The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-13
OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.
Mr.. Matthew ArnOld's Opening Ameri-
can Address Upon education
He Contrasts the System in Vogue in Ger
many and in France with England
and America-Belgian Education.

Some twenty years ago / was struck by re-
mark that was made to me by Cardinal Antoneli
while was visiting the Italian schools. 80
you have come to see our schools" he said, ''our
popular schools Many people will tell you that
popular education among US is nothing at all. or
next TO nothing; they would tell you you would
be unable to find anything to report on to your
government; but you may tell your government
this the Cardinal continued 'that illiterate as
the italian population is said to be, and, as /
suppose. is, if you mix with the people at any
festival and listen to their criticism and to what
they say. you will find it almost undeni-
ably right and the people, you can conclude,
can most surely be allowed to have certain
sort Of education" 1 thought "What stolid in
sensbility or inability to discern AT the same
moment there arose to my memory the admira-
BILE sentiment Of the schoolmaster OF the seven
teenth century, John Comenius, fixing the uni
versal scope and aim of education. The
aim he says, is to train generally all who are
born men with all which is humane.
Could this be considered as human2 Rather is
it not proof that our humanity is raw and I'M
developed, if we confcund the two together For
we are in bondage, as Goethe says, and out Of
that bondage we have to rise. We know that.
however general it may be around US. it is not
less bondage and an evil.
Immediately after my arrival in this cou ntry
the other day l happened to come across a
speech of one OF your politicians, whom hope
may venture to call friend of mine Senator
Hawley. of Connecticut. He was praising the
system of government of the United States, and
he praised it as being "a government OF, by ana
for the average man." l will not dispute that
in politics this may be a benefit, but remember
that In educational culture it is precisely the
slough OF the common and average which we
have to cast off and to rise up from. The COM
mon and average is our danger 1t is compare
lively an easy attainment, but no
true friend of education will be salts
fed so long as this is attained and
nothing moae. In popular education at present
the common and average thing is the ability to
read, write and calculate. and the possession Of
a certain amount of useful knowledge. This is
what. in progressive nations. we expect the
whole population to attain and what they do at
tain. If we ask for the result of this, we shall
find it to be in the main that the whole popuia-
ton learn to read the newspapers and their
views are formed by the newspapers. That is
what modern education really means; that is
what popular education leads up to, and we
have to congratulate ourselves when this result
has been achieved and to think that here we
have the promotive and progress, and civilza-
ton.
I am not sure what is said of our common
schools resemble yours in these respects, but
hope you will listen to me in some points in
which the common schools OF Germany and
France succeed better than those of England in
training their pupils in what is really human.
You may then judge whether your schools in
America more like our schools more like
those of France and Germany.
[ will take first what Is certainly main agent
in teaching mans soul and feelings, religion. In
England religion is excluded from the official
programme of the popular school. If it
is taught, it is taught outside of the Off
cial hours, and subject to private and local
regulation. Religious liberty, 1t is said, requires
this If religion is taught at the public expense.
what religion is it to beg If it is the religion of
the majority, the minority would not be salts
fed. Religion must not. therefore. be pre-
scribed school matter at all. In German coun-
tries-for German Switzerland is just the same
as Germany in this matter-relgion stands as
one of the foremost subjects of instruction in
the public schools. Instead of being. as in Eng
land a subject never introduced in official pro-
grammes, subject which people are to avoid. it
is laid out with the greatest care and examined
with special diligence and industry by
the inspectors. In religion one may say the
three large, chief denominations no longer
predominant in Germany-the Evangelical, the
Protestant and Catholic and the Jews. Be-
tween the Professionals and the Catholics the pub
lie deals both 10 theory and In practice with alb
solute fairness. There is no persecution and no
proselytism. So far as the action of the admin
istraton goes, so complete is the confidence of
the people in its fairness that in the lower classes
of Evangelicals or Catholics. you can find not in
frequently the Catholics taking religious instruc-
ton with the majority. In the upper classes the
law requires the minority in these mixed schools
to be separate, and to receive instruction from
their own sect
With us in England the difficulty Of including
religion in the school programme Is caused by
| spatS nf PrutoatantiSm Thr0uOh0nk Protestant
Germany the religious instruction ia Protestant
schools is based on the lutheran profession.
and all denominations expected to follow.
With US, with individual churches, what is the
RESULT Diversity Of religion, rendering
diversity of instruction; in Germany. the law.
I do not think that in Germany, where the
spirit of sect has been less cultivated than
among ourselves, Professionals feel instruc-
ton in the public schools in these matters to
de disadvantageous. I could not hear Of any
complaints on the subject. and was very curl
GUS to learn how the working classes in the Ger
| man cities, who are said to be greatly estranged
from the Christian religion. take the obligatory
| religious instruction. In Catholic Saxony, the
country which Is reported to be the stronghold
| of Socialism. asked an inspector what proper.
| ton of the working classes he thought were So
cialistic and were opposed to the established re-
| ligion. Eat least two-thrds' he answered
Lutheran religion for their childrenf"
"They don't like it at ALL" he re-
piled, ''but they have to submit to
it" He added that the religious instruction
| did the children good; that the mothers in gen.
| eral perceive shis. and some even Of the
socialstic fathers. In speaking of the same sub
| ject. when was in Berlin. to man whose name
will be we'll received In every university. Prof.
| Munsen, the historian, told him how surprised
| had been. after had heard of the decay OF re-
| ligion in Germany, to End how important place
| religion held in the programme of the public
schools. He agreed that 1t did so. and he,
| too, thought that 1t was good thing.
and he said that the actual religious
instruction given was dogmatic, and it
| was fault of the persons in authority that they
made it strictly so; but in religion he thought
| the school instruction in general good thing.
| He quoted words to me Of Goethe. which re-
member: tile who has art and science has
| religion" but he quoted them with an addition
| which had forgo.ten HE who has not art
| and science let him have religion"
/ In q nation Hhara the goYArnmant Is. "a