The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-12-21
OUR SCHOOLS
AND CERMANy'S
INTERESTING COMPARISONS
DRAWN BY AN EXPERT.
Many Points in Favor Of the Ameri-
can School System-Most Import
ant Is in the Education of the
Teachers--other Differences.

from Tue bOStoh llhh','ltl
Perhaps the most important charac-
teristic difference between schools in
iernany and in the United states is
the vast difference in the preparation
of teachers. over here school boards
IN the smaller towns and tho country
habitually commit the pedagogical
crime of intrustlng the boys and girls
t lust graduated from the high school
with the education of somewhat young
er children: and teachers are apt to
think they are really we'll prepared
when they have taken normal
course after leaving the high school
and have thus done about enough work
to gain admission to the sophomore or
possible the Junior class of a good coll
legc. In Germany a man is not con-
stdered prepared for independent work
ia n teacher until he has taken the
equivalent of Il full college course. fol-
lowed by two years graduate study
and then two years probationary
teaching. without salary, under eX-
pert direction. The necessary result
is that while there certainly are many
good teachers in America and many
bad ones In Germany. the average in
struction is distinctly higher in grade
there than here. II is doubtless largely
for this that tho German pupil saves
considerable time over the American
in the course of his primary and sec
ondary education; the German South
is apt to be as far along at Il or Is
rs his American cousin is at 90. An
other important fact in this cOnnec-
tion is that teaching is never a mere
makcshft to the German. as IL still
is far too often in the United States:
Go, ,,,t,, t;,.., "A Sf
when every m!dle-aged person with
ordinary Intelligence had been a school
teacher in his youth. our schools still
depend far more than they should
upon the transients who keep body and
soul together by teaching while they
are preparing for another profession
In Germany such long apprenticeship
is requisite for getting a start in any
profession that jumping from one to
another is we'll nigh impossible. aud
besides teaching has II far more dis
tinct and honorable professional stand
ing in the community than is the case
here.
DRAWBACKS.
Now every good thing has it's bad
side, and so it is with the fine prepara-
ton of the German teacher and his
first place. the man who discovers af-
ter some experience that he has no
real vocation for teaching is less apt
to seek some other occupation. because
of the extreme difficulty of making a
change. Again, the man with Il uni
versity training is pretty apt to be
inoculated with the yenrning Of the
specialist to devote his life to invcsti-
cation and almost as surely to be
thereby snoiled for SCHOOL tea ching. eS d.
pecially In the lower grades. If there
must be choice between evils. the
half-taught teacher who has the peda-
gogcal afflatus, even the traditional
one who Keeps just a lesson ahead of
his class, Is to be preferred to the
trained specialist whose real interests
are far removed from the school-roon.
There is another striking difference
between the teaching personnel in
Germany and in this country. Over
here the school ma am has things pref
ty much her own way from kindergar-
ten to high school. and tho propor-
tions of men teachers Is lamentably
small: almost any other occupation Of
fers Il man with brains far better Pc
cuniary rewards while women arc
willing to put UP with smaller salaries
and have fewer other respectable
means Of making II living open to
them. In g rmany. teaching is tradi-
tionally one OF the learned professions
naturally reserved to men as the cdn-
Gated SEX and SO the schOOlmaster Is
abroad in the land almost to the en-
clusion of the schoolmistress. One ex-
treme seems about as bad as the other
while our schools often suffer for want
of Il strong masculine hand and the
more practical masculine mind. The
German schools suffer no less for the
Jack OF the gracious influence of wo'
man and her gcntler spirit. Similarly
it seems 20 me that German childre,
lose very much by the strict separa
tiCn of the sexes. There is PRACTICAL!
no co-education. even in the primary
schools. And so. while Germany does
not go to the dangerous extreme o
giving her girls the warpine cloiStrn
education prevalent in the more sonln
rrn countries OF Europe she doe:
erect a mischievOuS and useless bar
rier between the sexes; and her boys
and girls miss that same attitude to-
ward each other and that mutual IN
vigora ting and refining influence tina
comes only with free and wholesome
intercourse II might be added here
that women IN Germany are making
ii hard anI gradually more Successfu
fight for the same education offered II
men. Tiaditionally. only prilnar,
education has been freely nvaila pl'
for them; they have tn light even now
not only for admission to uniNe,sit.
courses. hut ton an even clanc" II
secondary education as well,
COMPARISON OF SYSTEMS.
As almost everything that pertains Il
public administration is done better II
Germany. With its powerful! centra
government, than In the United States
so the organization ot the school SyS
TEN there is incomparhly superior u
that of our schools. one of the blind
est of AL blind boasts OF American
pride is the old boast that we have "th'
hest public school system in the world.
II Is as if We Dragged of our roads n.
the best in ChristendOnl. because they
are the widest and longest. wherea.
they are mtolerably dusty or impnss
able by reason of mud n good part o
the year. because we allow every far
way, which il invariably bad way
And our road supervisors, duly cecte,
by our partisan political machinery
usually know exactly as much abou
roads as The farmers do. So, TOO. w
have state and county superintendent
II public instruction, selected just n
The road supervisors are. and. as n rul
,.qualiy effective and in most OF on