for the education of the masses Of the peo-
pie. Hard as it is to dig up and get rid Of all
the old roots and outgrowths OF theocratlc
and political feudalism which for many CEN
turtles held iron domination over the hearts
and homes of the European nations, the force
Of modern progress has become irresistible
| and the education of the people government
necessity.
| To one who is absent from the associations
and living presence of his countrymen, one
of the most interesting sights to witness IN
passing through the streets Of this beautiful
CITY are the crowds of boys and girls going to
and from their schools, with their satchels OF
books in hand, or strapped to their shoulders
| in the manner Of soldiers knapsacks. They
are almost universally very clean and tidy in
appearance, and their general behavior Is
model Of what young persons should be IN the
streets. If cleanliness is next kin to godll-
ness, the Swedes keep as near the first law
of moral duty as any other people. Generally
economical in expenditures for dress, they
seem to take special care to preserve and
keep clean what they have. The amount OF
brushing and beating they devote to their
wearing apparel, carpets, and bedding, can
hardly be equailed in any other country
This beating is done with fiat, thin stick,
sufficiently wide to avoid injuring the cloth in
| the operation There can be no doubt that
this exquisite neatness of the school children
has some mystic, if not real relation to their
| general good behavior in passing to and from
their school rooms. They are respectful in
demeaner to their elders, the boys lifting
their hats and the girls observing that
form of respect which was well known in
New England fifty and hundred years since.
II ia refreshing to look on these passing
crowls of young people. and they re-
mind me of home and the immense
influence which the New England institution,
tive hundred and fifty years old, is exerting
on the world. The writer of this is specially
struck with the fact that the faces and figures
of these Stockholm school children resemble
more strongly those of American children Of
corresponding age than can be witnessed in
any other European capital, even more so
than bows and girls in London and Liverpool
The Swedish children on the average have
| complexons lighter and fresher than those
even of the northern sections Of the United
States While rarely can be seen the boy
going to and from school engaged in smoking
the cigar or cigarette, yet on nOn-schOOl and
feast days they are quite as much given to the
pernicious habit as American boys. Indeed
| thew must be regarded not an inch behind
American boys in the deep-seated conviction
that to mouth cigar and puff and blow, go
a great ways toward making them men. Can
anybody explain why it is that the poison and
filth of tobacco drawn through cigar and the
pipe with the inevitable accompaniment of
liberal squirting in various directions, should
be regarded by boys as among the first privi-
leges and accessories of manhood? But the
Swedish boys seem to have a clear appreca-
ton of the fact that smoking is incompatible
with their good order and respectable appear
ance on school attendance, though of a radi-
cally different opinion on feast days and non
school occasions. As adults they are certain
| " not behind Americans in devotion and ser
vitude to the weed
The school buildings in Stockholm are well
built and well arranged, and have excellent
locations. Several have been erected since
we have resided here. We observed the
other day very large one nearly completed,
with fine architectural appearance, and all
the modern improvements, costing nearly
$4,000 Much care is taken to afford the
pupils an opportunity for exercise in the open
air during their intermissiOns. Recently we
observed an arrangement of this kind at
tached to school building completed not
long since. There were two large sheds near
the main school edifce, admirably built rooted
with iron, open on all sides, without stills or
foundation stones to obstruct ingress and
egress, affording fine opportunity for play
/ rau los Of no thor Tho Aonr
the earth itself, at level with the surrounding
grounds, and covered with clean coarse sand.
| Everything, even the closets, bore evidence of
scrupulous neatness and care.
During the last thirty years Sweden has
made marked progress in her educational
methods and activities. Considering her linn
tied resources her financial appropriations to
this end have been liberal. She has had I'M
interrupted peace for sixty-fve years. though
previously she had been for centuries fearful
" afflicted with wars. This long continue
ton of peace has enabled her to devote to in
ternal improvements and to education, much
of which she would have otherwise been
forced to devote to military appropriations
She has compulsory school law for all chill
dren between the ages of seven and fourteen
She has now in operation nearly 5000 primary
schools. The number of primary school
| "AS "cVut pVoO. VI ucdTly
5000 belong to the communes or precincts.
and the remainder are rented buildings. The
Amount expended per year is not far from
80, $50, 900 for school purposes, of which more
than 81, 900 is paid to teachers. The
number Of teachers of these primary schools
is about 5000, of whom 5000 are male, and
1000 female. The pay of these teachers is
less than one-half what the same service
would be In the United States, and the same
fact holds as to nearly all kinds Of labor in
this country. In the primary schools there
| are about 100000 pupils of the two sexes Of
these, PA, 900 are taught history and geogra-
ply, 247 900 natural history, 1873, 600 geome-
try and drawing, $4,000 singing, 267, 900
gymnastics, and $4,000 horticulture. Gener-
ally in city and country the primary school is
maintained about eight months Of the year
Time in school, on school days, from five to
six hours. For the preparation Of the teach
ers for the primary schools, there are eleven
Normal Schools, of which seven are for males
and four for females. The instruction in the
Normal schools is entirely gratuitous to the
students. and is for SO weeks in the year.
| The studies in these Normal schools. are Re-
| ligion, the Swedish language, Arithmetic,
Geometry, History, Geography, Natural His
tory, the Methods Of Teaching. Writing,
Drawing, Instrumental Music and Singing,
Gymnastics, Horticulture and Tree Culture