The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-21
Austrian Teachers Find u. S.
Wealthy. Friendly. Informal


A trio Of Austrian high school
teachers visiting Columbus marvel
ed last week at Americas high
living standard. the warmth Of its
hospitality, the informality Of its
students, the large number Of wo-
men employed as teachers, and the
elaborate equipment in Z. S. high
schools.
At the same time they depl0r-
ed, with diplomatic mildness, the
close attention many U. S. teachers
give textbooks in class, the failure
to emphasize geography's import
ance in the curriculum, and the in
adequacy Of American cultural in
stitutions.
The teachers are Ernst Breisach
Of Vienna, Helmut Stumfohl Of
Graz, and Miss Julia SchemeI of
Salzburg. All are here TO study
U. S. secondary education on tray.
el grants under the FuIbright Act.
With DIR. Breisach (he and DR..
Stumfohl are doctors Of philoso-
phy) is his wife, HERNIA. also
Ph.D. and a former teacher. Like
more than 90 percent of their
countrymen, they are all Catho-
lies.
In an interview last week at Ohio
State University, where the teach.
ers are making their headquarters
here, DR.. Breisach and his wife and
Dr. Stumfohl spoke Of their i'm
pressions of American education
and customs. Miss Schemel mean
while was cleaning impressions OF
American medical science in a
dentists office
Mrs. Breisach said she was
astonished to discover that wash
ing machines are commonplace
equipment in the homes of aver
age.income families. They are
rare in Austria" she said. also,
hardly anybody has a telephone
there"
And we are not allowed by the
occupying authorities to have tele-
vision" chimed in DR.. Stumfohl.
Il don't particularly want a tele-
vision set" he added, "but / should
like to enjoy the right to have
one"
He pointed out that Austria Is
occupied by four powers: y. S.,
British, French, and Russian, with
Vienna in turn divided into four
occupation zones.
They were shocked at first to
hear American students greet a
high school principal with CHEEKY
"Hir' 1t was a jarring note to ears
accustomed to the formal, Herr
Professor" but DR.. Breisach adj
mitted that he has seen no evi-
dence of genuine disrespect on the
part Of pupils here.
All three we're favorably i'm.
pressed by the equipment they
have seen in high school science
laboratories. libraries, and home
economics departments. These are
things we need badly" said DR..
Stumfohl.
He also called attention to the
I general American lack" of knowl
edge of geography You have
much good will" he said, 'but you
do not provide yourselves with the
means of establishing international
good will. knowledge Of geography
certainly is one means. and il
should not be neglected
"a visiting magazine editor told a
Catholic Times editor last week
that when he asked his secretary
college graduate, if she knew
just where in Burma Rangoon was,
she replied that she didn't even
know where Burma was.)
The visitors believe Austrian
schools may benefit by the Amer,
lean practice of providing elective
subjects. At the end of the fourth
grade in Austrian schools, pupils
who will probably go to college
enter the eight-year gymnasium.
which is the equivalent of upper
elementary, high school. and lower
college grades in the u. S. Other