Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-11-01
SCHOOLS IN TURKEY.
How Young Moslems Are Taught
TO Acquire knowledge.

How Young Moslems Are Taught
TO Acquire knowledge.
If the stranger in Moslem country
in passing through the streets is at
tracted by a noise for which he can not
satisfactorily account toward the build
ing in which the school is held. he will.
on looking in, probably see n long and
narrow room. at one end of which is
seated man with long beard school
masters retain their boards even when
whiskers only are sanctioned by
general usage), while the sides arc
lined with little boys ut various ages
squattcd upon their heels on the floor,
which is generally covered with thick
mat in addition to which those parents
who can afford il provide their sons
with a bit of carpet or felt in Persia. or
with a cushion in Turkey. to place be-
! tween them and the mat. Some of the
older boys go so far as to obtain n
cushion to introduce between their
backs and the wall. but this luxury is
rather discountenanced by the masters
as an encoachment on their own pc
culiar dignities. All the boys have
their heads covered. but they are with
out their shoes, which are left near
the door. so mingled and so similar in
shape and color that it would seem
difficult for each to find his own; but
on the breaking up every one seems to
slip his feet into his own shoes with
out any of that ind ividual hesitation
or general confusion which might be
expected.
When the boys are learning their
lessons, or repeating them to the il
master. they do so all at once with n
| loud voice, and with a continual see
saw OF the body without which move.
ment they seem to conceive it impossi-
bic that any thing can be learned.
The scene which this affords is ex-
tremely ludicrous to European, par
! ticularly as the zeal OF the learner is
estimated by the loudness of his voice
and the violence of his seesaw; and
hence. when conscious of the approach
of person whom the master or pu-
/ pills wish to impress with a favorable
! opinion OF their application and prog
ress the noise in the school-room,
which may previously have sunk into
n low hum, rises abruptly TO the clam
orous uproar of many voices. 1t seems
that in reading all at once to the mas
ter the elder boys. in the school at
large. are expected to give some atten-
ton TO the others near them. The
master can not in such a noise. dis
| tnguish the individual accuracy of
each reader, and his attention is there
fore directed to observe that time is as
nearly as may be kept by the voices,
! and. in some measure. in the motions
also of the pupils. This object seems
but poorly attained. This style of read.
| ing is most unnatural. 1t is a drawl-
ing chant, uttered in very loud voice.
In the East generally the tone of the
voice is very high. even in common
conversation. but in reading it is rails
ed to screaming. Some Arabs desired
friend of mine to let them hear him
read, writes a correspondent of the
London Standard. He complied, on
which they exclaimed: "You are not
reading. you are talking!' The fact
however, is that except among thos e
of the learned professions. few of
those who have professedly learned to
read in the schools can or do exercise
the requirement in after life; and the
! few who do remain actually qualified
to read with facility rarely do so with
out some stimulus incomparably
stronger than would be required in
this or, perhaps, any European coun-
try. After residence of several years
among Mohammedan, people, lido not
recollect more than three instances in
which L have seen persons quietly en-
gagged in reading book to them
selves, all the actions of their ordinary
lite are much more exposed to public
notice than can we'll be imagined in
this country.
These facts are easily explained.
Books are expensive articles of luxury
in Mohammedan countries, and this is
alone sufficient to account for much
that we have stated Before the intro
duction of the art OF printing the state
of knowledge among the people was
not more favorable in this country than
it is in Persia now. There is also an
other less obvious circumstance. VIII CHI
would have great influence even were
the manuscript books much more COM
mon and cheap than they are. This
is the difficulty of reading manuscript
This difficulty should not be underrat-
ed. Even in this country must be edu-
Gated persons would require consider
able stimulus to induce them to go
through a manuscript volume. Those
only whose duty it is to examine manu-
scripts and to prepare them for the
nraaq oan daeoriha tho tadiouanass of