Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1889-11-19

l hlVlttNA ANf iufAAs ~ All iAu'fAut w
mocncy. and by often expressing them
In language which would bc repugnAnt
a. his dignity N he were free. Poor little
fellows When they can cvade the por.
ter'- vigilance. and run acru-s the road 20
buy a pcnnyworth of sweets. they fe,l
ike perfect heroes ~ romance. On their
return. their schoolfcllows hock round
them 90 sniff little ~ the frcsh and free
air that l. brought inside the walls. II
the young scamr- are punished for their
c-capade, they bear Il like champions u
liberty who have fought for the good
cause. and are looked up to by their com.
radcs a. martyrs and heroes.
Under the circumstances. II u not sur.
prising that they should nov and then
show a spirit of rclsllion. Suppo>e. fof
instance. that some privilege which the
pupils have long enjoyed and looked
upon a. their right has been Withdrawn
rightly or wrongly. no matter which. In
such case as this English schoolboys
would hold 4 meeting. probably presided
over by one ~ their masters. and they
would draw up PETITION. which they
would sud % the head master But w
French schools meetings arr prohibited.
What will the boys DO them ~ have
dcscrib-d elsewhere. they viii probably
retire "a a dornitory. there to sulk aud
protest They will erect harricadcs. lOcs
the doors. victual the intrrnchments for
Few hours and prepare for a struggle
Rebellion has wonderful charms Tor
thcm. they are insurgents. therefore
they arc heroes. Don't ask them whether
their caus-s j. good or bad This matters
little; u will b. slnctided by the rcvolu.
ton: the main thing l. 10 play at the
sovereign T-'ople" These hot headed
youths will stand a Siege a. earnestly a.
u they were defending their native -oil
against the Prussians. Dictionaries, ink
stands. boots. brdroom furniture. such
are the missiles that are pressed into
service Ia the glorious battle of liberty.
But alas for youthful valori II all fade
before the plcalings ~ an empty stom.
ach. the struggle has to h. abandoned.
the citadel forsakcn. the arms laid down.
The misguided ones are received hack
into the foil. to b. submitted 10 stricter
discipline than ever. the heroic instigai
os. - the little fete are IN the cnd ~
s,orul io the tender carr ~ their nam.
mas. OF. In other wor,ls, expelled from
the school.
Corporal punishment l. banished from
all school. In France. II a master were o.
strike a hoy. the old, arr ten io one that
the boy would defend himself, and threat
en- the master with the first object-inkpa
or box he could lay his hand ou. Boys
are punished by means ~ long and weary
impositions II boanlers. they are keps
IN on Sundays. aud thus prevented from
going home. This Il a terrible punish.
meni When they seem incorrigible
they are expelled And for 10y 30 H.
expelled from French lycce l. NO light
matter. for the doors ~ all the Others
Arr closed To him. and the faculties NAV
even refuse a. allow him o. stand az a
candidate for the university degrees.
IIis prospect In lie may b. ruincl for.
ever. for in France man Who l. neither
n. A. nor H. -. cannot study mciicine
or the Law; be- cannot enter the military
schools. or H. candidate for any ~ the
government posts at home or abroad.
Busincs. l. the only opening left 10 him
From the time table that have given
az the beginning. II will b. easily In.
fcrrc that. " the French schoolboy plays
les than the British one. he works much
more. but with what results The
classes In French lycccs contain from
eighty to hundred boys. They are
generally composed II some ten pupils
of extraordinary capacities OF industry,
of about twenty who follow the lecture.
with some profit. % twenty more who
follow them anyhow. and of thirty, Tor
". anl cyen sometimes dity poor boys,
neglected. forgotten. who 10 and learn
nothing. and are mere wall flowers.
They are all promoted by seniority-that
premium siill given IN France 90 stupid.
It's. as NJ. Leon Say once remarked in
the French senate. remember school.
fellows of eighteen and nineteen In the
highest form who dil not know their dc.
clensionS Boys may be- attentive or
not. as they plcase-that Il their busi.
ness. Provided they do not disturb the
peace. nothing more is required Of them
In the upper forms They may even 90
10 sleep. and the master will seldom take
the trouble "a wake them up. II the loy
l. not likely to do honor TO his teaching.
be- does not think it worth his while tn
concern himself about him.
With such large classes a. | have de-
scribed. boys cannot and do not receive
individual attention from the masters,
who deliver lectures TO them. but GER
tainly DO not give them lessons With
the amount Of work that clever and In
dustrious boys 20 through, each class
turns out az the end of the year at least
ten splendid scholars As for the rest,
you soe twenty good average boys, twen.
" poor ones. and from thirty 10 fifty
hopeless ignoramuses. Each class has
10 20 through a course prescribed by the
minister OF public instruction, and no
master has a right to read book with
his pupils. not even the passage OF a
book, that l. not down on the minis
tcrial programme. Aprofessor who car
ried his interest In his pupils the length
Of introducing new book In his class
would probably have his zeal rewarded
with a masienhip in the college Of some
little out of the way town in France, OF
perhaps in Algeria. by this govern.
mental system ~ fus. and intrusion. IL l.
not only the talent of the pupil that Is
stitie,l. but II Is also the talent OF the
master that is hampered.
What l. 20 h. admired In French
schools is that the boys get on very well
with one another. Friendship sprung
up at school often lasts a lifetime.
The boys stick by each other 10 such a
point that, rather than tell on an Of
fender, they will all allow themselves tc
IT, punished for his offense. even though
the punishment should amount to the
much dreaded detention on Sunday.
The hero Of the French collegien l. the
top boy Of the class-not the quickesi
runner or the beet athlete. Thedunce 1,
the only comrade he despises. A boy
who has carried OF prize at the greal
Sorbonne examination l. for him the ob
ject OF an unlimited admiration. and h.
feels inclined TO lift his cap when h,
passes near him.
The head Of the college Is called pro
viseur. lie does no teaching. He repre-
sents high authority-that IL 10 say th,
government. lie Is saluting machine
He stands In the middle OF the quad
rangle as the boys proceed to their re
spective class rooms- All take Oh thei