■\ 
 
 ■ -..r 
 
THE PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL 
 SYSTEM OF FRANCE ,y 
 
 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS 
 
 B 
 
 - 
 
 FREDKRIO ERNEST EARRItf^TON 
 
 •; M 2. 1 9 c n ) 
 
 SUBMHTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 
 
 FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 IN THE 
 
 Faculty of Philosophy 
 Columbia University 
 
 1-lew lorf? 
 
 1 06 
 

 
 to 
 
 Copyright, 1906, 
 
 BY 
 
 FREDERIC ERNEST FARRINGTON. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This account of the French primary schools was prepared 
 chiefly during a sojourn of ten months at the French 
 capital, 1 902- 1 903. The original intention was to undertake 
 a study of the normal schools, but as these are merely the cul- 
 mination of the whoie primary school system, the plan was 
 modified so as to trace the entire educational experience of the 
 child from the 'beginning of the school course until the indi- 
 vidual, now no longer a child, but a vigorous young man or 
 young woman, comes forth ready to find a place in that com- 
 plex, but finely adjusted organizaition, the French primary 
 school system, and to take his part in turn in developing the 
 moral, physical and intellectual powers of a younger genera- 
 tion. In view of this limitation of the work, many topics that 
 one might otherwise have expected to find here, such as the 
 university extension work {univer sites populaires), adult 
 classes, lecture courses, school libraries, pedagogical libraries, 
 school savings banks, school funds, benefit and pension so- 
 cieties (mutuaiite scolaire), will hardly be touched upon. 
 
 It is an extremely difficult matter for a foreigner to appre- 
 ciate justly and fairly the institutions of another country. 
 Each great people has its own customs and traditions, and its 
 institutions are the slowly and laboTionsly formed crystallized 
 expression of the most potent of these. A stranger can rarely 
 make these ideas and ideals a part of his own life and thought, 
 hence he must almost invariably judge of their value and in- 
 fluence from an unsympathetic apperceptive basis. In its final 
 analysis, his standard of judgment must necessarily be his own 
 national standards. In spite of any criticisms that may be 
 offered against the present practices in France, the existing 
 conditions may be, and very likely are, the best suited to* the 
 temper and needs of the French people, for " what is one 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE 
 
 man's meat is another man's poison " is also capable of a 
 national application. 
 
 The authority for whatever may be found herein is 
 derived from two general sources, the literature on the 
 subject, and personal investigation gained from first hand ob- 
 servation of the schools, from interviews with various educa- 
 tional authorities, and from many conversations with the 
 teachers themselves. For the legal basis, constant reference 
 has been made to the compilation of M. Greard, Legislation 
 de rinstniction primaire en France. For the period since 
 1900, this has been supplemented by the Bulletin Administratif 
 of the education department. For a general idea of the whole 
 French primary system, the three admirable volumes published 
 by the French government at the time of the Exposition of 
 1900 are far and away the most valuable. 
 
 The schools visited were the twO' ecoles normales priniaires 
 superieures at Saint-Cloud and Foiitenay-aux-Roses, the de- 
 partmental ecoles normales primaires at Paris, Lyon, Valence, 
 Privas, Avignon, Douai, and various primary schools in these 
 same places and at Lille. 
 
 1 was extremely fortunate in being provided with offi- 
 cial credentials as holder of the Liternational Fellowship 
 for Study in France from Columbia University; thus every 
 barrier was let down and all possible courtesy and kindness 
 were shown. If everybody to whom I am under obliga- 
 tions were mentioned, the list would become very long, but I 
 desire to testify here to the extreme cordiality oi the reception 
 that I met everywhere throughout our sister republic, and 
 especially to the kindness of M. Chaumie, formerly Ministre de 
 I' Instruction publique; M. Gasquet, Directeur de I'Enseigne- 
 ment primaire ; M. Liard, Vice-rectcur de I' Academic de Paris; 
 M. Picavet, Directeur d' etudes adjoint de I'Ecole Pratique des 
 Hautes Etudes, et Redacteur en chef de la Rezme Internatio- 
 nale de I'Enseignement; M. Minet, Inspecteur primaire d Lille; 
 M. Devinat, Directeur de I'Ecole Normale a Autcuil, Paris; 
 M. Mironneau, Directeur de I'Ecole Normale d Lyon; M. 
 Kuhn and M. Gricourt, Professeurs d' Anglais a Auteuil; M. 
 
PREFACE 2 
 
 Dr. Phillipe, Chef des travaux au Laboratoire de psychologie 
 physiologique de la Sorhonne; and further to- President Butler, 
 Dean Russell, Dr. McMurry, Dr. Cattell, and Mr. James H. 
 Hyde, without whose cooperation this study would not have 
 been possible. My thanks are also due to Professor Cohn, 
 Head of the Romance Language Department, Columbia Uni- 
 versity, and to Mr. Robert Dupouey, of the University of Cali- 
 fornia, for many painstaking hours spent in reading my manu- 
 script, althoug'h they are in no wise to be held accountable for 
 any errors that may have crept in or for any inability on my 
 part to appreciate justly the French point of view. Finally, 
 I am incalculably indebted to my wife for her tireless assistance 
 and constant inspiration. 
 
 Frederic Ernest Farrington. 
 
 Berkeley, California, December 15, 1905. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. InTBX)DUCTION II 
 
 II. The Central Authority 15 
 
 III. The Local Authorities 26 
 
 IV. The Teacher 57 
 
 V. The Lower Schools (i) 
 
 Ecoles Maternelles 73 
 
 Classes Enfantines 80 
 
 Ecoles Primaires Elementaires 81 
 
 VI. The Lower Schools (2) 
 
 Ecoles Primaires Elementaires 
 
 Organization , 95 
 
 Curriculum 106 
 
 VII. The Upper Schools lao 
 
 VIII. The Normal Schools (i) 
 
 Development 140 
 
 IX. The Normal Schools (2) 
 
 Organization 168 
 
 Pupils 179 
 
 X. The Normal Schools (3) 
 
 Curriculum 188 
 
 XI. The Normal Schools (4) 
 
 Practice Schools 217 
 
 Brevets 226 
 
 Certificat d'aptitude pedagogique 234 
 
 XII. The Primary Higher Normal Schools 238 
 
 XIII. Conclusion; Measures of Efficiency 253 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 A. Outline^f the School Authorities 261 
 
 B. Examination for the Certificate d'etudes primaires 
 
 Elementaires, Lille, 1903 263 
 
 C. Program of the Ecoles Normales 
 
 (i) July 31, 1851 268 
 
 (2) July 2, 1866 269 
 
 (3) Boys' School, Auteuil, 1902-1903 270 
 
 7 
 
8 CONTENTS 
 
 APPENDIX ''**"' 
 
 D. .gj^MiNATiON Questions, ecole primaire superieure . 271 
 
 E. Examination Questions, brevet elementaire . ... 276 
 
 F. Examination Questions, brevet superieur 278 
 
 G. Examination Questions, certificat d'aptitude peda- 
 
 GOGiQUE 281 
 
 H. Examination Questions, Primary Inspector 282 
 
 I. Menus 284 
 
 J, Pages from Student's Notp-Bqok showing Administra- 
 tion OF THE Practice School at Lyon: 
 (i) Outline to be followed by Critic Teacher in appre- 
 ciating Pupil Teacher's Work . 286 
 
 (2) Criticism by the Director ... 286 
 
 (3) Outline for Psychological Study by the Pupil Teacher 287 
 
 (4) Rapport personnel .... 287 
 
 K. Bibliography 289 
 
 Index 297 
 
NOTE 
 
 The following abbreviations are used in the foot-notes and 
 in the bibliography: 
 
 Bull.Adm. for Bulletin administratif du Ministere de I'instruction publique 
 et des Beaux-Arts. 
 
 Circ. for Circulaires et instructions ofificielles relatives a I'instruction pu- 
 blique. 
 
 Gr. for Greard, Octave. Legislation de I'instruction primaire en France 
 depuis 1789 jusqu'a nos jours. 
 
 Mem. et doc. sco. for Musee pedagogique, Memoires et documents scolaires. 
 These are a series of one hundred and twenty monographs published 
 by the Musee pedagogique and covering a wide range of subjects of 
 educational interest. 
 
 Rec. des monog. ped. for Recueil des monographies pedagogiques. Expo- 
 sition Universelle de 1889. A series of monograpihs in siix volumes 
 published 'by the government for the Exposition of 1889, also appearing 
 as the second series of the Mem. et doc. sco. above. 
 
 Rep. Com. Ed. for Report of the United States Commissioner of Edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Statistique for Statistique de I'enseignement primaire en France. 
 
 9 
 
THE PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM 
 OF FRANCE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The civil and political organization of France is so en- 
 tirelydifferent from ours in the United States, that a very 
 brief exposition of that orgfanization here may 
 save considerable confusion hereafter. In all ^'^^1 ^^ 
 France and Algeria there are ninety depart- -p. . . 
 ments, including the territory of Belfort. Each 
 depart ement is divided into arrondissements, each arrondisse- 
 ment into cantons, and each canton into^ communes. Roughly 
 speaking, the departments correspond to our states, the arron- 
 dissements to our counties, or perhaps better our congressional 
 districts, and the communes to our towns or cities, the canton 
 being merely an administration district, the seat of a justice 
 of the peace, 'and serving as a recruitment division, and an 
 electoral unit for councillors. The departments and the com- 
 munes are the only divisions thait have a real political organi- 
 zation of their own. At the head of each department is a pre- 
 fect appointed by the central government, with a sub-prefect 
 over each arrondissement, and each commune has its mayor 
 who is elected by the members of the municipal council, in their 
 turn elected by the popular vote. Each of these officials is as- 
 sisted by an advisory council, the prefect having two, one for 
 civil and political matters, the conseil general du departement, 
 and the other for educational affairs, the conseil departemental. 
 
 II 
 
12 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Besides the communes and the departments, we find the de- 
 partments united for educational purposes into still larger 
 divisions, the ac^idejiiies. There are seventeen 
 
 T^. . • of these in France and Xlsreria, and at the head 
 
 Divisions _^~^„ — , * _..v.:..u ' 
 
 of each is a rector appointed by the President 
 of the Republic and responsible for all three degrees of edu- 
 "caittSn^ primary, secondary and higher. The national gov- 
 ernment exercises a direct control over eveiy department of 
 education in France, though the smaller political divisions have 
 certain powers of initiative and control. Higher education is 
 given in the universities, with one_for each academy; second- 
 ary education is given in the lycees and the colleges. Tlie dif- 
 ference between these last two is chiefly oaie of administration, 
 the lycees being under the direct control of the central gov- 
 ernment, and the colleges in charge of the communes, with 
 the government, however, always exercising a supervising 
 influence. 
 
 The expressions primary education and secondary education 
 have quite different meanings in France from the same expres- 
 sions with us, and whenever the words occur in 
 
 Primary and i\^\^ ^-g^t they must be always understood in 
 
 ■J, ,■ ^ the French signification. In the United States, 
 Education _ ° _ ' 
 
 the difference between primary and secondary 
 schools is a latitudinal one: that is, the primary course begins 
 when the child is five or six years of age and continues until 
 he is twelve or fourteen. At this point the primary school 
 course is completed, and the secondaiy begins. In France we 
 find quite a different state of affairs. There the division be- 
 tween primary and secondary schools is purely a longitudinal 
 one. The primary school course begins theoretically, at least, 
 when the child is six years of age and continues until he is 
 thirteen, although it may be lengthened somewhat at each end 
 by the ecoles materncllcs, the classes enfantines, the cours 
 complementaires , the ecoles primaires siiperieurcs, or by the 
 ecoles mamielles d'apprentissage. The first two of these pre- 
 cede the elementary school course, and the last three follow it. 
 The maximum length of the school life, then, covers the period 
 
INTRODUCTION 1 3 
 
 from the child's th|rd^ _to his sixteenth year. All this educa- 
 tion is absolutely free, even thoueh it may not be open to 
 every child that wants it. 
 
 The_ se cond ary school which begins normally at nine years 
 and continues for nine" years has always a preparatory section, 
 so that the child may really enter at six or seven years of age 
 and fodlow work which is of exactly the same nature as that 
 given in the primary schools. Such a child, however, is not 
 receiving primary instruction at all, but secondary. At these 
 secondary schools, the lycecs and the colleges, there are al- 
 ways fees for instruction which vary according to the class 
 and the school. On account of the fees connected with the 
 secondary schools, one naturally finds there a different^ social 
 class from that in the primary schools, although from my 
 own observation in the elementary departments of the second- 
 ary schools I have not found the quality of the instruction at 
 all commensurate with the difference in cost to the pupils. 
 
 The primary school in France is in no sense a preparation 
 for the secondary school, for while transition between the 
 two is not absolutely impossible, yet France has 
 had too many centuries O'f monarchical and so- The Primary 
 cial traditions to be able to put them aside all School 
 
 at once. The Revolution made the nation a j^s ^im 
 republic for the first time, but changes in the 
 outward habits of a people are always far more easily effected 
 that those in the inner consciousness. Even to-day there is a 
 very marked distinctio'U between the paying pupils in the 
 secondary schools and the non-paying pupils in the elementary 
 schools. The course in the primary schools is nitended to fit 
 the pupils for agricultural, industrial, and commercial life; 
 that rn"^^e2secOTdary_ s^^^^ for the _ university .and so for 
 
 the professional world. The elementary primary instruction — 
 that is, tliat between seven and thirteen — has been called the 
 "minimum of primary iristi*uction, the limit below which it 
 ought not to descend, the just debt which the country owes to 
 all its children." It is " sufficiently extensive to make a man 
 
14 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 of the one that receives it, and at the same time sufficiently 
 
 modest tO' be realized everywhere." ^ 
 
 By means of the liberal courses offered in the secondary 
 
 schools, the pupil. there has no' less than four optional courses, 
 
 the classical, the Latin — modern lanonasfe, the 
 
 econ ary Latin — ^scientific, and the modern lansfuag'e — 
 Courses _ _ o o 
 
 scientific course.^ Thus the students may very 
 
 easily prepare for any department of the university. The 
 natural close of the secondary course is marked by one of the 
 g-rades of the haccalaureat, for this degree in France comes 
 at the beginning oi the work in higher education and not as 
 with us at its close. It is often said that the cours.e. in the 
 French college or lycee carries the boy just about ^ through 
 the sophomoire year in our best American colleges. While 
 this is not true in all the subjects, it is perhaps a fair state- 
 ment of the case. 
 
 1 Guizot, Expose dcs motifs des projets de lot sur I'instniction primaire, 
 June 28, 1833, Gr. II, p. 3. 
 
 ~ Plan d'etiides et programmes complets de I'enseignement secondaire 
 (the new program for secondary schools, 1902). 
 
CHAPTER II 
 The Central Authority 
 
 In France, the \Vhode question of education is considered 
 from a national point of view. Ever since the time of the 
 Revolution, at least, the general government 
 has been gradually assuming more and more of ^" 5^ '^^" 
 the responsibility for the education of its citi- 
 zens. This centralization reached its maximum in 1889 when 
 the public school teachers all over France were made officers 
 of the State, and began to receive their salaries from the na- 
 tional treasury. To-day the French educational system is one 
 of the most hig'hly centralized systems of the world, and in- 
 deed its uniformity has long been a matter of comment. The 
 almost classic instance of the Minister oi Public Instruction, 
 however, who was overjoyed because on the same day and at 
 the same time, in all the lycees of France the pupils of the 
 same class were translating the same page of Demosthenes or 
 Cicero ^ is fortunately no longer true. Now the present con- 
 dition is far away from that blighting uniformity. Yet even 
 to-day, too little is left for the initiative of the individual 
 teadher. Soon after the new programs of May and July, 
 1902, for the secondary schools were published, complaints 
 began to come in from- the teachers on account of the lack of 
 correlation of the subjects of instruction. The same criticism 
 might be made of most of the programs in the primary schools. 
 The educational authorities seem to ignore the fact that there 
 is a pedagogical as well as a logical order for the study of a 
 given subject. The work in each subject has apparently been 
 
 1 Compayre, Organisation Pedagogique et Legislation des £coles Pri- 
 maires, p. 5. 
 
 15 
 
1 6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 outlined with the idea of developing that subject logically, ir- 
 respective of the work that is being done in any other sub- 
 ject. Not long since, I visited a class in commercial law in 
 an ecole primaire superienre. The lesson of the day was based 
 on the relative advantages of single and double entry book- 
 keeping. As the pupils were leaving the room, I ventured to 
 remark, " I suppose the class has had some little practice in 
 the two systems." " I do not know,," replied the professor, 
 "but I will find out." He called up one oi the boys and asked 
 him. " Yes," said the boy, " we had the two systems last 
 year." This may have been an unusual instance, yet it serves 
 to show to what extremes a lack of correlation may lead. 
 
 The control of all this system of education is vested in a 
 
 minister whose official title is Ministre de I' Instruction pur- 
 
 hlique et des Beaux-Arts, and who also inspects 
 
 Minister ^^^ exercises a certain control over private 
 
 ^^ ^ .'^ schools as well. This office really dates from 
 
 Instruction -^ 
 
 1828. Under the Convention, the educational 
 ajffairs of the country were administered by one of the com- 
 mittees of the Convention, the coniite d'instruction piiblique of 
 sixteen members.^ Soon after this these matters were trans- 
 ferred to the Minister of the Interior under the especial care 
 of a director-general of public instruction. Napoleon's de- 
 cree in organizing the University" left this still under the same 
 department, but the active head was the Grand Master of the 
 University. This arrangement continued in force until 1824, 
 when the ministry of religious affairs and public instruction 
 was created.^ About four years later, the ministry of public 
 instruction was definitely organized in its present form,* and 
 the religious affairs were divided among the departments of 
 education, justice, and the interior. Under the French sys- 
 tem of government, the office of minister is essentially a 
 political one, changing with the varying fortunes of the domi- 
 
 ^ Loi, 7 Fructidor, An II (Aug. 24, 1794), Gr. I, p. 97. 
 
 2 Decret, Mar. 17, 1808, Art. 103, Gr. I, p. 198. 
 
 3 Ordonnance, Aug. 26, 1824, Gr. I, p. 328. 
 * Ordonnance, Feb. 10, 1829, Gr. I, p. 340. 
 
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 
 
 17 
 
 nant coalition then in control of the government. The fact 
 that no one party in France has a preponderating influence in 
 the national politics tends to make the changes of ministry far 
 more frequent. Indeed from the beginning of the Third Re- 
 public until 1902, there were no less than thirty-two changes of 
 this sort. Except for the fact that the general method of ad- 
 ministration was thoroughly bureaucratic, these rapid changes 
 would have militated seriously against the development of 
 any consistent system of education in France. The Minister 
 owes his position to the President and is directly responsible 
 for the entire conduct of the educational affairs of the nation. 
 With the exception of a very few of the higher educational 
 officers, whose appointment is vested directly in the President 
 of the Republic, the Minister has the power of appointment 
 and removal over all those under him, either by exercise of his 
 individual prerogative or through the delegation of this power 
 to his subordinates. Nevertheless, in this latter case, the ex- 
 ercise of this power is carefully safeguarded. Tlie Minis- 
 ter's direct power of appointment here includes that of all the 
 faculty of the normal schools, and the directors and all the 
 regular fully certificated teachers in the higher primary 
 schools. In some oi these latter establishments, however, 
 where the work is somewhat professional in its character, he 
 shares this power with the Minister of Commerce and In- 
 dustry.^ His special communications to the rectors or the 
 prefects are issued under the name of instructions, and they 
 deal with the minor regulations of the service. Tlie ordi- 
 nary regulations of the Minister which serve to interpret, sup- 
 plement or apply the lois of the parliament or the decrets of 
 the President are known as arretes, and for these he alone is 
 responsible. In some of the more important questions, he is 
 compelled to consult the conseil superieur, and in these cases 
 the arrets always states this fact. 
 
 To guide him safely through the legal mazes of the various 
 
 1 Also, though to a less extent, with various other Cabinet officers, nota- 
 bly the Ministers of War, of the Navy, of Public Works, of Agriculture, 
 of the Galonies, and of the Interior. 
 
l8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 questions that may come before him, the Minister has a kind 
 
 of cabinet called the comite du contentieux, con- 
 
 omi e u sistinpf of seventeen members, almost all of 
 Contentteux 
 
 whom are lawyers. This committee has no 
 
 real poAver of its own, and the Minister is under no obligation 
 to consult it ; it is an advisory board pure and simple, and can 
 consider only those questions that the Minister chooses to sub- 
 mit to it. When a question is thus referred tO' the committee, 
 the matter is ordinarily given to one of its members to in- 
 vestigate thoroughly. After this work is completed, the mem- 
 ber reports to the full board, the question is discussed by the 
 committee as a whole, and the opinion of the majority sent to 
 the Minister. 
 
 On the financial side, the Minister is charged with the prep- 
 aration of the annual budget, and is responsible for the proper 
 expenditure of the money voted for his depart- 
 * ment. He consults his immediate heads of de- 
 
 partments, who have primed themselves in turn from their sub- 
 ordinates, as to the specific need of each phase of the educa- 
 tional work. By the time these estimates reach the Minister, 
 they have been subjected to a course of pruning all along the 
 line. The Minister then examines carefully all the demands, 
 cuts down some, rejects others entirely, and determines upon 
 the schedule he will submit to the Minister of Finance. This 
 minister in his turn brings together the demands of his col- 
 leagues, the council of ministers reviews the whole budget, and 
 finally decides upon what to present to the Parlement. Here 
 again the various amounts are submitted to another scrutiny, 
 and the Minister is often called upon to substantiate the need 
 for his demands on the floor of the Qiambers. The Minister 
 is directly responsible for the funds placed at the disposal of 
 his department, and no expense may be undertaken nor any 
 money paid out save on his order. The total amount of the 
 budget for 1903 was 215,939,396 ^ francs, an increase of some 
 seven and a quarter millions over the previous year. These 
 figures do not include the appropriation for the Beaux-Arts, but 
 1 Budget des Defenses de I'Exercice, 1903. pp. 11-12. 
 
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY , jg 
 
 include many objects like the Bureau of Longitude and the 
 National Library that are more or less closely connected with 
 educational work. Of this total amount, 163,876,445 ^ francs 
 represents the amount expended by the State for primary in- 
 struction. Tliese figures do not include the amount expended 
 by the five cities Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux and Lille, 
 which are in the class of cities having more than 150,000 in- 
 habitants. These are in a group by themselves and have to 
 bear the major part of their educational expenses. In 1903 the 
 budget of Paris alone for its primary, higher and professional 
 schools was 28,557,776 francs." This does not represent the 
 total amount spent annually in France even for the public 
 schools, for the Minister of Agriculture has various agricul- 
 tural schools under his direction and the Minister of Com- 
 merce and Industry has control over many commercial and 
 technical schools in all parts of the country besides the four 
 great national schools at Armentieres, Vierzon, Voiron, and 
 Nantes. 
 
 Directly below the Minister are no less than twenty-five 
 bureaux charged with the various matters pertaining to the 
 
 three grades of education, to the fine arts and 
 
 1 1- • 1 1 r 11 1 • r Bureaus 
 
 to accounts, and divided as follows : cabinet of 
 
 the Minister, one bureau; higher education, six; secondary 
 education, four; primary education, five; fine arts, six; and 
 accounts, three. At the head of each division of the edu- 
 cational system we find a director. The five bureaux under 
 the authority of the director of primary instruction are occu- 
 
 1 Tlie remarkable increase in the amount expended by the State on pri- 
 mary education since 1870 is worthy of note here : 
 
 Budget of 1870 9,988,300 francs. 
 
 Budget of 1880 26,677,813 " 
 
 Budget of 1890 129,388,610 
 
 Budget of 1899 153,220,255 
 
 {Rapport sur I'Organisatioji ct la Situation de rEnseignement Primaire, 
 p. 105.) 
 
 The striking difference between the figures for 1880 and those for 1890 
 is due to the fact that during this decade the great educational laws were 
 passed, and the State assumed responsibility for the teachers' salaries. 
 - Ville de Paris. Budget de I'Exercise 1903, p. 5. 
 
20 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 pied respectively with : ( i ) the personnel of primary education 
 
 and O'f the higher primary schools; (2) dis- 
 
 Director of cipline, programs and examinations; (3) con- 
 
 nmary struction of sdhools, and school supplies; (4) 
 
 Instruction _ ' ri- ' v-r/ 
 
 teaching force in the elementary primary 
 schools; (5) administration and accounts of the normal 
 schools, and scholarships. Among the directors of primary 
 instruction since the creation of that office in 1868, have been 
 M. Greard and M. Buisson, two men that have done much for 
 the cause of elementary education in France during the last 
 thirty years. 
 
 Throughout the French educational system, the idea seems 
 to be to place a single responsible head over each of the vari- 
 ous departments but to provide also an advisory 
 
 Superior ^^^^ administrative board that shall limit the 
 Council -,.,.. 
 
 field of his action to a greater or less extent. 
 
 The Minister has his conseil siiperieur, the rector the conseil 
 de I'universite and the conseil accdemique, and the prefect the 
 conseil departemental. Ever since the organization of the 
 University under Napoleon I. there has existed some body 
 similar to the conseil superieiir, though its composition and its 
 powers have varied from time to time. For nearly a half- 
 century of its existence, it bore the name, conseil de I'univer- 
 site. The council in its present form dates practically from 
 1880.^ Before this time, besides the officials directly con- 
 nected with education, the great bodies of the state had been 
 represented : namely, the Institut, the magistracy, the clergy, 
 and I'euseignement lihre,^ the representatives of all being ap- 
 pointed by the President of the Republic. To-day the great 
 majority of the fifty-seven members of this council are elected 
 by their peers, and they belong almost entirely to public in- 
 
 1 Lot, Feb. 27, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 126-132. 
 
 2 " The law of June 28, 1833, divided the primary schools into ecoles 
 publique and ecoles privees. The law of March 15, 1850, gave the name 
 ecoles libres to educational institutions founded or supported by individ- 
 uals or societies." (Buisson: Dictionnaire de Pedagogic, Pt. I, Vol. II, p. 
 2349.) The great majority of these ecoles libres are under the direction of 
 Tarious organizations of the Catholic Church. 
 
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 2 1 
 
 struction. There are five members of the Institute chosen by 
 their colleagues; nine councilors appointed by the President 
 on recommendation of the Minister and chosen from the pres- 
 ent and past directors of public education, the general inspect- 
 ors, the rectors, the academy inspectors, and the professeurs ^ 
 of public instruction; thirty-three representatives of higher and 
 secondary education and six of primary education, all chosen 
 by their fellows; and four representatives of private schools, 
 appointed by the President. Tlie term of office in each case 
 is four years, and there is no limit to the number of terms a 
 councilor may serve. The full council has only two regular 
 meetings per year, the greater part of the work being done by 
 the permanent section, composed of the nine members ap- 
 pointed by the President and six others designated for this pur- 
 pose by the Minister. This sub-committee has among its 
 duties : ( i ) to study the programs and regulations before 
 these are brought before the whole council; (2) to give advice 
 on the creation of faculties, lycees, colleges, normal schools, 
 on the foundation, transfer or suppression of chairs, on books 
 which ought to be kept out of the class room or the schooil 
 library, and finally on all questions of studies, administration, 
 discipline or school affairs in general that the Minister may 
 refer to it." The powers of the council itself are administra- 
 tive, judicial and disciplinary. Besides those specifically enu- 
 merated above, it advises the Minister on regulating the con- 
 duct of all examinations, exercising surveillance over the 
 private schools, granting the demands of foreigners tO' teach 
 in, to open or to direct schools. It is also the final court of 
 appeal from decisions of the academic councils in matters of 
 contention or discipline as well as on appeals from the de- 
 
 1 The term professeiir has quite a different connotation in France from 
 wihat it has in the United States. Besides its use in the university as with 
 us, many other teachers have the right to this title : namely, teachers in 
 the colleges and the lycees that are agreges, and also those teachers in the 
 field of primary instruction that hold the special certificate for teaching in 
 the normal schools. Some of these last are often found in the higher pri- 
 mary schools. 
 
 • Lot, Feb. 27. 1880, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 129. 
 
22 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 cisions of the dq)artmental councils forbidding the opening 
 of private scliools or excluding public or private school teach- 
 ers permanently from exercising their vocations/ 
 
 The Coniitc consultatif is really one of the most active of 
 
 all the advisory bodies of the ministr\-. It has now been 
 
 in existence for almost exactly thirty years, and 
 
 P ' . * is the successor of the former committee of gen- 
 eral inspectors. Each of its three divisions, for 
 superior, secondary, and primary education respectively, meets 
 at least once a month. The primary section of this commit- 
 tee is representative, as far as possible, of each one of the 
 separate interests found in the priman^ system. Its members 
 are: the inspectors general, the vice-rector of the Academy of 
 Paris, the director of the Mu>sce pedagogique, a primary in- 
 spector and the directors of the two normal schools of the de- 
 partment of the Seine, and one of the general inspectr esses 
 of the ccolcs inatcrncllcs. Tlie director of primary instruc- 
 tion is a member of the committee ex ofhcio, but the other 
 members not specifically designated above are appointed by the 
 Minister for one year. Tlie special duties of this committee 
 are to g^ive advice on requests of all sorts coming up from the 
 private schools, on the progress of studies in the normal 
 schools, on the composition of the examination papers for the 
 different brci'cts, on promotions as well as on all questions that 
 the Minister may submit to it.- Like the couiitc dtc coiiten- 
 ticux, however, this commission is merely an advison,- body. 
 
 With all these advisers, it would seem as though the French 
 
 Minister of Public Instruction would be little more than the 
 
 mouthpiece of these various boards. Of course 
 
 \\orkot ^j^^ ^j^^^j^ ^£ ^j^l^ depends upon the personality 
 
 the Minister . ^, . , 
 
 of the Minister himselt. The system certamly 
 
 permits a man to leave the real work to others. One hears 
 
 it said that the Minister really knows very little of the inner 
 
 working of the educational system, for he must be too much 
 
 1 Loi, Feb. 27. 1880. Arts. 5. 7. Gr. V, p. 129. 
 
 ^Decret, May 11, 1880, Arts. 2, 11. Bull. Adm., 1880, XXIII, p. 495- 
 
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 23 
 
 of a politician. There is so much routine business to be done 
 and so many papers to be sigiied, which nobody else is per- 
 mitted to do, that this itself constitutes a severe drain on a 
 man's time and strength. It is not unusual to hear : "The Min- 
 ister is not signing papers this week. That matter of yours will 
 have to wait." The first of these criticisms does not seem 
 to have been true with the former Minister, M. Chaumie ^ 
 who is a charming man personally and has for a long time 
 had real educational interests outside his ofificial position. The 
 second of these is unfortunately too true. It is one of the 
 faults of the French system not to give more independence 
 to the subordinate officials, instead of carrying so many things 
 up to the Minister, when after all, his signature is a mere 
 formality. This necessarily makes official matters often move 
 very slowly. 
 
 All the above-mentioned bodies are directly connected with 
 the ministerial office in Paris and never come into actual con- 
 tact with the sdhools; they are stafY officers 
 
 and their official information is all gained at Czeneral 
 
 1 1 1 -ITT- 1 T r Inspectors 
 
 second hand. We now come to a body of men 
 
 and women that are, so to speak, the chief field officers — the 
 inspecteurs generaux. Tliis office has been in existence for 
 more than one hundred years, but it was not until after fifty 
 years of activity that its members were definitely made respon- 
 sible for the inspection of primary schools.^ At first, two of 
 these inspectors were so designated and their number has been 
 increased at various times since then, so that to-day there are 
 eleven, including one specially appointed to inspect accounts 
 in the normal schools, and another inspecteur hors cadre, di- 
 rector of the ecole norniale primaire superienre at Saint-Qoud. 
 This latter takes as active a part in the inspection as his other 
 duties as head of the normal school will permit. Besides these 
 there is still another, charged with the inspection of drawing, 
 but this one comes more properly under the fine arts depart- 
 
 1 Minister from June 7, 1902, to Jan. 24, 1905. 
 
 2 Decret, Mar. 9, 1852, Art. 6, Gr. Ill, p. 494. 
 
24 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ment of the Ministry of Public Instruction. Since 1881/ 
 there have been women general inspectors for the ecoles 
 maternelles. These are now four in number and are appointed 
 by the Minister of Public Instruotion. The men are appointed 
 by the President of the Republic on nomination of the 
 Minister. 
 
 As an instance of the low salaries paid to educational people 
 
 in France, it is worth noting that these general inspectors, 
 
 picked from all France and practically at the 
 
 baianes ^ ^^ ^^^ educational ladder, receive only 10,- 
 
 and Duties ^ . , ^1 r , i- • , 
 
 000 francs per year each. They further divide 
 
 a sum of 27,000 francs for travelling expenses. Compared 
 with the salaries paid even in somewhat similar positions in 
 the United States, these amounts seem ridiculously small, and 
 besides in some respects living expenses are hig^her in France 
 than they are with us. For purposes of inspection, France 
 is divided into seven districts,^ and the inspectors are assigned 
 to the various fields each year by the Minister. In practice, 
 however, an inspector usually has the same assignment for at 
 least two years, but this is far too shorit a time to enable a man 
 really to know his district, and if an inspector is not ac- 
 quainted with his assignment, how can he be in position to 
 discharge his just responsibilities? The general inspectors 
 are directly subordinate to the Minister, and serve as his eyes 
 and hands. They are especially useful to him in investigat- 
 ing in his name any subject that demands immediate attention. 
 " They have," said M. Buisson, then director of primary in- 
 struction, in a report to the Minister, " a three- fold duty : first, 
 and as an essential source of information, to visit the normal 
 schools and a certain number of primary schools ; next, to set 
 a value upon the services and the merits of the academy in- 
 spectors, the primary inspectors, and the directors, directresses, 
 and professors in the normal schools;" (to-day the higher 
 primary schools should also be added here) " finally, to give 
 
 ^ Decret, Aug. 2, 1881, Art. 6, Gr. V, p. 304. 
 
 « Arriti, Mar. 21, 1882. Bull. Adtn., 1882, XXV, p. 724. 
 
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 25 
 
 general and comparative information on the progress of pri- 
 mary instruction in the various parts of France. ... A gen- 
 eral inspector is not a primary inspector on a large scale ; he is 
 the direct representative of the Minister, carrying about every- 
 where the instructions and the inspirations of the Minister 
 himself, and interesting himself in everything that the Min- 
 ister would, if he could accomplish personally so great a 
 task." ^ Once a year in December, the general inspectors 
 meet with the rectors at Paris and draw up a list of candidates 
 for promotion to be submitted to the Minister. These in- 
 clude the primary inspectors and the teaching force in the nor- 
 mal schools and the higher primary schools. 
 
 1 Rapport au Ministre, Feb. 13, 1880. Bull. Adm., 1880, XXIII, p. 170. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The Local Authorities 
 
 For puq>oses of educational administration, all France is 
 divided into seventeen divisions (each made up of several de- 
 partments) which are now known as academies. ' 
 Academies . , i , r i r i i- • • 
 
 At the head of each of these divisions is a rec- 
 tor, the highest of the local educational authorities. Tliis 
 organization dates from Napoleon's creation of the University/ 
 and although subject to various subsequent modifications, it 
 is the one existing to-day. One of the articles of this organic 
 decree of 1808 is rather interesting for the light it throws on 
 the curriculum of the elementary school at that time. Tlie 
 last of the rector's charges was " the little schools, the pri- 
 mary schools where one learns reading, writing, and the first 
 notions of arithmetic." " Tlie seventeen academies to-day are: 
 Aix, Alger, Besangon, Bordeaux, Caen, Chambery, Clermont, 
 Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Paris, Poi- 
 tiers, Rennes, Toulouse, each one bearing the name of the city 
 that is the academy seat, and each of these, except Alger and 
 Chambery, having its own university with at least a faculty 
 of letters. 
 
 Tlie head of each of these academies is the rector.^. He 
 
 is appointed directly by the President of the Republic, and 
 
 must hold the doctor's degree.* The rector is 
 
 the chief of all these departments of education, 
 
 superior, secondary, and primary, although his powers as far 
 
 ^ Decret, Mar. 17. 1808, Art. 4, Gr. I, p. 196. 
 
 2 Ibid., Arts. 5-6. 
 
 3 In the academy of Paris, the Minister of Public Instruction himself 
 holds the title of rector, the duties of the ordinary rector being performed 
 by a vice-rector. 
 
 * Decret, Aug. 22, 1854, Art. 16, Gr. Ill, p. 594. 
 26 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 
 
 27 
 
 as the last is concerned are chiefly confined to the pedagogical 
 side of the school work. In a circular to the rectors in 1854, 
 the Minister said : " You are called to give the impetus to the 
 intellectual work of the youth in the primary, secondary, and 
 higher schools. It is a privilege which you divide with no 
 other authority and which nObody will attempt tO' dispute with 
 you, because it is the very essence of your functions." ^ The 
 unification of authority here is necessarily a great advantage, 
 for it helps to keep each division of the educational system 
 in its own sphere and prevents waste of energy by an over- 
 lapping of the fields of work. Except for the short period 
 1 850- 1 854, the powers of the rectors have not been very ma- 
 terially changed since the creation of the office. Some of the 
 less important ones, however, have been delegated to other 
 officers, especially to the prefect ^ and to the academy inspector. 
 The normal schools are under the special care oi the rector.^ 
 He looks after the pupils during their stay at the school. It 
 is he who authorizes their promotion from class 
 to class or advises the Minister to exclude them Relations 
 
 from the school on the basis of the annual ^- , 
 
 Normal 
 
 examinations and after consultation with the Schools 
 director of the school and with the academy 
 inspector.* The rector's influence on the governing board of 
 each normal school is most important, for the president of this 
 body is his right-hand man, the academy inspector, and be- 
 sides he appoints four of the other six members, the remain- 
 ing two being members of the conseil general of their depart- 
 ment chosen by their colleagues.^ The annual budget as well 
 as other recommendations or suggestions from this board are 
 transmitted to the Minister by the rector, with any comments 
 or qualifications that the latter may desire to make. There is 
 
 1 Circ, Sept. 15, 1854, Gr. Ill, p. 598. 
 
 2 In Algeria the rector has all the powers ordinarily exercised by the 
 prefect in reference to appointing, transferring, or removing teachers. Loi, 
 Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 68, Gr. V, p. 699. 
 
 3 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 57, Gr. V, p. 732. 
 * Ibid., Art. 75, Gr. V, p. 737. 
 
 ^ Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 47, Gr. V, p. 185. 
 
28 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 really nothing taking place in the administration of the normal 
 schcx>l that escapes the eye of the rector, but he follows es- 
 pecially the regulation and aj^plication of the programs and 
 keq)s himself in close touch with the moral and intellectual 
 education of the future teachers. Moreover, he has to esti- 
 mate the value of the work of the directors and the teachers, 
 and liis reports together with those oi the inspecteurs gene- 
 raitx form practically the Ministers sole source of informa- 
 tion on which to base his removals or promotions. 
 
 Tlie rector's relations with the higher primary schools are 
 
 much the same as with the normal schools, and in most of 
 
 the academies the fomier are sufficiently few in 
 
 With the number to receive a fair share of his attention. 
 
 igier Whenever these primary schools have boarding 
 
 Primary sr j o 
 
 Schools pupils, this department is not conducted by the 
 State, but ordinarily by the director of the 
 school, and here the rector's inspection considers merely the 
 general influence on the morals and discipline of the pupils. 
 As before, he is chiefly interested in the methods, the programs 
 and the worth of the teaching force. Here too. the teachers 
 appointed by the Minister often form the subject of special re- 
 ports of the rector. These constitute the majority of the 
 teachers in these schools. However, in case of lack of teach- 
 ers provided with the special certificate for teaching in the 
 normal schools or the higher primary schools, certain posi- 
 tions may be filled by ad joints appointed by the prefect.^ Tlie 
 members of the coinite de patronage instituted in connection 
 with each higher primary school and composed of prominent 
 citizens of the community are appointed by the Minister on 
 nomination of the rector.' In fact the rector himself and 
 the academy inspector, too, are members ex officio of each of 
 the committees within their jurisdiction. Naturally on ac- 
 count of his multifarious duties, it is quite impossible for the 
 rector to know personally every detail of the work in each 
 
 1 Ministerial circular to the prefects, Apr. 15, 1891, in interpreting the 
 laws of 1886 and 1889. Circ, XI, p. 433. 
 > Arrete, Jan. 18. 1887, Art. 33, Gr. V, p. 775. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 20 
 
 individual higher primary school of his academy, and so the 
 academy inspector acts as a kind of lieutenant or field officer 
 in each department. This latter is the personal representative 
 of the rector and often takes up the work where his superior 
 officer fails for lack of time. 
 
 In the field of primary instruction proper, the powers and 
 duties of the rector are much more general, and he is con- 
 cerned with movements and conditions rather 
 than with individuals. He has only an indirect With the 
 influence over the externa of the schools, but „'°^^'' 
 
 rrimary 
 
 over tlie interna, that is, the programs, the gen- Schools 
 eral direction of the studies, the control of 
 school exercises, proposed improvements of method, etc., his 
 influence is very strong. Besides this, he starts investiga- 
 tions, transnn'ts ministerial instructions, approves the lists of 
 books to be used in, the class room, tlie llibrary, or as prizes, 
 and by reports of the academy inspectors as well as by per- 
 sonal observation he watches the organization of the cantonal 
 teachers' conferences in each of the departments under his 
 control. No school examination escapes his influence. Me 
 appoints the examining boards for the primary certificate, for 
 the liigher primary certificate and for the teachers' licenses 
 (the two brevets de capacite, and the certificat d'aptifiide 
 pedagogique). Tlie rectors also have the right to inspect all 
 private schools, but this inspection is usually limjited to the 
 conditions affecting morality and health, and for the subject 
 matter taught to sec that it is " not contrary to moral well- 
 being, the constitution or the law." ' 
 
 Reference has already been made to the fact that the rector 
 has charge of all three degrees of the educational system. 
 His powers and duties toward the secondary 
 and superior institutions are exactly parallel to Academic 
 those in the primary field. To aid him in this 
 work he is assisted by the conseil acadcmique. ITiis board is 
 composed almost exclusively of representatives of the two 
 higher branches of education and occupies the same relative 
 
 ^Loi, Mar. 15, 1850, Art. 21, Gr. Ill, p. 338. 
 
k 
 
 30 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 position toward their schools that the conseil departemental 
 does toward the primary schools. 
 
 The academy inspector is the real active head of the pri- 
 mary instruction in each department. Appointed first as a 
 
 mere local assistant to the rector, and even now 
 Academy ... 
 
 Inspector representmg- himi somewhat in higher and 
 
 secondary education, to-day almost by force of 
 circumstances his attention is chiefly centered upon the pri- 
 mary schools. All the questions relative to primary instruction 
 are either submitted to his approval and by him transmitted 
 to the higher functionaries, or need his intervention at some 
 stage of their progress. In all matters pertaining to methods 
 of instruction and pedagogical affairs in general, he is sub- 
 ordinate to the rector, but in the personal and administrative 
 aspects of primary education, he is quite independent of that 
 authority. The ofiice dates from the time of Napoleon I., 
 but has existed in its present form only about fifty years. To- 
 day there are ninety-nine of these inspectors, one for each 
 department except the Seine, the Nord and the Bouches-du^ 
 Rhone. In Paris there are eight, one of them being the di- 
 rector of primary instruction in this department, and having 
 by courtesy the duties and powers with reference to educa- 
 tional administration that usually devolve upon the prefect. 
 In the Nord and the Bouches-du-Rhom also, one of the two 
 academy inspectors is specifically charged with primary in- 
 struction. 
 
 Tlie Minister has full power to appoint and remove these 
 officers,' and in general has chosen them from among the 
 professors of secondary education. This has undoubtedly 
 given some basis for the charge that they are rather indiffer- 
 ent to the interests of the primary schools. Mr. Brereton, in 
 the course of his study of the French schools,- did not find this 
 criticism borne out by the actual conditions. This naturally 
 depends upon temperament, sympathies and viewpoint. In 
 
 1 Decret, Mar. 9, 1852, Art. 3, Gr. Ill, p. 493. 
 
 2 Brereton, Rural Schools of Northwest France, Engl. Bd. of Ed. Special 
 Reports, VII, p. 21. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 31 
 
 some departments, 'however, one finds the academy inspector 
 interested in the primary schools in only a general way. His 
 previous preparation — rentember, he is taken froni the ranks 
 of secondary education — has not been such as would enable 
 him to approach the problems of the lower schools on the 
 basis of practical experience. Whatever he knows about 
 their methods and their needs has been entirely gained from 
 reading and observation and not from any active first hand 
 experience. 
 
 The French academy inspector, however, has a particularly 
 delicate mission to perform and he needs to be something of 
 a politician in order tO' acquit himself of his 
 task creditably. He occupies a kind of middle 
 position in the educational scale, in close enough touch with 
 the actual rank and file of the profession by his frequent visits 
 to the schools to encourage them by 'his good counsels, and 
 yet near enough to the higher authorities to command their 
 attention and their confidence. " To the academy inspectors 
 falls the task of forcing the application of the laws, decrees, 
 arretes and circulars that have established compulsory, free 
 and lay education, that have reformed the programs, and have 
 assigned the place of honor in the schools to moral and civic 
 instruction. It is their duty to make the teachers under them 
 understand the spirit of all this, to guide them with their coun- 
 sels, to sustain their courage, and to fortify them against 
 weakness. It devolves upon them to see that the schools are 
 properly installed, to arouse the interest of the municipalities, 
 to cooperate with the authorities of every degree, with the 
 councils, and the local citizens of importance, in order to 
 create around our schools that current of sympathies which is 
 necessary to their prosperity and development." ^ The duties 
 
 1 L' Inspection Academique, p. v. This most admirable volume devoted 
 to the work of the academy inspectors was prepared expressly for the 
 French educational exhibit at the exposition of 1900. It contains examples 
 of the official circulars and instructions addressed hy the academy inspect- 
 ors to their subordinates and also many extracts from their annual reports 
 on the situation of primary instruction in various departments. The wide 
 range of the subjects treated here gives one some idea of the activity of 
 these tireless officials. 
 
32 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 of the academy inspector naturally fall into two general divi- 
 sions, where he is directly subordinate to the rector, and where 
 he works in cooperation with the prefect. 
 
 In conjunction with the rector, the academy inspector is 
 responsible for seeing that the instructions of the Minister 
 
 and the rector are faithfully carried out. In 
 
 Relations ^ns relations with the normal schools, he pre- 
 
 Rector sides over the administrative council, and by 
 
 virtue of this position takes an active part in the 
 financial affairs of the institution. He investigates carefully 
 the candidates for admission and is president of the entrance 
 examination board. As will appear a little later, all this care 
 is not entirely disinterested, for these candidates are the same 
 individuals from among whom three years later he will have 
 to recruit his teachers. He inspects also the class work in 
 the school as well as the accounts of the econome or steward 
 and makes the general condition of the scliool the subject of 
 an annual report to the rector. As far as the higher pri- 
 mary schools are concerned, his duties are very similar. But 
 with the pensionnats that are connected with some of these 
 schools he has nothing to do except to satisfy himself that 
 their moral and hygienic conditions are beyond criticism. 
 Both he and the rector, however, are ex officio members of the 
 comite de patronage of every higher primary school in the 
 department, and in this way may come into close touch with 
 some aspects of the administration in which otherwise they 
 are not officially concerned. The inspector visits the ele- 
 mentary primary schools as much as his time allows and sup- 
 plements his own observation here by the reports of the 
 primary inspectors. While the rector appoints the members 
 of the examining boards for the various certificates and 
 brevets that come in the life of the primary scliools, the 
 academy inspector presides over each one of these commis- 
 sions.^ Thus a uniformity is given to the conduct of these 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. i8, 1887, Art. 120, Gr. V, p. 753 ; and Decret, July 28, 1893, 
 Art. 118, Gr. VI, p. 520. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 
 
 33 
 
 examinations, in each department at least, which was not 
 possible under the old arrang-em'ent where two of these com- 
 missions chose their own presidents. Besides, he prepares 
 questions for many of the examinations and signs the leav- 
 ing' certificates of the lower schools. 
 
 All the externa of the elementary primary schools and the 
 ecoles ntaternelles are subject to the jurisdiction of the prefect 
 
 and the conseil departemental, with the 
 
 , . , . . ... With the 
 
 academy mspector exercismg a restrammg or p ef t 
 
 modifying influence at various points. The 
 most important of the relations between the academy inspector 
 and the prefect are those concerning the teaching force. The 
 academy inspector is in no sense subordinate to the prefect, 
 e\'en though in some things the former cannot act without the 
 cooperation of the latter, but they work together on terms of 
 perfect equality. All the teachers, both men and women, in 
 the elementary primary schools and in the ecoles maternelles 
 are divided into two classes : the stagiaires or probationers, and 
 the titulaires or regular teachers.^ " No one can be appointed 
 titulaire unless he has been stagiaire for at least two years in 
 a public or a private school, holds the certificat d'aptitude 
 pedagogique and is on the eligible list drawn up by the conseil 
 departemental." * The power of appointing the stagiaires 
 rests entirely with the academy inspector,^ hence we see the 
 reason for the careful watch that this official keeps over the 
 normal schools and their pupils and also his superintendence 
 over the various examination boards. The effect of this regu- 
 lation is to center the authority for passing on the eligibility 
 of any person to enter the teaching force of the elementary 
 schools in the educational authorities where it properly be- 
 longs. The titulaires are appointed by the prefect but only 
 on recommendation of the academy inspector.* Thus the 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 22, Gr. V, p. 680. 
 
 2 Ibid., Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 680. 
 'Ibid., Art. 26, Gr. V, p. 681. 
 * Ibid., Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 682. 
 
34 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 powers of these two officials are fairly dove-tailed into each 
 other, for the approval of each is absolutely essential to the 
 permanent appointment of every regular teacher. The pre- 
 fect, however, is under no compulsion to appoint the first 
 nominee of the academy inspector, or even the tenth for 
 that matter, but he cannot appoint on his own initiative. The 
 same conditions prevail in regard to the transfer of a titulaire 
 or the revocation of his right to teach. ^ This dual control 
 would seem to be productive of constant bickerings, but sucli 
 is not the case. Conflicts between these two authorities are 
 rare, and in case of continued difference of opinion the mat- 
 ter would be carried to tlie Minister of Public Instruction for 
 final decision. It has one very good feature, however, in that 
 it safeguards the teachers. The initiative of the academy in- 
 spector removes the teacher from the influence of politics, and 
 on the other hand, the action of the prefect protects him from 
 the possible exercise of any personal spite on the part of the 
 academy inspector. 
 
 The powers of the rectors over private schools have al- 
 
 readv been noted. The academy inspectors have the same 
 
 right of inspection and surveillance. In case 
 
 Powers over ^ j>erson wishes to open a private school, he 
 ^ / , must notify the mairc of the commune, the pre- 
 
 fect, the academy inspector and the govern- 
 ment attorney. The notification to the academy inspector 
 must also include among other papers his diplomas, the names 
 of the places where the applicant has lived, and a statement of 
 the work he has followed during the last ten years, and if he 
 belongs to an association a copy of the statutes of this or- 
 ganization.''' The muirc may oppose the opening of a school 
 in the interests of good morals or hygiene; on any other 
 grounds the opposition depends upon the academy inspector, 
 for the sole rights of opposition in such cases are confined to 
 these tw^o officials. The question is then decided by the conseii 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 30. 1886, Arts. 29, 31, Gr. V, p. 683. 
 a Ibid., Art. 38, Gr. V, p. 686. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES y 
 
 departemental. Either party may appeal to the conseil sur- 
 perieur de I' instruction publique, and the decision of this body 
 is final/ In any case the academy inspector is really the im- 
 portant official in the matter. 
 
 In all matters of disciplinary action against a teacher 
 whether public or private, the academy inspector takes the 
 initiative, and in extreme cases he may absolutely suspend the 
 teacher while the matter is being investigated.^ 
 
 The prefet or chief administrative officer of each depart- 
 ment has had more or less to do with the control of the school 
 
 affairs ever since his office was created by the 
 
 Prefect 
 First Consul. Originally, the prefect for the 
 
 department and the sub-prefect for each arrondissement had 
 merely the right of surveillance, and on the basis of this in- 
 spection sent in regular reports to the Minister of the Interior, 
 for at that point the educational affairs were administered by 
 the Department of the Interior. Under the ordinance of 
 1833,^ the prefect's duties became more specific and he was 
 associated directly with the University authorities. He was 
 to see that the municipal councils established and kept up the 
 primar}^ schools as provided by the law of the previous June. 
 In case of bad faith or neglect in this respect, the royal au- 
 thority could levy a special tax, and have it inscribed in the 
 budget of the commune. This is still essentially true in prin- 
 ciple to-day. The prefect, however, had no direct power over 
 the teachers. From March 1852 until June 1854, under au- 
 thority given by the dictatorial decree of the Emperor, the rec- 
 tors had the power of appointing the primary teachers formerly 
 exercised by the municipal councils. At this latter date a new 
 public instruction law was passed, and the powers of the rec- 
 tors in this respect fell upon the prefects.* 
 
 At that time the prefect was absolutely free to follow his 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 39, Gr. V, p. 688. 
 
 2 Ibid., Arts. 31, zi, 4i> Gr. V, p. 683 et seq. 
 
 • Ordannance, July 16, 1833, Art. 8, Gr. II, p. 28. 
 
 * Loi, June 14, i?^54, Art. 8, Gr. Ill, p. 588. 
 
36 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 own inclination in the appointmient of teachers, and the law 
 
 of October 1886 still left him the actual ap- 
 
 l^rcbent pointing- power, but restricted him to those 
 
 Powers , , . , , , 
 
 teachers that were nomniated by the academy 
 inspector/ By virtue of his position as president oi the 
 conseil departemcutal, the prefect exerts a powerful influence 
 over the schools of his department. He controls to a certain 
 extent the action of this body, for he calls the members to- 
 gether, submits, after consultation with the academy inspector, 
 the questions which they should consider, and finally sees 
 that their decisions are carried intO' effect. Moreover, as an 
 officer of the Interior Department, he is the guardian of the 
 administrative and financial interests of the communes within 
 his jurisdiction. Thus a capable man in this position can 
 serve as a balance wheel between the extreme educational en- 
 thusiast with extravagant ideas on the question of school ex- 
 penses, and the narrow-minded politician who would restrict 
 the school budget to the lowest possible amount. 
 
 After the short-lived departmiental academies had ceased 
 
 to exist in 1854, the new conseils departementmix ' were 
 
 created. It is rather difficult to find exact 
 
 Departmental p^j-^Hels between the French school system and 
 
 Council . ,,-11 
 
 our own, but m- powers and duties, though not 
 in station, these bodies correspond very nearly to onr munic- 
 ipal school boards in the east or the county school boards in 
 the west. Up to that time, as far as primary education is con- 
 cerned, everything has come down from a'bove. Now we find 
 representatives from a lower order with seats in a higher : 
 for example, four primary teachers are elected by their col- 
 leagues to membership in this council. There are fourteen 
 regular members, including the prefect as president and the 
 academy inspector as vice-president. The rest of the mem- 
 bership is made up of four conseillers generaux ^ chosen by 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 682. 
 
 2 Loi, June 14, 1854, Art. 5, Gr. Ill, p. 588. 
 
 3 The conseil general du departement is the legislative body of the de- 
 partment, and must not be confused with the conseil departmental which 
 is really the departmental school board. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 37 
 
 their colleagues, the directors of the two normial schools of 
 the department, the two men and two women teachers elected 
 by their fellow teachers,^ and two primary inspectors desig- 
 nated by the Minister.- In cases o'f contention or discipline 
 affecting the private schools, these institutions may be repre- 
 sented by two delegates, appointed by their fellows. Tihis 
 council in no sense represents the popular will, for the in- 
 fluence of the four conseillers gcneraux can not be vei*y con- 
 siderable in a board of fourteen, especially where the peda- 
 gogical members form sO' large a majority. It is worth not- 
 ing, however, that a combination between the lay members and 
 the primary teachers would leave the central authorities in the 
 minority. The presence ot" these primary teachers here, even 
 though they are usually chosen from among the directors of 
 the schools, gives some assurance that the rank and file of the 
 teachers will at least have an opportunity to be heard. The 
 members of this board are chosen or appointed for three years 
 and serve without compensation, save that the primary in- 
 spectors and the primary teachers that do not live at the chef- 
 lieu of the department are allowed their travelling expenses. 
 
 The powers of the conseil departemental are in their nature 
 educational, administrative or judicial, but they do not extend 
 beyond the limits of primary instruction. The 
 board has no power actually to levy a tax, for 
 in financial matters it is subordinate tO' the conseil general 
 du departcment, but it can indirectly make the communes 
 spend money for education. The subject matter of the pri- 
 mary schools, save for subsequent minor modifications, is sub- 
 stantially that outhned by the decree of January 1887. It 
 is the duty of the conseil departemental to see that these offi- 
 cial programs are duly followed, and it may pass special regu- 
 lations in the application of these. Furthermore, it considers 
 plans for raising the standard of the schools, deliberates on the 
 
 1 In the department of the Seine, this council includes eight conseillers 
 generaux, four primary inspectors and fourteen teachers. 
 
 2 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 44, Gr. V, p. 691, and Bull. Adm., 1901, LXX. 
 p. 176. 
 
38 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 reports and propositions of the academy inspector, and hears 
 and discusses his annual report on the condition and needs of 
 the pubhc schools and on the state of affairs in the private 
 schools/ Under its administrative powers, the conseil de- 
 partemental in conjunction with the municipal coimcil, deter- 
 mines, subject to the approval of the Minister, the number, 
 nature and situation of the public primary schools which 
 should be established in each commune and also the number 
 of teachers necessary for these; ^ it may allow two or more 
 small communes ^ to unite for school purposes ; * it may allow 
 a male teacher to conduct a mixed school, provided there is a 
 woman apjDointed to teach sewing.'"^ It appoints one or more 
 delegates in each canton {delegues c&ntonaux) to supervise the 
 public and private schools.*' Finally, it keeps an eligible Hst, 
 rearranged annually, of the teachers in the department that 
 deserve tO' be appointed titulaires.^ This function is most im- 
 portant, for it is only from this list that the academy inspector 
 may select his nominations to be made to the prefect. To-day, 
 this promotion list is made up partly on the basis of merit 
 and partly on the length of servace. depending upon the 
 teacher's class. 
 
 This conseil departemental is concerned in most of the re- 
 wards and punishments that may fall to the lot of the pri- 
 mary teacher. It approves all the nominations of the academy 
 inspector or the special commissions for the honorable men- 
 
 1 Lou Oct. 30, 1886. Art. 48. Gr. V, p. 692. 
 
 2 Ibid., Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 677. 
 
 » This privilege is not very often used, for local communal pride «eems 
 to induce the communes to support schools of their own. 
 
 1891-1892 1896-1897 1901-1902 
 Number of communes, France and Algeria. 36,492 36,520 36,551 
 Legally united for the support of a school. 871 815 793 
 Number of communes having 100 inhabi- 
 tants or less 784 863 976 
 
 Statistique, V, 1891-1892, p. xl; VI, 1896-1897, p. xlvi ; and VII, 1901- 
 1902, p. xliii. 
 *Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 11, Gr. V, p. 677. 
 6 Ibid., Art. 6, Gr. V, p. 672. 
 • Ibid., Art. 52, Gr. V, p. 694. '^ Ibid., Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 681. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 39 
 
 tions and medals of bronze and silver that are awarded an- 
 nually by the Minister^ In the matter of penalties, the coiiseil 
 departemental " plays the role of a real disciplinary body." 
 Of the five penalties, varying from the simple reprimand of 
 the academy inspector to the teacher being absolutely for- 
 bidden for all time to teach in any school in France pro- 
 nounced by the conseil departemental, every one except the 
 reprimand must be approved by this body. In the case of the 
 most severe penalties, the teacher may appeal to the conseil 
 superieur.' The conseil departemental is also called upon 
 to decide the objections that may be raised tO' the opening of 
 a private school, though here again an appeal may be taken 
 to the conseil superieur.^ " It is in reality in each department 
 the regulator of the public primary education, the judge of 
 its teachers, the arbiter of the interests of the communes in 
 matters pertaining to primary instruction; nO' important act 
 in school affairs can be accomplished without its intervention. 
 Creation and establishment of schools, nomination of teachers, 
 appreciation of their merits or their faults, everywhere the 
 law has appealed tO' its initiative or to- its control." * 
 
 As we follow along down through the successive grada- 
 tions of this highly organized system, we finally reach the 
 primary inspectors, the privates, so' to speak, of ■ 
 
 all the army of inspectors, the officials that ^ "mary 
 •' ^ _ _ Inspector 
 
 cari-y the influence of the central authority into 
 
 the little schools in the remotest hamlets of the country and 
 make the modest teacher there feel that behind him is the all- 
 powerful authority of the State ready to support and uphold 
 him in all his educational work. In their official life these 
 inspectors take rank with the directors of the normal schools, 
 and are the first of the authorities thus far considered to de- 
 vote themselves exclusively to the primary school service. The 
 office of a special inspector for primary instruction was first 
 
 1 Arrets, Jan. 18, 1893, Art. 127, Gr. VI, p. 467. 
 
 2 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Arts. 30-32, Gr. V, p. 683. 
 
 3 Ibid., Art. 39, Gr. V, p. 688. 
 
 ^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 139. 
 
40 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 established by royal ordinance in 1835/ One of these offi- 
 cials was to be appointed by the Minister for each department, 
 and soon after that time he was given one or two assistant 
 inspectors to help him. In 1850, the system was better or- 
 ganized, and one inspector was appointed for each arrondiss^ 
 meiit.^ Although the number has been slightly modified since 
 that time, proportionally it is substantially the same to-day. 
 The law of 1886,^ left the number to the discretion of the 
 Minister. According to the Amiuaire de ^Instruction Put- 
 blique for 1903, there were four hundred and fifty-one posts in 
 France and Algeria, twenty of these being in tlie department 
 of the Seine. On the basis of 106,233 teachers in the ele- 
 mentary' public primary schools outside Paris,* each inspector 
 averages about two hundred and forty-six of these teach- 
 ers under his control. In the centers of population where 
 the schools are all within easy distances of each other, 
 the conditions are bad enough, but in the country districts 
 they are far worse. The result is that in some of the dis- 
 tricts the inspector has hard work to get around to all his 
 schools once a year. To be sure, he tries to concentrate his 
 efforts on the weaker schools and let the stronger ones take 
 care of themselves, but after all a system of inspection to be 
 valuable must be real. These men have already accomplished 
 an almost herculean task in the work they have done during 
 the last twenty years, but the good work done thus far ought 
 to encourage the Minister still further to increase their 
 numbers. 
 
 Women primary inspectors may be appointed under the 
 
 law of 1889.^ They are chosen in the same way as the men, 
 
 after submitting to the same examination. 
 
 Women They may inspect girls' schools and ecoles 
 Inspectors „ • , 1 ,• 
 
 maternelles either public or private, and they 
 
 1 Ordonnance, Feb. 26, 1835, Gr. II, p. 181. 
 
 2 Lot, Mar. 15, i85o, Art. 20, Gr. Ill, p. 328. 
 
 3 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 10. Gr. V, p. 675. 
 * Budget 1903, p. 98, note. 
 
 ^ Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 22, Gr. VI, p, 173. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 41 
 
 have about the same powers as the men. These, however, do 
 not include any voice in the construction or creation of pub- 
 he schools, or in reference to the opening o'f private ones.^ 
 These women inspectors are found only in the populous cen- 
 ters, and in fact as yet but two departments have them — 
 Seine and Seine-et-Oise, two in the former and one in the 
 latter. Besides these there are five women inspectors for the 
 ecoles maternelles in Paris and five others in as many differ- 
 ent departments. 
 
 The primary inspectors are the first officials we have thus 
 far met whose selection depends directly upon competitive 
 examination. The appointment of the hig-her 
 officials rests entirely upon the personal choice Appointment 
 of the President or the Minister, though this t \ ^ 
 
 => Inspectors 
 
 n^ust not be understood as implying that in- 
 capable or undeserving men have been thus honored. From 
 this f>oint down, preferment in the primary system is won 
 through examination and competition. Now for the first 
 time, too, we find superior officers that have risen from the 
 ranks, for these inspectors are usually products of the pri- 
 mary school system: and have often been advanced from posi- 
 tions of simple instituteiirs. They are appointed by the Min- 
 ister after a severe competitive examination. Until 1880, 
 there were so many exceptions made in favor of various 
 officials that m^ny found their way into the inspectorate with- 
 out submitting to any practical proof of their fitness for the 
 position. Since that time, however, the examination has been 
 made obligatory for all,- and a special examining board has 
 been appointed each year to give the same examination simul- 
 taneously to the candidates all over France. 
 
 This test consists of three parts : written, oral, and practi- 
 cal. For the written examination, which may be taken in die 
 chefs-lietLV of the various departments, and 
 
 , , . , , , . , , Examination 
 
 must be passed m order tO' be admitted to the 
 
 succeeding parts of the examination, there are two compodi- 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. 17, 1891, Arts. 2-3, Gr. VI, p. 339. 
 - Decret, June 5, 1880, Art. i, Gr. V, p. 160. 
 
42 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 tions, one on the subject of pedagog}^ in general and the 
 other on school administration. Five hours are allowed for 
 each of these. In view of the writer's general observations 
 on the apparent lack of initiative in the French schools, the 
 subject for the pedogogical question at the series of January 
 1899, ^s worth quoting here. 
 
 " Complaints are made that the spirit of initiative has be- 
 come weaker in France. In what way can the teacher in the 
 elementary and the higher primary school work to quicken and 
 to strengthen this ?" ^ 
 
 The successful candidates in this written examination are 
 called to Paris to submit themselves to the other two parts of 
 the ordeal. The oral examination consists of the explana- 
 tion of a passage chosen from a list of books designated by 
 the Minister every three years. The following are the 
 books assigned for the years 1904, 1905 and 1906: 
 
 Montaigne: Essais, livre I., chapitre XXV. 
 
 Rousseau : Emilc, livre II. 
 
 Channing: L' Education pcrsonnelle. 
 
 MiCHELET : Lc Peuple, 2® et 3® parties. Nos Fils, 2^ partie. 
 
 Pecaut : U Education piibliqiic et la vie nationale, i""® partie, 
 les 177 premieres pages. 
 
 Vessiot : De l' education- a I'ecole : chapitres IX. Idees 
 fausses d redresser; — X. Sentiments d ranim-cf; — XL De- 
 fauts de V education, scolaire; — XV. Petites legons de I'edur- 
 cation. 
 
 GuYAU : Education et Heredite : chapitres IV. But et 
 methode de l' education intellectueUe; V. L'ecole. 
 
 Mme. De Remusat : Essai sur I' education dcs feninies. ^ 
 
 Among the Avriters for the previous three year period, oiiie 
 finds, " Horace Mann : Son o'lwre, ses ecrits." 
 
 Besides thi^s the candidate is allowed twO' hours for reflection 
 and another half hour for an exposition of some question of 
 theoretical or practical pedagog}^ He is also called upoii to an- 
 swer a fe^v questions on school law and school administration. 
 
 ^ Organisation ct Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 482. 
 ^ Arrete, Mar. 7, 1903; Bull. Adm., LXXIII, p. 248. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 43 
 
 For the practical part of the examination, he is sent to in- 
 spect a normjal school, either grade of the primary schools, or 
 an ecole maternelle, and is then required to make a verbal 
 report on the result of that inspection/ The severity of these 
 examinations is further attested by the fact that of the five 
 hundred and ninety-five candidates that presented themselves 
 at the five examinations during the years 1897- 1899, '^^^Y 
 one hundred and one passed the written part successfully. Of 
 the fifty-five that actually received appointments, forty-four 
 were professeurs in the normal schools or in the higher pri- 
 mary schools and nine were simply instituteurs." 
 
 The primary inspectors are divided into five classes, with 
 salaries ranging at intervals of five hundred francs from three 
 thousand to five thousand francs.^. Besides 
 this each one receives three hundred francs ad- 
 ditional from the department * and also^ from the State a cer- 
 tain number of days' travelling expenses at ten francs per 
 day/ This three hundred francs is merely a minimum, and 
 some conseils generaux add tO' it very liberally. At least three 
 years' service in one class is necessary before being promoted 
 to the next higher, but promotion comes by right after six 
 years oi service in a given class." 
 
 The primary inspectors are immediately subordinate to the 
 
 academy inspector, and receive instructions only from him, 
 
 from the rector, the general inspectors and the 
 
 Minister.' It is their duty to inspect all the ^""^^^ ^""^ 
 
 , , ,1- , . r Duties 
 
 primaiy schools, both public and private of 
 
 their district. As far as private schools are concerned, this 
 
 1 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 174-182 and the modifications provided by 
 the Arrete, July 27, 1893, Gr. V, p. 8og-8io; VI, p. 518. Again modified, 
 Arrete, Dec. 24, 1904; Bull. Adm., LXXVI, p. 1019. 
 
 2 L'Inspection de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 45. 
 
 3 Loi, July 19, 1889, Arts. 13 and 22, Gr. VI, p. 169 ff. In the depart- 
 ment of the Seine, these salaries are all three thousand francs higher. 
 
 * Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 23, Gr. VI, p. 506. 
 
 5 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 131, Gr. V, p. 755. 
 
 6 Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 25, Gr. VI, p. 507. 
 
 7 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 128, Gr. V, p. 755. 
 
44 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 is limited to the work already outlined for the rectors and the 
 academy inspectors: namely, to note the hygienic and moral 
 conditions of the school and to satisfy themselves that the in- 
 struction given is not contrary to the public good, the Con- 
 stitution or the laws. In spite of the fact that some private 
 schools really court a further inspection, the primary inspect- 
 ors are always glad to limit themselves to their prescribed 
 duties, in the first place because they really have little enough 
 time for their public schools, and again because the private 
 schools being usually of a denominational character, there is 
 little sympathy between them and the educational authorities. 
 With reference to the public schools,^ they inspect the morality 
 and the hygiene, approve the daily program of the school and 
 see that it carries out the spirit and the law of the official reg- 
 ulations, and " act as masters of method to- the teachers." 
 Tliey are also consulted on the opening of new schools, either 
 public or private, and on the promotion of teachers. They are 
 directly interested in and are often chiefly responsible for the 
 oeuvres coinplemcntaircs of the school : that is, the adult and 
 evening classes, popular lectures, the school savings banks, 
 the school libraries, and the associations of former pupils of 
 the school. The primary inspector presides over the examina- 
 tion board for the primary certificate and is found among the 
 members of several other examining commissions as well as 
 in the conseil depart emental. 
 
 One of the most important of his duties is the organization 
 and direction of the cantonal teachers' conferences. There 
 
 are generally two of these meetings each year, 
 Teachers ^^^ ^^^ purely theoretical discussion and the 
 Conferences ^, . ,•• r i • 
 
 other for the practical application or this 
 
 theory. Since 1880 the attendance of all public school teach- 
 ers at these conferences has been obligatory.^ These con- 
 ferences correspond in a large measure to the teachers' con- 
 ventions that are held from time to time in many of our own 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 129, Gr. V, p. 755- 
 
 2 Arrete, June 5, 1880, Gr. V, p. 167. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 45 
 
 states, and serve as a stim/ulus to the social as well as the 
 intellectual and professional life of the French teachers. One 
 excellent feature of these conferences is the emphasis put 
 upon the practical side. The autumn meeting is usually de- 
 voted 'to a model lesson given by one of the teachers to his 
 own children and illustrating some phase of the theoretical 
 problem discussed at the spring meeting. After the lesson is 
 finished there is an opportunity given for a general discussion, 
 and the teacher is called upon to defend himself against the 
 criticisms of his fellows. One can readily see that under 
 proper direction, such meetings may be of incalculable value 
 to the teachers. They also enable the primary inspectors to 
 meet their teachers outside the class room and gain consider- 
 able information about them that may be of value when the 
 question of their promotion arises. The primary inspector 
 presides at these conferences, unless the academy inspector 
 happens to be present, and is responsible for the conduct of 
 the meeting. 
 
 Every inspection of a school by the primary inspector is 
 made the basis of a report to the academy inspector, and as 
 far as possible aims to criticize the good as well as the bad 
 points in the organization or the conduct of the school. Thus 
 the academy inspector, aided by his own investigations, can 
 act intelligently and wisely when he has need to judge of the 
 worth of a teacher in questions of advancement, rewards or 
 punishments. Some time ago,^ a ministerial circular recom- 
 mended that the primary inspector leave a memorandum with 
 the teacher embodying the criticisms that he had to make on 
 the work in that particular school, and this method is said 
 to have been productive of very good results. 
 
 The primary inspector, then, the humblest of the govern- 
 ment inspectors, is really one of the most tireless and im- 
 portant of them all. He comes into intimate relations with 
 the teachers throughout his district and has the best oppor- 
 tunity for improving the standard of the teaching force and 
 the schools. 
 
 1 Circulaire aux recteurs, Nov. 19, 1892 ; Circ, XI, p. 613. 
 
46 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Under the terms of the law of 1886, the only other authoi-- 
 
 ities that miay inspect the schools are the members of the con- 
 
 seil departemental designated for that purpose, 
 
 Other ^j^g niayors, and the cantonal delegates/ The 
 
 Authorities •» 7 ^ , • 1 • , r 
 
 for Inspection <^onscil departemental may appomt one third of 
 
 its members to visit all the schools, public or 
 private, in the department," but in practice they seldom use 
 this prerogative, for some of their members, the academy in- 
 spector and the primary inspectors, already have this power, 
 and none of the public school teachers may be delegated to in- 
 spect private schools.^ The maire may visit any public or 
 private school of his commune or mlay have it inspected by a 
 physician,,* but the former must practically confine his obser- 
 vations to the installation and conduct of the school from point 
 of view of morals or hygiene, for he has nothing whatever to 
 do with the teachers or the methods they use. 
 
 The delegues cantonaux are especially intended to repre- 
 sent the lay element in inspecting the schools and stand, so 
 to speak, in loco parentis. Their powers and 
 
 L-antona duties have in no sense been changed since the 
 Delegates . 
 
 office was first instituted in 1850, for the law of 
 
 1886 simply repeated the provisions of the former law. The 
 conscil departemental may appoint one or more of these offi- 
 cers for each canton but must assign them definite schools to 
 visit. ^ This appointment is for three years and may be re- 
 voked at any time. These delegues cantonaux may even be 
 present at the meetings of the conseil departemental with de- 
 liberative powers when affairs of interest to their particu- 
 lar schools are under discussion.® At least once in three 
 months, all the delegates of the canton meet at the chief town 
 to discuss matters of common interest and to make recommen- 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 3o> 1886, Art. 9, Gr. V, p. 673. 
 
 2 Ibid., Art. 50, Gr. V, p. 693. 
 
 3 Ibid., Art. 9, Gr. V, p. 673. 
 * Ibid. 
 
 5 Ibid., Art. 52, Gr. V. p. 694. 
 « Ibid. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 47 
 
 dations to the departmental council.^ According tO' a circular 
 of M. Berthelot, " a little inspection stimulates ; too much 
 paralyzes .... these dclcgues cantonaux are not so many 
 additional primary inspectors." " They have absolutely noth- 
 ing to do with the subject matter or method O'f the instruc- 
 tion given, but confine themselves entirely to the material wel- 
 fare of the school, its hygiene and the general attitude of the 
 pupils.^ They have in some respects even larger opportunities 
 than the primary inspectors, for they can meet the children on 
 the street, follow them in the every day life of the home, and 
 see exactly what the education that the State provides is doing 
 for each individual child. After all, the worth of an educa- 
 tional system must be measured by its actual influence on the 
 life of the pupil and not by the mere external appearance of 
 the school room. The practical education is the one that 
 best fits for social service, and a system stands or falls by the 
 measure of its conformity to that ideal in its broadest 
 signification. 
 
 The commission scolaire is a kind of local school board with 
 very restricted powers. These committees were organized 
 one in each commiune a little more than twenty 
 years ago * as a natural result of the compul- ^ , °*^ 
 
 sory school law passed at the same time and be- 
 cause the authorities felt that for certain work there was great 
 need of local cooperation, without which the schools would fail 
 in a really essential part of their true purpose. These com- 
 mittees are the instruments for developing and encouraging a 
 popular interest in the schools and school affairs. Tliey were 
 primarily established to improve the school attendance, but 
 subsequently their duties have broadened not a little, without 
 ever reaching the point, however, where they were allowed 
 
 ^ In Paris these delegates are appointed for each art ondissement, and 
 meet at least once a month under the presidency of the maire of the 
 arrondissement. 
 
 2 Circulaire du Ministre, Mar. 25, 1887, Gr. VI, p. 11. 
 
 » Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 140, Gr. V, p. 757. 
 
 ♦ Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 5, Gr. V, p. 421. 
 
48 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 any right to inspect the school or exercise any control over 
 the action of the teachers or, in fact, even to enter the school 
 itself.^ Each commission, except in Paris and Lyon, where 
 there is such a committee for each municipal arrondissement, 
 is composed of the maire as president, as many dclegues 
 cantonaux as there are cantons in the comimune, and a num- 
 ber of members chosen from the municipal council equal to not 
 more than one third the membership of that body. The 
 delegues cantonaux are selected by the academy inspector, and 
 the councilors are chosen by their fellow members on the 
 municipal board. Tlie primary inspector of the district is also 
 an ex officio member O'f the committee. The committee meets 
 at least once in three months at the call of its president and 
 discusses means for improving- the work and influence of the 
 schools. It is one of the duties of this board to draw up every 
 year a list of the children between the ages of six and thirteen 
 in order that the law for compulsory attendance may be en- 
 forced. Naturally it often happens that children are kept 
 away from school on account of lack of suitable clothing. 
 This committee tries to ameliorate these conditions by estab- 
 lishing a caisse d'ccolc, or school fund, which may be drawn 
 upon to supply shoes or warm clothing, to provide little mid- 
 day luncheons or school supplies, and in general to foster 
 every good effort so as to make it possible for every child to 
 improve the educational opportunities that the State offers him. 
 Although the law of 1882 required each comjmune to establish 
 such a fund,^ in the 36,551 communes of France and Algeria 
 in 1902, there were only 17,439 caisses d'ecole,^ and this too, 
 in spite of the fact that in the poorest communes the ministry 
 gives annually a sum equal to that raised by the local authori- 
 ties.* Among the other auxiliary organizations which an 
 effective committee encourages may be mentioned the school 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 154, Gr. V, p. 759. 
 
 2 Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 17, Gr. V, p. 429. 
 
 3 Statistique, VII. 1901-1902, p. cxiii. 
 * Cf. loi supra. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 
 
 49 
 
 library and museum, school savings banks, giving of prizes, 
 associations of former pupils, and evening classes. 
 
 As has already been indicated, the administrative organ- 
 ization of France embraces the department, the arrondisse- 
 ment, the canton and the commune. The first 
 and the last of these are the only ones that have 
 a real independence with distinct legislative powers and bud- 
 gets of their own. Hence these are the only ones that exer- 
 cise any control over the educational machinery. The depart- 
 ment is far the more important O'f the two, for although France 
 is a republic, yet the influence of the central government 
 dominates all the life of the nation. France is essentially a 
 State and not a union of states as we are on this side of the 
 Atlantic. The government keeps a strong hold on the de- 
 partments through the prefect, who is appointed directly by 
 the authorities in Paris, but the communal life is now quite 
 within the control of local influence. Since the Goblet law 
 of 1884, the conseillers municipaux have been elected by popu- 
 lar suffrage and these in turn choose the maire. Although 
 the communes have practically no voice in the obligatory ex- 
 penses connected with their schools, yet the amounts that they 
 may spend over and above the legail requirements are limited 
 only by the willingness of their citizens tO' assume the neces- 
 sary financial responsibility. The real school committee in 
 our sense of the term, is the conseil depart emaital. In this 
 brief treatment of the financial aspects of the French primary 
 school system, the question will be considered from the point 
 of view of the three contributo^ry bodies : The State, the de- 
 partment and the commune. 
 
 Until the law of 1889, each commune had cared for its own 
 schools, paid the teachers' salaries and all the other expenses 
 connected with the support oi the schools, al- 
 though it must not be overlooked that the 
 grants from the State and the department were of very great 
 assistance. This naturally gave rise tO' much inequality, for 
 some of the communes were very liberal while others were 
 equally parsimonious. The prevaihng conditions were much 
 
50 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 as they are in some of our states to-day, and the schools in the 
 poorer communities suffered accordingly. Only a few years 
 before this, the State had passed the free school law and had 
 quickly followed it with the law of compulsory attendance and 
 laicization of the schools. At this time, July 19, 1889,^ 
 the State went one step farther and assumed the responsibility 
 for the payment of the teachers' salaries. This w^as extended 
 to include also the living expenses of the normal school pupils 
 and in general all the noirmal school expenses outside of those 
 connected with the buildings and the equipment. An effort 
 had been made in the spring of 1886 to pass a similar law." 
 The project was pushed by the Ministers of the Interior and 
 Finance as well as by the Minister of Public Instruction, but 
 the times were not then ripe for such a measure. Again at the 
 time O'f the very important legislation in the fall of the same 
 year, another attempt was made. At this time, however, such 
 strong opposition developed that there was danger of im^ 
 perilling the law itself, so all the financial questions which 
 naturally presented themselves were deferred until a more 
 favorable moment. This did not come until midsummer, 
 1889, and the financial legislation enacted at this date supple- 
 mented the organic law of three years before. Except for 
 minor changes made since then, those are the regulations un- 
 der which the primai"}' educational system oi France is ad- 
 ministered to-day. As a result of the new law, the obligatory 
 expenses of the State increased from 86,016,880 francs in 1889 
 to 121,488,778 francs in 1890, while at the same period the 
 expenses of the communes dropped from 71,956,078 to 56,- 
 580,247.^ These amounts do not represent by any means the 
 total outlay for the year, nor do they mean that the State took 
 upon itself all this additional burden. It acts simply as the 
 financial agent of the communes, collects from them a certain 
 tax, and uses the proceeds in turn to pay the teachers. The 
 expenses of the departments which had been 17,907,315 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Gr. VI, p. 159 ff- 
 
 2 Projet de lot. Mar. 13. 1886, Gr. V, p. 654 ff. 
 
 3 Statistique, V, 1891-1892, p. civ. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 51 
 
 francs in 1889, at the same time dropped to' practically noth- 
 ing. In 1902, the last year for which these statistics are avail- 
 able, the amo'unts contributed for primary instruction by the 
 State and the communes were 155,098,452 and 81,500,516 
 francs respectively/ Although the State assumed so much 
 responsibility, the only establishments d' enseigncment primaire 
 public where the State's powers and respoinsibilities are unique 
 are the twO' higher primary normal 3chooils at Saint-Cloud and 
 Fontenay-aux- Roses." These institutions are destined specifi- 
 cally to train teachers for the departmental normal schools, 
 and absolutely all the expenses of jtheir maintenance are borne 
 by the State. It is almost unnecessary to add that the Stete 
 also pays the salaries of the general officers of the department 
 together with the expenses of inspecting the schoo'ls. 
 
 Under the new legislation of 1889, the department's ob- 
 ligatory expenses in primary education were practically abol- 
 ished, and the few that remain do not involve 
 any great amount. In the department, the chief 
 legislative body is the conseil general. The 
 members of this body are elected by popular suffrage, with 
 one representative from each canton. This body, then, is the 
 source of all the departmental appropriations and as such 
 provides the funds for the use of the conseil de part erne ntal or 
 departmenltal schoo'l board. The co)iscil general must pro'- 
 vide the equipment of the departmental normal schools and 
 keep the buildings in repair.^ It must also furnish an extra 
 indemnity of at least three hundred francs * tO' each primary 
 inspector as well as provide and equip a suitable office for the 
 
 1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. clxxxi. 
 
 2 This applies only to the divisions of the educational systeni under the 
 authority of the Minister of Public Instruction. The various other insti- 
 tutions that really form a part of the educational system of France, such 
 as the ecoles pratiques de commerce ct d'industrie under the Department 
 of Commerce, the ecoles speciales d'agriculttire under the Department of 
 Agriculture, the military and naval schools, etc., are quite outside the 
 limits of this study. 
 
 3 Lot. July 19, 1889, Art. 3. Gr. VI, p. 163. 
 * Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 505. 
 
52 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 academy inspedtor. Furthermoi-e, it must pay the expenses 
 of the master-wo'rkmen necessary to help the professors of 
 ag-ricultural, commercial, or industrial work in the schools that 
 the department may establish. Inasmuch as the establishing 
 of these schools is entirely optional, this can hardly be con- 
 sidered an obligatory expense. Tlie most important of all 
 these charges is that for the establishment and support of the 
 normal schools. Since 1879, the State has required each 
 deparltment to provide a school for boys and also one for girls 
 where its teachers might be trained. Until the legislation of 
 1889, the entire expense of these schools, teaching force and 
 all, fell upon the departments. Since that time, however, the 
 State has assumed the responsibility of the teachers' salaries, 
 the maintenance oif the pupils while at the school, and in 
 general all the expenses except those for the buildings and 
 equipment. In regard to the optional expenses which the 
 conseil departcnicntal may undertake, these are limiited only 
 by the willingness oif the conseil general to grant the necessary 
 funds. This latter body really exercises nO' little influence over 
 the educational affairs of its department. It receives every 
 year the report of the academy inspector on the condition and 
 needs of the schools in the department. Then again, the 
 conseil general is represented by four O'f its members in the 
 conseil departemental, and through these representatives as 
 well as through the reports that the latter body sends from 
 time tO' time is able tO' keq) in rather close touch with the 
 progress of education within its jurisdiction. Moreover, the 
 demands of the communes for the establishment o^f new schools 
 or |for state assistance may be transmitted to the Minister only 
 with the approval of this council. Besides, two conseillers 
 generaux are found on the governing board of each normal 
 school. Among the various ways in which the departments 
 may materially encourage and extend the work of the schools 
 may be mentioned the grants made to communes to help de- 
 fray the cost of school buildings, the scholarships in the 
 higher primary schools together with those granted to the 
 graduates and teachers of these schools for foreign study of 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 53 
 
 the modern langiiag-es, prizes oi various kinds and the en- 
 couragement given to adult classes, lectures, associations of 
 former pupils and other ceiivres complementaires of the 
 school. From this it can readily be seen that although the 
 part played by the department is far less important than that 
 of the State or even that of the commune, yet it has an op- 
 portunity to care for many details that the other two neglect. 
 Even though the State assumed the teachers' salaries and 
 so much of the school expenses by the law of 1889, yet the 
 communes were by no means relieved from all 
 
 responsibility in the matter. As has been said ^^^ 
 
 \ c 1- r 1 r^ , • r, ■, r Commune 
 
 before, this act of the State was chiefly that of 
 a financing agent. The teacher then became a State official 
 and is now absolutely independent Oif the communes in the 
 matter of salary. Instead of the marked inequality that had 
 previously existed, the salaries for teachers oi the same class 
 were made the same all over France. Inasmuch as living ex- 
 penses usuadly increase with the size of the town, in order to 
 equalize conditions, an extra residence alloiwance was granted 
 in places where there are agglomerations of more than one 
 thousand people and also for the chef-lieu oi each canton. 
 This extra allowance must be paid by the commune.^ By the 
 law of 1833, every commune was required to maintain at 
 least one primary school either by itself or in conjunction with 
 another commune." This provision was not immediately 
 carried out, for in 1834 the 37,187 communes had only 22,641 
 public primaiy schoods and only 33,695 public and private. 
 In 1837 there were still more than fifty-six hundred communes, 
 or about fifteen per cent of the total number that had no pub- 
 lic school.* During the next decade this number was cut 
 down nearly one half. Since then it has decreased even more 
 rapidly and in 1892 only about one tenth per cent O'f the 
 communes lacked school accommodation.* The necessity for 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 4. Gr. VI, p. 163. 
 
 2 Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 9, Gr. II, p. 13. 
 
 3 Statistique, II, p. 10. 
 
 * Ibid., V, 1891-1892, p. xli. 
 
54 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 each commune supporting a primary school was reiterated in 
 the law of 1850 and again in that oi 1867. At this latter 
 period, the support oi a separate school for girls was made 
 obligato'ry upon every commune where there were at least 
 five hundred inhabitants, unless specially excused from this 
 obligation by the conseil departemental.^ The present Re- 
 public has always taken a deep interest in the educational 
 question, and is responsible for the great strides that have been 
 made in the last thirty years. The first of these was the ex- 
 tension O'f the normal schools for both sexes to all the depart- 
 ments in 1879; then came the great free education law of 
 1881 ; the next year education was made compulsory and was 
 freed from the domination of the Church; and finally in 1889 
 the communes were relieved O'f the responsibility for paying 
 the teachers' salaries directly. The law of 1886 reaffirmed 
 the obligation of each cornmune to- establish and maintain at 
 least one primary school. 
 
 The State does everything in its power to help the small 
 communes keep tO' the letter of this law by giving financial 
 
 assistance in building, reconstructing or enlarg- 
 State Aid . , . , , , -r. f , • 
 
 nig their school houses, rormerly this was 
 
 purely a matter of influence, but in 1885 a new plan was 
 adopted by which communes whose centime tax is not more 
 than six thousand francs per annum may receive a subsidy 
 from the State for these purposes. The amount granted in 
 any one case cannot be less than fifteen per cent nor more 
 than eighty per cent of the total expense, account being 
 taken of the character of the building, the resources of the 
 community, and the need and importance of the work under- 
 taken.^ The poorer the commune, the larger proportionally 
 will be its share. The building subsidies in the budget of 
 1903 foi- the needs of primary education amounted to 5,900,000 
 francs.^ However, in order still further to^ lessen the burden 
 on small communes, the conseil departemental, subject to the 
 
 1 Loi. Apr. 10, 1867, Art. i, Gr. IV, p. 133. 
 
 2 Loi, June 20, 1885, Art. 8, Gr. V, p. 615. 
 
 3 Budget de 1903, p. 103. 
 
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 
 
 55 
 
 approval of the Minister, may authorize twO' or more small 
 communes that are near each other to unite for school pur- 
 poses. If this union foi'ms an agglomeration of five hundred 
 persons or more, it entails the responsibility oi providing a 
 separate school for girls just the same as in the case of single 
 communes of that size/ The conseil departemental, after con- 
 sulting the municipal council, determines, subject to the ap- 
 proval O'f the Minister, the number, nature and situation of all 
 primary schools and also the number of teachers that should 
 be alloted to each." The ecoles primaircs elementaires, how- 
 ever, are the only obligato-ry schools, the ones whose support 
 can be legally charged to- the communes. Certain other schools 
 may be established by the communes and then become the 
 so'-cailled corwentionally obligatory schools : that is, once 
 started they must be maintained for at least thirty years, if 
 the commune has received State aid for the building or or- 
 ganization of the school.^ Formerly these subsidies from the 
 State were given annually for a long period O'f time, but since 
 1894, this money has all been given in a lump sum. There 
 are five kinds of schools that come under this provision : 
 ecoles maternellcs that may be established in communities hav- 
 ing more than twO' thousand inhabitants, provided there are at 
 least twelve hundred people grouped together in the same ham- 
 let, SO to speak; classes enfantines, cours complementaires, 
 ecoles primaires superieures and the ecoles rnannelles d'appren- 
 tissage. These, as in fact all schools, may be established only 
 in the legal mamier outlined above. The State's responsibil- 
 ity in teachers' salaries extends to all these obligatory and 
 conventionally obligatory schools, but whenever the com- 
 munes below these limits establish public schools, they alone 
 are responsible for the entire expense. 
 
 The indeinnitc de residence was provided for in the law 
 of 1889 partly in order tO' counterbalance the effect of the 
 equalization of the salaries. The result of this was : first, to 
 guarantee every teacher a living wage; and secondly, to make 
 
 ^Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 11, Gr. V, p. 675. 
 
 2 Ihid., Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 676. ^ Decrct, Mar. 28, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 880. 
 
^6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the net income of the town teacher as nearly as possible equal 
 
 to that of his fellow in the country where the 
 
 esi ence Hvinp" expenses are naturally lower. This in- 
 
 Indemnity ... "^ 
 
 demnity applies to towns with more than one 
 thousand inhabitants and varies from one hundred francs to 
 eight hundred francs annually for heads of schools and all 
 teachers in the ecoles primaires superieures or the coiirs cont- 
 plementaires.^ For ordinary titulaires, the amounts are one 
 half and for stagiaircs one fourth these sums. In the depart- 
 ment of the Seine, there is a special schedule with a maximum 
 of two thousand francs for the city of Paris. Each com- 
 munity is responsible for this indemnity, and also for pro- 
 viding a suitable lodging or its money equivalent for each 
 of its teachers. 
 
 Besides this, the commune must also pay for lighting and 
 heating the schools, the expense of the janitor service as well 
 as the nurses for the ecoles maternelles, the necessary school 
 furniture and its repair, including all registers and other rec- 
 ord books, and finally the entire expenses of the master- 
 workmen needed to help the professors of agricultural, com- 
 mercial, or industrial subjects in the schools that the commune 
 may estabHsh.- Such is the power O'f the State that in case 
 the commune refuses to provide such a school as is deemed 
 necessary, the prefect with the support of the conseil general 
 may proceed to the construction of such a building and charge 
 it on the budget o'f the commune. Finally, the communes have 
 every opportunity to supplement the work of the State and de- 
 partment by encouraging and undertaking other work than the 
 mere minimum^ prescribed by law, either in those directions 
 already refferred to in the case of the departments or in caw- 
 tines scolaires {^iohooX kitchens), school libraries, school savings 
 banks, or in furnishing free text-books to the children. In 
 spite of all that the State has done to encourage education and 
 lighten its 'burden upon the poorer people, France is still con- 
 siderably behind the United States in the matter of free 
 text-books. 
 
 1 Lo2, July 19, 1889, Art. 12, Gr. VI. p. 167. 
 
 - Ibid., Art. 4, Gr. VI, p. 164. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Teacher 
 
 One O'f the most striking features about the French schools 
 to an American is the great number of men teachers in the 
 primary schools and even iiTtHleTqwer graHes . 
 The idea seems to be pretty well grounded ^^" ^"^ 
 with us that the woman with all her latent Teachers 
 mother instincts is far more capable of teach- 
 ing children than is the man. And this is true from our point 
 of view, but the relations between teachers and pupils in France 
 are quite different from those in the United States. The 
 French teacher becomes a little indignant if one asks him 
 about sympathy between himself and his pupils. Of course 
 there is sympathy, but it is always the sympathy between the 
 teacher as such and the pupil as such, not that between friend 
 and equal. Consequently the man teacher in France succeeds 
 very well even with the young children, judged according to 
 the French standard. It must be noted here that the man 
 has comparatively little to do with girls, for every girls' school 
 must be taught by a woman. Of the twenty thousand mixed 
 schools in Finance, "afcbut two thirds are directed by men,^ but 
 this is allowed only on condition that the commune provide a 
 special sewing teacher for the girls of the school. According 
 to the latest figures at hand," in the public primary schools, 
 both elementary and higher, there were 56,705 men and 57,660 
 women. There has been a large proportional increase in the 
 number_qf_ women teachers during the last five years so that 
 the men no' longer fill "a^ majority of the 114,365 positions in 
 
 1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. Ix. In 1901-1902 there were 20,412 mixed 
 schools, 13,194 directed by men, and 7,218 by women. 
 - Ibid., p. Iviii. 
 
 57 
 
58 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the public school service. The difference between this figure 
 and 169,245, the total for all the elementar)^ teachers of the 
 coimtry, represents the number of teachers in the private 
 schoo'ls, a proportion by no' means inconsiderable. The pres- 
 ence o'f so many men in the small single-school communes is 
 said tO' be because the maire prefers to- have a man teacher 
 in order that he may obtain some secretarial assistance from 
 the school master. As a matter O'f fact, the normal school 
 courses formerly included elementary instruction in the prep- 
 aration O'f simple legal papers, and it often happened that the 
 school master was the only one of the community capable of 
 doing this work. For some time past, some of the higher 
 educational authorities have been much attracted by our cus- 
 tom in America oi confining the teaching force of the pri- 
 mary schools almost entirely to women. Besides, too', there has 
 been some little difficulty in finding suitable men for all the 
 vacant positions. Unfortunately all precedent and tradition 
 are ag'ainst the employment of women teachers in boys' schools, 
 and though these factoirs must be reckoned with in France, it 
 is to be hoped that years of rq>ublicanism may change this 
 feeling. 
 
 The relative position of woman everywhere on the continent, 
 
 as is almost toO' well known to^ need repeating here, is below 
 
 that in the United States. What wonder is it 
 
 osi ion o ^1^^^,^ ^1^^ woman of Europe does not compare 
 
 Women 
 
 well intellectually with her brother! Look at 
 the disparity in the numbers of the gymnasia for boys and 
 girls in Germany ; in-JEacis* e\' en, note that there are _fiye 
 ecoles, Jyrimaire^ .sii^^ boys and two for_gids — in 
 
 1902, the corresponding figures for all France were twojruii- 
 dred and seven, and ninety-five^ respectively ^ — and it is only 
 since 1879 that the girls' normal schools in France have been 
 on the same footing with those of the boys. These are only 
 isolated cases but they serve to^ illustrate the general tendency. 
 The entrance oi women into- the fields oi secondary and 
 higher education has long been frowned on very se\'erely on 
 1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. xxxix. 
 
THE TEACHER 
 
 59 
 
 the other side of the Atlantic. Yet one finds able and bril- 
 liant women in France that are interested in and eager to know 
 what we in America are doing to-day along these very lines.. 
 Let not any of the women o'f France that I ha\^e had the good 
 fortune to meet take umbrage at these words, for there are 
 thousands of individual cases that I have no' intention of in- 
 cluding here. The fact that there are women inspectors and 
 normal school principals in France to-day that have passed 
 successfully the same examinations as the men that fill similar 
 positions is in itself evidence that these conditions do not 
 everywhere prevail. But as one looks at the position of wo- 
 men as a whole, he will be forced tO' the above conclusion. 
 One is encouraged, however, tO' take a more hopeful view O'f 
 the future, iov " in spite of the attacks, whencesoe^^er they 
 may come, the cause oif the girls' lycecs has already gained 
 ground in public opinion. The secondary education of girls 
 is sure O'f its future wherever it is in the hands of skilful and 
 intelligent people. It is only necessaiy to let it advance; it 
 will move forward slowly but surely tO' victory." ^ Of course 
 in these European countries there is an economic reason for 
 excluding women as much as possible from the professions. 
 There where the rate of wages is soi low and the competition 
 SO' keen, man has every reason tO' fear woman, for under nor- 
 mal conditions the man has many mouths tO' feed and the wo^ 
 man but one. This suggests another point where the French 
 practice is quite different from ours. If the French woman 
 teacher chooses tO' be married, she does not thereby forfeitTier 
 rl^Ht tO' teach. In fact the directress of a normal school not 
 far from Paris is a married woman whose husband is a pro- 
 fessor in one of the lycees in the city, and the combined in- 
 come of the family amounts tO' quite a princely sum for the 
 French teaching profession. 
 
 Tlie teach£rs in^li!^..^j5LZc4^?^ma^^ di- 
 
 vided intO' t\vogroups, the stagiaircs and the titiilaires. The 
 second of these areTTie only ones tha"t may properly be called 
 
 ^ Compayre, Address at the inauguration of the nezu buildings of the 
 girls' lycee at Lyon, Nov. i6, 1902. 
 
6o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 regular teachers in full standing, the first occup^niTg;_a kind of 
 provisional or__^roibationary stage that must 
 Stagiaires continue for at least twO' years. In the first 
 Titiilaires pl^ce, nobody can be a primary teacher in any 
 public or private school in France who is 
 not French/ who does not hold the brevet elementaire, or 
 elementary certificate, and who is not at least eighteen years 
 of age in the case of a man and seventeen in the case of a 
 woman.- During this testing period, for the two years' ex- 
 perience as stagiaire is really nothing more than this, the young 
 teacher is entirely in the hands of the purely educational au- 
 thorities. These are really the final judges as to the probabil- 
 ity O'f his attaining the standard established by the department, 
 and of being capable of instructing the youth of the country. 
 
 Although the civil authorities play an important part in the 
 
 final appointment oi the teacher, yet the initiative belongs 
 
 to the educational department, and this after 
 
 Appointment ,, . , . , . ^t^, , 
 
 all IS the important thmg. ihe academy m- 
 specjtoiLhas full power to appoint the stagiaires, tQ; transfer 
 themi from one post to another, and even to remove them en- 
 tirely.^ Hence the great care with which he watches over the 
 normal schools and their pupils, for these are the chief 
 sources oi supply for his teachers. The inspector is nominally 
 free to seek his teach,ers where he will, but naturally he ex- 
 hausts the supply of trained candidates before accepting others 
 less desirable. In fact, a ministerial circular " bids him pro- 
 vide places first for the normal school graduates who leave the 
 school with the brevet superieur, then, for those who having 
 finished the course but failed in this exaiiaiiiation agTee__to 
 present themselves for it again during the next two years, next 
 
 1 A naturalized foreigner that fulfils the other two conditions as to age 
 and diploma may be authorized by the Minister to teach in a specific pri- 
 vate school. {Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 671 ; Circ, Nov. 13, 
 1888, X, p. 370.) 
 
 2 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 670. 
 
 3 Ibid., Art. 26, Gr. V, p. 681. 
 
 * Circ, Aug. I, 1888, Gr. VI, p. 123. 
 
THE TEACHER 6 1 
 
 the normal graduates of other departments in the same 
 
 academy, and finally, he may appoint promising candidates 
 
 that have had no normal training at all. 
 
 Generally speaking, the noirmal schools do not supply the 
 
 needs oi their own departments, for the number of pupils in 
 
 the entering classes is regulated by the probable 
 
 requirements of the various departments. It is ^ ^ \" 
 ^ . . 1 eachers 
 
 naturally very difficult tO' estimate this three 
 years ahead, and moreover the departments either will not or 
 cannot afford to- proAnde for their o^wn natural wants. The 
 result is that in some of the departments the normal schools 
 p rovid e only one third or one halj the teachers. However, 
 France has made such progress during the last generation 
 that she can now truthfully say that the above law oi 1886 is 
 practically complied with. The comgaratively few,, persons 
 still teaching without hoilding the , necessary elementary di- 
 ploma are those that were already in service at the time the 
 first law containing this requirement was passed in 1881.^ 
 In spite of all this remarkable progress, the French schools 
 are stih some distance behind their ideals, for in 1902, about 
 sixty per cent of the men teachers and about fifty-two' per 
 cent of the women were provided with the professional certifi- 
 cate necessary for becoming titulaires under the present law. 
 All this despite the fact that within the previous five years the 
 number of teachers holding the certiUcat d'aptitiide peda- 
 gogique had increased from about 44,523 to 62,820 — a gain 
 of more than forty-one per cent.^ This is a better showing 
 than any coimtry in the world, with the exception of Germiany, 
 can probably make. Certainly we in America are not very 
 strong rivals. 
 
 After serving twO' years as stagiaires, the teachers may pre- 
 sent themselves as candidates for the certiUcat d'aptitude peda- 
 gogique *"^d on passing this examination they become eli- 
 gible for appointment as regular teachers in full standing. 
 
 1 Statistigue, VII, 1901-1902, p. Ixvi. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. Ixvii. 
 
 3 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 680. 
 
62 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 At this time, the educational authorities lose their absolute 
 right to control the mo'vemeiits of the teacher, and henceforth 
 he is under the combined ooiitro'l oif the educational and the 
 civil authorities, for the academy inspector has tO' sHafe fiis 
 authO'riry"'with^ the prefecE" After the s'tagiai.re has gained this 
 certificate, the academy inspector nominates him as titidaire, 
 but these nominations must be made from an eligible list drawn 
 up each year by the conscil depcwtcmcntal^ and the prefect^of 
 the depaa'tment makes the appointment. Each oif the authori- 
 ties is absolutely free to act as he pleases with the sole re- 
 striction that the initiative in the matter must invariably be 
 taken by the academy inspector.- This titidaire may become 
 the director (or directress) of a school, that is the head of a 
 school with more than two classes,^ or he may become merely 
 an assistant in charge oi a class. 
 
 In the ecoles primaires superieures, the teaching force is 
 
 divided into two general groups :* first, the directors and 
 
 those teachers_tha^have a special certificate^for 
 
 In the the^Ojf^i'.f0^ai.Jn_thefcoj^ These 
 
 _ !^ ^'" latter are called professeiirs, together with the 
 
 Primary '^ ' _ ^ 
 
 Schools directors are appointed directly by the Minister, 
 and are naturally removable only by him. The 
 others are the institMMMTJ...odlomts, who' are regular teachers 
 but have not gained tliis special certificate for teaching in the 
 nor^i^X schools, and the inaitres auxiliaircs, who^ have certifi- 
 cates for teaching special subjects: for example, modern 
 languages, and music. Those belonging tO' this second gen- 
 
 1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 23, Gr. V. p. 680. 
 
 2 Circ, Aug. I, 1888, Gr. VI, p. 124. 
 
 3 The French word classe signifies a group of children in the charge 
 of a teacher, and is not quite the same as our word class. The French 
 equivalent of the English word class is ordinairly cours, but in the normal 
 schools it is promotion. Thus in the country schools, with a single teacher, 
 w^e may find three cours, but only one classe, while in the larger schools 
 the number of cours may correspond exactlj' with the number of classes. 
 In the city schools, it often happens that a single cours is divided into 
 several classes. In this last case, in the United States we should express 
 cours iby the term grade. 
 
 * Loi. Oct. 30. 1886. Art. 28. Gr. V. p. 682. 
 
THE TEACHER 
 
 63 
 
 eral group are appointed here regularly ot temporarily in the 
 same way that the titidaires receive their appointments. 
 
 The natural sources o-f supply for the ordinary teachers in 
 the ecoles normales are the twoi ecoles normales primaires 
 sitpePieures at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint- 
 Cloud, though it not infrequently happens that . "'^'^^! 
 
 . -X J srr q£ Supply 
 
 a teacher is called tO' the ecoles normales from 
 the ranks of secondary education. Many oi this latter class 
 prefer a normal school appointment in or near a large city to 
 a position in a country lyccc or college. In fact, with the 
 help of additional hours of instruction that are usually toi be 
 found in the cities, the income there is rather better. So, too, 
 with the teachers in the ecoles primaires siiperieures, one often 
 finds a teacher properly classed in secondary ranks that has a 
 few hours per week in these primary schools. This un- 
 doubtedly tends tO' raise the standard O'f the teaching force 
 in this class of schools. 
 
 The directors of the jec£le£, normales are taken almost ex- 
 clusively from^among the primary insgectors, it being tacitly 
 understood that a tour oi five or six years as inspector is a 
 necessary preparation for the directorship. 
 
 Since the State assumed responsibility for the teachers' 
 
 salaries in 1889, the teachers have been very carefully graded. 
 
 The titulaircs are divided into five classes, and 
 
 the process of ti-ansition fronii one to another ^^^^^^ ° 
 - " - ".-^-^ *>^-T*T. r r, ■*■ etchers 
 
 was very strictly regulated by the laws of 1889, 
 
 1893 and 1900, a certain per cent of the total number being 
 
 allowed for each class. This rather comphcated arrangement 
 
 was abolished in the spring o'f 1902 ^ and reforms were intro'- 
 
 duced looking to bettering the condition oif the teachers, the 
 
 basis of promotion being now leng'th of service. For purposes 
 
 of classification, the primary inspectors, the directors and 
 
 teachers in the normal and the higher primary schoois for 
 
 both boys and girls, and the stewards in the normal schools 
 
 are each likewise divided into five classes. It should be care- 
 
 ^ Lot de Finances, Mar. 30, 1902, Art. 69; Bull. Adm., Apr. 12, 1902, 
 LXXI, p. 358. 
 
64 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 fully noted here that the class of the teacher belongs to the 
 individual and not to the grade of work he may be doing. 
 Under normal conditions, the newly appointed teacher would 
 be named as an assistant in a country school, then assistant in 
 ^J^.Q^'-^---^o^''^ty school, later-j. head teacher in the country_ajid 
 finally director of a town school In this way, a teacher would 
 have a varied experience and be fitted for either class oi posi- 
 tions. In practice, however, this regular progression is by 
 no means followed. Owing to^ the fact that the supply of 
 teachers furnished by the nonnal schools is not equal to the 
 demand, the towns and cities usually get the best of the 
 teachers. In the case of the girls' normal school at Batignolles 
 in Paris, the better half of the class usually receive appoint- 
 ments in the ecolcs materncllcs in Paris, while the others are 
 sent to the suburbs as teachers in the ecoles primaires 
 elementaires. 
 
 All the complicated provisions for promotion from one class 
 to another, depending partly on length of service and partly 
 on merit, and the relative importance of the 
 twO' varying with the class, w-ere^abolished by 
 the financial law of 1902.^ This was supplemented by some 
 positive legislatiou one year later,- aimed chiefly at improving 
 the financial position of the teachers. Under the old scheme, 
 promotion was often slow and irregular, and some of the less 
 fo-rtunate spent the best of their years in faithful service and 
 still remained in the lowest classes. Then, too, the number of 
 promotions depended upon the varying mood of the two cham- 
 bers as affected by the peculiar financial situation that each 
 year might bring forth. Criticisms were heard on every 
 side, and the recruitment of men teachers was becoming in- 
 creasingly difiicult, due in part to the new law imposing two 
 years of military service on all instead of the one year that had 
 previously been required of all professional men, and in part 
 to various economic considerations. 
 
 '^ Loi de Finances, Mar. 30, 1902, Art. 69; Bull. Adm., Apr. 12, 1902, 
 LXXI, p. 358. 
 
 2Loi de Finances, Mar. 31. 1903, Art. 7z; Bull. Adm., Apr. 11, 1903, 
 LXXIII, p. 468. 
 
THE TEACHER 65 
 
 By this new le , g;;islatiO 'n. the salaries oif the stagiaires, and the 
 
 titulaires oi the fifth grade, were raised to one thousand and 
 
 to eleven hundred francs respectively/ The 
 
 , . 1 , Reform • ' 
 
 probationers are now promoted to regular 
 
 teachers on the first of January next after they gain the certi- 
 ficat d' aptitude pedagogiqiie, provided always that their names 
 are on the department council's list for prom'otion. This is 
 equivalent tO' saying that the academy inspector approves the 
 advancement, for this list is practically made up upon his re- 
 commendation. In any case, the academy inspector may nom- 
 inate for promotion only teachers whose names appear on this 
 list, but the actual appointment must be made by the prefect. 
 A third clause of this new law provides that beginning with 
 the first of January 1904, teachers shall be promoted from the 
 fifth and the fourth classes after five years of service in each 
 of these grades. Tlius lengt h of , s ervice; is made tlie basis O'f 
 prornQtion, and a regular movement is provided for. There 
 will no longer be any uncertainty about advancement, and 
 every teacher can count on faithful service being rewarded. 
 Parliament is now compelled to provide for a certain number 
 of promotions each year, and it will no longer be possible for 
 any teacher to reach the age of retiring and still be drawing 
 only a fifth class salary. 
 
 No pr^yision .has. th^^^^^^^ been made for promotion tp' the 
 second and the first classes, and the omission of any mention 
 here wouTcTseem to indicate that advancement there might be 
 made on the basis of merit, as has heretofore been the case 
 with all promotions to the highest class. To-day the first 
 class is not only the best paid, but it is composed of the picked 
 teachers of the whole school systemi, and there is no' prob- 
 ability that the conditions will be soi changed as to lower the 
 present high standard oif that class. Throughout all, the 
 ac^a^emyjnsgeoiQr^is the moving spirit in everything that con- 
 cerns the teacher's life, mr he iiTaIies"t^e first appointment as 
 stagiairc and also originates all movements for subsequent 
 promotion. 
 
 1 Further increased in 1905. Cf. infra. 
 
66 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 For some years, the directors and regular teachers in the 
 ecoles primaires superieures, the ecoles normales and the 
 ecoles professionnelles, together with the stewards in the 
 second of these schools, and the prima.i-y inspectors have been 
 promoted entirely from choice after mot less than three nor 
 more than six years' service in a particular class, ^ in every 
 case the promotion being in the hands of the Minister himself. 
 
 When the State abolished all school fees in 1881, it guar- 
 anteed every teacher a salary equal to the maximum he had 
 received during the previous three years. ^ 
 Sincg 1889 ^ when tke_State assumed the re- 
 sponsibility for. the salaries, these have been .the same for 
 all_ teachers of the same clasg„,ali ovm" Fran ce. 
 
 Men. Women. 
 
 Stagiaires 1000 * francs. 1000 * francs. 
 
 Titulaires, 5th class iioo ^ iioo ^ 
 
 4th 1200 1200 
 
 3d 1500 1400 
 
 2d 1800 1500 
 
 1st 2000 1600 
 
 1 Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 25, Gr. VI, p. 506. 
 
 2 Loi, June 16, 1881, Art. 6. Gr. V. p. 263. 
 
 3 Loi, July 19, 1889. Art. 7. Gr. VL p. 166. 
 
 * In 1889 this was 800 francs. It was increased to 900 francs in 1893, 
 and to the above figure in 1903. 
 
 The budget voted April 22, 1905 carried the following general increase 
 of salaries : * 
 
 Men. Women. 
 
 Stagiaires 1 100 francs. 1 100 francs. 
 
 Titulaires, 5th class 1200 1200 
 
 4th class 1500 1400 
 
 3d class 1800 1600 
 
 2d class 2000 1800 
 
 1st class 2200 2000 
 
 The salaries of the men and women teachers of the first four classes will 
 reach these new amounts in four years, by annual increment of one fourth 
 the difiference between the old figures and the new. 
 
 The salaries of the men and women teachers of the two lowest classes 
 will reach these new figures in two years, with an annual increment of 
 fifty francs. 
 
 ^ Increased from 1000 francs in 1903. 
 
 * Bull. Adm., Ixxvii., pp. 538-539. 
 
THE TEACHER 57 
 
 Teachers that have charge of a school with more than two 
 classes received two hundred francs extra, and this is in- 
 creased to four hundred francs if the school has more than 
 four classes.^ Each teacher of a cours complementaire also 
 receives two hundred francs extra. ^ 
 
 For the directors and adjoints, both men and women, in the 
 ecoles primaires superieures,^ the salaries are as follows :* 
 
 Directors. Teachers. 
 
 5th class 1800 francs 1200 francs 
 
 4th class 2000 1400 
 
 3d class 2200 1600 
 
 2d class 2500 1900 
 
 1st class 2800 2200 
 
 The directors and adjoints that have also the certificat au 
 professorat in the normal schools receive an extra stipend of 
 five hundred francs/ In case of absence on account of ill- 
 ness the teacher's substitute is paid by the State.® Not more 
 than six months' absence with pay may be allowed in any 
 year, for the first three on full salary and for the last three 
 on half.^ 
 
 The actual salary, however, does not represent the total in- 
 come of the teacher. There are two- other important items to 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 8, Gr. VI, p. 166. 2 /^j^_^ Art. 9. 
 
 ^ The corresponding figures for the teachers in the ecoles noruiales will 
 be found in the chapter on those schools. 
 
 * Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 14, Gr. VI, p. 170, as amended by Loi. July 22, 
 1693, Art. 15, Gr. VI, p. 505. 
 
 The budget voted April 22, 1905 carried the following changes in the 
 
 salary list : * 
 
 Men IVomen 
 
 Directors. Directresses. Teachers. Teachers. 
 
 5th class 2000 francs 2000 francs 1400 francs 1400 francs 
 
 4th class 2300 2200 1700 1600 
 
 3d class 2600 2400 2000 1800 
 
 2d class 2800 2600 2200 2000 
 
 1st class 3000 2800 2400 2200 
 
 s Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 20, Gr. VI. p. 172. 
 ^ Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 42, Gr. VI, p. 511. 
 ■^ Circ., Apr. 21, 1897, Gr. VI, p. 763. 
 
 * Bull, Adm., Ixxvii., p. 539. 
 
68 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 be considered, the house^rovided by the commune, or in de- 
 fault of that an eq[uivalent lodgin^_ .allQwance,, and the 
 mdemnite de residence. The law of 1889 ^ required that the 
 communes should provide both these for the teachers in the 
 ecoles maternelles, the ccoles primaircs cicmentaires and the 
 ecoles primaircs supcrieiircs, in fact all the schools that may 
 properly be called communal schools. Generally speaking, 
 the schoo'l teacher in France is very comfort- 
 ably housed. In the smaller communities, the 
 school building, the teacher's house and the mairie, or town 
 hall, often form one block. A school garden is almost uni- 
 versal in the country towns, and this is oi no little import- 
 ance to the school master, foT the industrious teacher can save 
 many a franc by raising his own vegetables. The accommoda- 
 tions for the adjoint and the stagiairc are less satisfactory, 
 but even they are looked out for. 
 
 Tlie indemnite de residence is something quite unknown to 
 
 us in America, but it is really the natural outcome of the 
 
 equalization of salaries. On account oi the 
 
 Residential octroi, OT tax which all towns in France oi four 
 Allowance , ."T"";"-"", . --*—-« 
 
 thousand mhabitants and over may levy on all 
 
 commodities, particularly food products, that are brought 
 within their walls, the cost oi living in these larger places is 
 much greater than in the co'untry, and generally speaking it 
 varies^ directly as the size of the town. To compensate as far 
 as possible for this condition oi ajffairs, towns where one 
 thousand or more people are massed together must pay this 
 indemnity to each teacher.- In order that there may be no 
 misunderstanding here, each community in the country is as- 
 signed to one of the eight classes defined by the limits of this 
 article and the exact amount of the allowance is stated for each 
 class. ^ In Paris, this ranges from eight hundred to two 
 thousand francs per year, but in the other towns it varies from 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Arts. 4. 10-12, Gr. VI, pp. 163, 167-168. 
 
 2 Ibid., Art. 12, Gr. VI, p. 167. 
 
 ^ Decret, Dec. 31, 1902; Bull. Adm., LXXII, pp. 1249-1289. 
 
THE TEACHER 69 
 
 one hundred to eight hundred francs. Outside the capital 
 city, the directors of the elementary schools and all teachers 
 in the cours complhnentaires and the ccolcs primaires su- 
 perieures are entitled to the full amount, while the other reg- 
 ular teachers receive one half, and stagiaires only one quarter 
 of the above figures. 
 
 The fact that these arrangements are all carried outjjni;; 
 ioTMlj and according to law is o^^o|jthe good.pp;!^^^^ 
 
 the French school sys-tem. for it absolutely 
 —.---.• - ,: . ' Advantages 
 
 precludes any biddmg for teachers, and one 
 
 is by no me*ins sure of finding the best teachers in the largest 
 cities. It is also important to note that nowhere is the 
 French teacher confronted with any " payment by results ' 
 plan, whether in salary, residential allowance or any kind of 
 state support for his school. The first of these depends upon 
 his class, and the other two on the size and importance of the 
 community. Of course every one takes a certain natural pride 
 in having as many pupils as possible gain the primary certifi- 
 cate, but at least he is free from any worry over next year's 
 grant depending upon their success. 
 
 The teacher's tenure^of office is practically assured as long 
 as he chooses to contmue in active work, and he is sure that 
 he will not be turned out simply to make way 
 for a younger man. Besides, too', wherever he Compensations 
 may be placed, being really a government offi- ° 
 
 cer, he is often upheld by the thought that he Teacher 
 has all the moral support of a great nation to 
 sustain him. He is safe Jrom all political influence whatso- 
 ever, and is dependent upon no mian's petty whim. While 
 from one point of view the income is decidedly poor, yet 
 one must remember that the standard of living in France is 
 below that in the United States, many of the things that we 
 consider necessities being luxuries there, and the teacher is 
 sure of his position in the schools with certain promotioii 
 awaiting him while he works and a pension when he retires. 
 The country teacher can sometimes increase his meager salary 
 one or two hundred francs a year by serving as secretary to the 
 
70 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 maire. This may seem to be involving the teacher in poHtics, 
 
 but the tactful man need have no fear on this score, and he 
 
 is often in a position to increase the public interest in school 
 
 afifaiirs if not actually tO' augment the financial support. 
 
 Moreover a recent law ^ grants free tuition Jii„thje lycees and 
 
 colleges to all the sons of pubhc school teachers. 
 
 The teachers' regular salaries^ are all subject to a tax of 
 
 five per cent to provide for their^ pensions at retirement.^ 
 
 _ . Every teacher who has reached the asre of Hity-. 
 
 Pensions r , , i n • 
 
 nve and has spent at least twenty-five years m 
 
 ^tive service is eligible tO' retire on half |)ay. The amount of 
 
 this per^ion Is based on the average income of all kinds that 
 
 has been subject to the above tax for the best six years of 
 
 the teacher's life. Time spent in the noiTnal school after 
 
 the age of twenty may be counted in these twenty-five years, 
 
 and for every additional year of service the ^jmountjof^ tj^e 
 
 pension is augmentec^ by one-fihieth of the salaiy. In no 
 
 case, however, may the pension oi a man be less than six 
 
 hundred francs nor of a woman less than five hundred francs. 
 
 If the teacher has been married at least six years, his widow 
 
 or minor children recdve^nej;]iird what the husband or father 
 
 w:^uld have received.* —"■-* 
 
 There are five grades of punishment that may be inflicted 
 
 on the teacher : * reprimand, censure, dismissal, temporary 
 
 debarment from teaching (this cannot exceed 
 Punishments _ . , , , _^ 
 
 nve years), and permanent debarment. ine 
 
 first of these is quite simple and is pronounced by the academy 
 inspector. This same official pronounces the censure, but only 
 with the approval of the conseil departemefital. In neither 
 of these cases is the teacher allowed any redress. The dis- 
 missal is naturally more serious. Here again the academy in- 
 spector is the moving spirit, but the actual dis'missal is pro- 
 nounced by the prefect after the approval of the conseil de- 
 
 1 Lot de Finances, Apr. 13, 1900, Art. 29, Gr. VI, p. 916. 
 
 2 Loi, Aug. 17, 1876, Gr. IV, pp. 646-647. 
 
 3 Loi, Apr. 28, 1893, Gr. VI, p. 496. 
 
 *Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Arts. 31-32, Gr. V, pp. 683-684. 
 
THE TEACHER 
 
 71 
 
 partemental. In this event, the teacher may appeal to the 
 Minister. The teachers in the ecoles primaires superieures 
 and the ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage as well as all others 
 appointed by the Minister are subject to the reprimand and the 
 censure under the same conditions as the ordinary teachers, 
 but they may be dismissed only by the Minister, The tem- 
 porary and permanent debarments which may even exclude 
 the offender from private school woirk, are pronounced by the 
 conseil departemental. These partake more of the nature of 
 legal trials, for the accused may here be represented by coun- 
 sel. Appeal may be taken from this decision to the conseil 
 superieur de rinstruction piihlique. All the teachers in the 
 elementary primary school system are subject to- these last 
 two penalties under the same conditions. 
 
 There are various sorts of rewards that may be bestowed 
 upon the teachers — honorable mentions, bronze medals^ and 
 
 silver medals, open tO' all teachers.^ The silver 
 
 , , , • ■ , • -1 -11 -1 Rewards 
 
 medal also carries with it a violet ribbon with 
 
 yellow stripes. There is another similar series, except for 
 the ribbon, which is open to the teachers in the ecoles mater- 
 nelles.* Then, too, we find medals with accompanying mon£^ 
 prizes given to encourage the work in adult classes. In 1903 
 there were distributed in France for this purpose seventy-five 
 medals O'f gilded silver, each with one hundred francs addi- 
 tional, one hundred and twenty-five medals of silver with 
 seventy-five francs additional, and four hundred medals of 
 bronze with fifty francs additional, besides many gifts of 
 books. ^ Besides all these, there are numerous other rewards 
 for the teaching of agriculture, for encouraging vaccination 
 and revaccination among the children — ^two hundred and fifty- 
 seven such prizes in 1903 * — as well as various departmental 
 
 1 Arrets, Jan. 18, 1893, Art. 127, Gr. VI, p. 467. 
 
 2 Arrets, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 128, Gr. V, p. 798. 
 ^Arrets, July i, 1903, Bull. Adm., LXXIII, p. 14. 
 
 * Arret e, Oct. 28, 1903, Bull. Adm., LXXIV, p. 1052. As early as 1822, 
 the question of vaccination began to be agitated officially. Since the regu- 
 lation of August 17, 1851, evidence that the child has been vaccinated or 
 has had varioloid has been required before he is allowed to enroll in school. 
 
72 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 prizes. It is not surprising that with this example before the 
 teachers the prize-giving spirit sometimes runs rampant in the 
 French schools. This is one of the striking features of the 
 systemi to an American at least, and one cannot help wonder- 
 ing if many of the children do not work for the marks and the 
 rewards rather than from the lo^ve of learning or " for the joy 
 of the doing." ' 
 
 1 A few years ago a questionnaire containing various inquiries pertain- 
 ing to the school life iwas' sent around in the department du Nord. Of the 
 37,000 pupils in the cours moyen that were consulted, 15,328 boys and 12,- 
 518 girls said that they were rewarded .by their parents when they got good 
 marks, and 14,468 boys and 12,124 girls said they iwere punished when they 
 got bad ones. (Une Enquete Pedagogique: . .Revue Pedagogique, Jan., 
 1900, p. 23.) This at least shows an interest on the part of the parents in 
 the progress of their children in the schools, but it is decidedly question- 
 able if the method followed is really productive of the best results. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 The Lower Schools (i) 
 
 " Primary instruction is given in the ecoles mafernelles and 
 classes enfantines, in the ecoles primaires elementaires, in the 
 ecoles primaires superieures and in the classes of this grade 
 that are attached tO' the elementary schools and are known as 
 cours complementaires, and in the ecoles manuelles d'appren- 
 tissage." ^ This is the definition O'f the primary schools as 
 found in the opening paragraphs of the organic law oi 
 October 1886. 
 
 The ecoles matcrnelles, or salles d'asile as they were gen- 
 erally called until 1881. have now existed in France for al- 
 most exactly three quarters O'f a century. They 
 take the place O'f our kindergartens and are like Maternelles 
 them to some extent. They resemble, however, 
 the elementary schools adapted to very young children rather 
 than a radically different conception of child education. 
 Economic conditions in general and the necessity for the chil- 
 dren getting to work early are said tO' be responsible for this 
 downward trend of the subjects of the curriculum of the ele- 
 mentary schoo'l. In the first place the ecoles maternelles are 
 nowhere compulsory in France (but once started, however, 
 they are classed among the " conventionally obligatory " 
 schools ^ and must be maintained for a certain length of time) 
 and the 6,007 ^ schools that existed in 1902 in 3,399 com- 
 munities represent the efforts of those communities to provide 
 for an aspect of education that is constantly becoming more 
 and more important. Although the majority of these schools 
 
 ^Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. i, Gr. V, pp. 669-670. 
 
 2 Cf. ch. iii, p. 55. 
 
 3 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, pp. xxv-xxvi, Ixxxii. 
 
 73 
 
74 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 were priva/te, and most of them were conducted by the con- 
 gregations, or reHgious bodies, the pubHc schools contained 
 about sixty-one per cent of the children. Compared with the 
 figures of five years previous, these private establishments 
 show a gain of nearly ten per cent in the number of schools 
 and about four per cent in the number of children, while the 
 corresponding figures for the public schools are nearly one 
 and three respectively. In all places of more than two thou- 
 sand inhabitants where there is an agglomeration of at least 
 twelve hundred people, the State also assumes the responsibil- 
 ity for the salaries of the teachers in these schools. The re- 
 quirements for the teachers are exactly the same as for those 
 in the ordinary elementary schools, and the obligations to- 
 ward them on the part of the commune for lodging and res- 
 idential allowance are likewise the same. These schools were 
 conducted very indefinitely, until the legislation of 1881 not 
 only included them in the category of schools with free tuition, 
 but also put their organization and supervision upon a definite 
 and uniform basis. ^ 
 
 The principle underlying the organization of the ecoles ma- 
 ternelles in France was essentially social and economic rather 
 than educational. Consequently these schools receive very 
 young children and will keep them throughout the day, if the 
 parents wish. They are open to all children frorw two to 
 seven years of age, and the children may remain at the school 
 from seven o'clock in the morning until seA'en in the evening 
 in summer, and from eig'ht until six in winter. The time 
 before nine o'clock and after four, however, is occupied solely 
 with supervised play. 
 
 One of the most interesting features of these schools, at 
 least in Paris, is the cantine scolaire or school kitchen. Here 
 
 a warm luncheon consisting of meat and vege- 
 School tables, or soup and vegetables is provided for 
 
 those children that wish to remain at school. 
 There is a small charge varying from ten to twenty centimes 
 per day (about two to four cents) for those that can afford to 
 
 1 Decret, Aug. 2, 1881, Gr. V, p. 302 ff. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 75 
 
 pay, but the others are suppHed free. Each child brings his 
 Httle basket containing bread and something to drink, gener- 
 ally a small bottle of wine, while the school furnishes knife, 
 fork, spoon and plate, as well as the food. All the children 
 sit down and eat together under the supervision of the 
 teacher. 
 
 Women teachers are obligatory, and a woman to assist in 
 the personal care of the children is attached to each school 
 This latter, hcnvever, is at the expense of the community. 
 Generally speaking, if there are more than fifty children, the 
 teacher has an assistant, and then the work becomes much 
 easier, for the children three or four years of age form one 
 division and the older ones another. 
 
 The ideas of Froebel have as yet had comparatively little 
 influence on the ecoles maternelles of France. These schools 
 have been justly criticised for hurrying the 
 children along too rapidly and making the work ^^" ° 
 
 of this very elementary school of too serious 
 import.^ It is chiefly work and little play. Although the 
 educational authorities declare that the ecole maternelle is not 
 an ordinar}^ school, by a strange transformation, "the ideal 
 of almost all the persons that are either intimately or re- 
 motely interested in that sort of an institution has been to 
 make of the ecolc niaternclle a school with all the disagree- 
 able features oi the school." ^ The spirit of real enjoyment 
 that seems to underlie the play of our own kindergarten chil- 
 dren in the school room, is quite unknown in the ecole ma- 
 ternelle in France. 
 
 No- special training is deemed necessary for the teachers in 
 these schools, and in fact the special certificate 
 at one time required was definitely abolished Teachers not 
 in 1886 and replaced by the brevet elementaire.^ Trained 
 One finds an ecole maternelle attached to the 
 practice school of each of the girls' normal schools in 
 
 1 Anna Tolman Smith, in Educational Review, Sept., 1901. 
 
 2 Mmme. Kergomard, Inspectrice generate des ecoles maternelles in Les 
 Ecoles Maternelles. Revue Pedagogique, April, 1900, p. 337. 
 
 'Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 62, Gr. V, p. 697. 
 
76 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the country, but the prospective teachers take their turns there 
 just as in one of the other coiirs of the school, and the pupils 
 leave the normal school without knowing whether they are 
 to teach in an ecole maternelle or in an ordinary primary 
 school. The authorities apparently take the view that " all 
 the women teachers should be familiar with the methods and 
 the processes of the Scales maternelles and should be equally 
 well fitted to teach in all grades oi the primary schools " ^ 
 whether in an ccolc niatcrnclle or in an ecole primaire su- 
 per ienre. As has been said before, in the Paris normal school, 
 the better half of the graduating class are generally appointed 
 to positions in the ecolcs inaternelles in the city, and the oth- 
 ers are sent to primary schools in the suburbs. 
 
 According tO' the ministerial instructions accompanying the 
 program^ of July 28, 1882, "the ecole maternelle is not a 
 
 ^ . , school in the ordinary sense of the word : " it 
 
 Curriculum ;.,.., , 
 
 forms the passage from- the family to the 
 
 school." The method to be followed " consists in imitating 
 as closely as possible the process of education of an intelligent 
 and devoted mother." ^ Since the ecoles maternelles are not 
 supposed " tO' form or to exercise one group of faculties at 
 the expense of the others, but rather to develop them all har- 
 moniously, one ought not to be bound down to follow rigor- 
 ously any of the special methods that are based on a system 
 peculiar and artificial." * The instruction in the ecoles mater- 
 nelles and in the classes enfantines includes: games; various 
 graded movements accompanied by songs; manual work; first 
 principles of moral education; knowledge oi the common 
 things ; language work, recitation and stories ; the first prin- 
 ciples of drawing, reading, writing and arithmetic.^ The 
 subjoined program oi one of the classes in an ecole maternelle 
 will give a rather more comprehensive idea of the nature of 
 the work done in these French schools : 
 
 ^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignenient Primaire, p. 226. 
 
 2 Bull. Adm., 1882. XXVII, p. 247 ff. 
 
 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 
 
 ' Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 721. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 77 
 
 Assembly 
 
 Singing 
 
 
 Reading 
 
 Language work 
 
 Writing 
 
 
 RECREATION 
 
 
 Reading from text 
 
 Dictation 
 
 
 National 
 biography 
 
 Object 
 lesson 
 
 Descriptive 
 geography 
 
 History 
 Morale 
 
 Description 
 
 j of pictures 
 
 LUNCHEON — RECREATION — ASSEMBLY 
 
 Arithmetic 
 
 Arithmetic 
 
 Arithmetic 
 
 Arithmetic Arithmetic 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Drawing Drawing 
 
 RECREATION 
 
 Animals 
 and plants 
 
 , Manual 
 j training 
 
 English 
 
 Class study 
 
 English 
 
 Animals 
 and plants 
 
 Manual 
 training 
 
 Stories 
 
 Manual 
 training 
 
 Manual 
 training 
 
 Manual 
 training 
 
 Stories 
 
 Stories 
 
 Stories 
 
 Stories 
 
 PSOGRAM OF THE SeCOND YeAR ClASS IN THE Rcolc Anttexe OF THE 
 
 Girls' Normal School at Batignolles, Paris, 
 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Saturday 
 
 8|- 9i ^ 
 
 9^-IOi: 
 10^-10^ 
 lO^-II 
 
 II -Ilj 
 
 a- 2 
 
 2 - 2^ 
 
 2i- 3 
 
 3 - 3i 
 3 J- 3i 
 
 It is said that on leaving the ecoles maternclles " the chil- 
 dren can almost all read readily, write legibly and can per- 
 formi simple operations in addition, subtraction and multipli- 
 cation." Certainly much more is attempted in France than 
 in many of our first and second grades in the United States. 
 As far as my observation goes, the use of slates seems to be 
 very general throughout the first years of school life, but the 
 writing is done with white chalk instead of with slate pencil. 
 From the point of view O'f legibility, this is undoubtedly a 
 great success, but it can hardly be termed hygienic. 
 
 After some preliminary work in addition and subtraction, 
 I heard the fo'llowing example given to a third class in an 
 ecole materneUe : "A man spends forty-five 
 francs per month for rent, ninety-two francs 
 for food, and thirty-two francs for clothes. 
 Supposing he saves thirty-one francs, how much does he 
 earn?" After one or two- children had answered rather 
 wildly on the process to be followed, one indicated the proper 
 
 Arithmetic 
 Example 
 
^8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 method. These were pupils that would probably average six 
 years of age. 
 
 It is in this same school — the practice school attached to 
 
 the girls' normal school in Paris — t'hat an attempt was made 
 
 in IQ02-IQ03 to begin the teaching of English 
 
 English . , , , - , , , ,, /-^r 
 
 m the lowest grade 01 the ecole nmterneUe. Of 
 course the work is all very elementary, being confined to the 
 names of the ordinary objects about the school room and such 
 simple sentences as : " Give me some bread," '' Take your 
 slate." One little boy counted up tO' five in Enghsh. A few 
 minutes are devoted tO' exercises of this sort two- or three times 
 a week, and the work is all done by the regular class teachers. 
 Tlie fodlowing extracts from " The day of a teacher in an 
 ecole nmterneUe in Paris " may throw additional light on this 
 grade of schools in France. ^ 
 
 " From the time when the ecole maternelle opens, at eight 
 o'clock in winter and seven o'clock in summer, the children from 
 two to six years of age come in the company of some member 
 of their family — an older brother or sister who is on his way to 
 the adjoining school, or perhaps the mother. 
 
 " The teacher on duty receives them and has the children that 
 eat luncheon at the school arrange their baskets in a place by 
 themselves. Then all the little folks take their seats on the 
 benches of the court. Until nine o'clock, the regular hour for 
 opening school, the teacher has the children spend the time in 
 singing or in some light gymnastic work. 
 
 " We might add that the ecole maternelle is a mixed sehool 
 and there is no separation of the sexes in the classroom, in the 
 court or on the playground. 
 
 "At nine o'clock all the teachers appear. Each one takes 
 charge of her own class, conducts the children to the toilets, in- 
 spects their hands, their handkerchiefs and their clothes, calls 
 the attention of some to their faults, rewards others for their 
 general neatness, and promises to be lenient with those who are 
 very clean the next day. 
 
 " They sing as they go to their classes. When everybody is 
 seated the class work begins. 
 
 1 Quoted in Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, pp. 
 227-229. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS jq 
 
 " In accordance with the program, twenty minutes are spent 
 in reading, five in singing, twenty in writing and ten in language 
 work. 
 
 " For the reading, movable letters are used or else the teacher 
 •writes letters or syllables on the blackboard, always giving the 
 sound with the character. 
 
 "At quarter past ten there is a half-hour recess. The children 
 play freely but they are under surveillance. 
 
 " On returning to the class, the roll is called, and then follow 
 simple lessons in history, geography, or object lessons, accord- 
 ing to the program. 
 
 "At quarter past eleven, the teacher appointed to look after 
 the luncheon hour conducts to the court all the children that eat 
 luncheon at the school. 
 
 " Behind these come the children that go home for the mid- 
 day meal. A teacher sees them to the door of the school where 
 the parents are waiting for them. 
 
 " The maid helps the teacher in seating the children at the 
 tables and in passing the food. The poor receive their soup and 
 vegetables, sometimes soup, vegetables and meat, free ; the others 
 pay ten centimes (about two cents). During the luncheon, the 
 teacher and the maid continually call attention to the need of 
 cleanliness and even interrupt the meal to make important sug- 
 gestions. Luncheon is over at quarter past twelve. 
 
 " The play of the children is free. The teacher in charge is 
 now relieved by another. The surveillance is usually restricted 
 to preventing dangerous games ; but a teacher who really appre- 
 ciates her responsibility directs the play, participates in it and 
 takes personal interest in all the little children who 'have so 
 much need of good advice or kind words. 
 
 "At one o'clock, the children are taken to the wash room and 
 the toilets. They sing on their way to their class rooms, and 
 then follow the ordinary class exercises : reading, arithmetic, 
 interspersed with memory work or singing. Then various exer- 
 cises continue until half past two, when there is a recreation 
 period of half an hour. Twice a week, after this period, each 
 class has gymnastics : simple movements of the arms and legs, 
 marches, games. 
 
 "After the recreation, there is either manual work or de- 
 signing. These exercises consist of folding, weaving, cutting 
 
8o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 or pricking. The design is either drawn in a blank book or fash- 
 ioned with Httle strips of material. 
 
 "At four o'clock, the children that go home alone are led to 
 the door, the others await their parents. 
 
 " The sdhool closes at six o'clock in winter and seven o'clock 
 in summer. 
 
 " When the children leave the ecole maternelle at six years 
 of iage, almost all of them can read readily, write legibly, and 
 perform some simple operations in addition, subtraction and mul- 
 tiplication. 
 
 " In some quarters of the great cities, the children are poorly 
 clothed, but generally speaking they are reasonably clean. It is 
 very rare to see a child with a soiled frock on Monday. 
 
 " The education often leaves much to be desired ; the child 
 confided to our care expresses himself in very rough fashion ; 
 he strikes his comrades and they retaliate, but he soon loses 
 these bad manners, and all the poor little children who have 
 so much need of affection, like all children of their age, become 
 attached to their teacher. They are very happy when they re- 
 ceive her caress, and take it as a severe punishment when they 
 are deprived of this. So the discipline is reasonably easy. 
 
 "As for the parents, save for rare exceptions, they are always 
 very polite and decorous toward the teachers. When they have 
 opportunity, they express to us their appreciation for the care 
 we have bestowed upon their children." 
 
 The classes enfantines are a direct consequence of the law 
 establishing the gratnite of primary education and the subse- 
 quent assumption of the teachers' salaries by 
 Classes ^^^ State. They have really no separate or- 
 
 LLIlfClfltl'VlCS 
 
 ■ganization of their own, nor can they exist ex- 
 cept in connection with an ecole maternelle or an ecole 
 primaire elcmcntaire.^ Nominally they are supposed to form 
 the transition between these two schools, but in actual practice 
 they are so closely assimilated with either one or the other that 
 it is very difficult to differentiate them. The curriculum is 
 the same as that prescribed for the upper section of the ecole 
 maternelle,'^ but it is naturally a little more advanced. The 
 
 ^Decret, Jan. i8, 1887, Art. 2, Gr. V, p. 721. 
 2 Cf. supra., p. 76. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 8 1 
 
 children oi both sexes frorn four to seven years of age are 
 admitted there, " and they receive with the education O'f the 
 ecole maternelle, the beginning of elementary instruction." 
 As a matter oi fact, the most useful purpose O'f these classes 
 enfantines is to pro-vide a kind of elementary instruction for 
 the children of those communities that do not fulfil the con- 
 ditions for having the " conventionally obligato'ry " Scales 
 maternelles. There they form a kind of preparatoiry class for the 
 ordinary elementary school, and are known under that name, 
 cours preparatoire. In fact in many of the communes O'f the 
 country, the three conrs in the elementary school are the 
 cours preparatoire, cours elementaire and cours moyen, the 
 cours superieur being entirely lacking. Indeed in the smaU 
 towns where there is but a single teacher, it requires no small 
 degree of skill, even with the help of a monitor, tO' keep three 
 different cours fully occupied. 
 
 The Scales primaires SlSmentaires are open to all children 
 between the ages of six and thirteen, though in communes 
 where there is neither Scale maternelle nor 
 classe enfantine the age for entering is lowered Elementary 
 to' five years. Since 1881, there has been abso- g^j^^ j 
 lutely no charge for tuition O'f any so^rt, and it 
 is chiefly during these last twO' decades that France has made 
 such remarkable progress in education. 
 
 Before 1833, primary instruction in France was in a very 
 
 chaotic condition; in fact, officially it had no' existence.^ 
 
 M. Guizot is responsible for the re-establishment at that time, 
 
 and the important refo'rms that have occurred since then have 
 
 been due tO' the inspiration of some great master minds. The 
 
 philosophers Simon and Pecaut, the ministers Duruy and 
 
 Ferry, and the administrators Greard and Buisson have all 
 
 played their parts. At one time, we can trace 
 
 the political influence, the desire to fit each ".^^7.^"* 
 . . ^ . Principles 
 
 citizen of the new republic for universal suf- 
 
 ^ Gossot. Essai Critique sur I'Enseignement Primaire en France de 1800 
 a 1900, p. ix. 
 
82 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 frage ; at a later period, it is the economic needs, when the na- 
 tion is brought face to face with the necessity of rendering 
 every Frenchman better competent to work for France agri- 
 culturally, commercially, and industrially. After all, this 
 intense and ever-quickening struggle for economic supremacy 
 has pushed the nations of the old world to still greater efforts, 
 and in the last analysis this single fact will be found to be 
 the cause of many of the changes in the school curricula. In 
 America, our natural advantages are so great that we have 
 hardly begun to feel this pressure behind us, but when one 
 compares the life in our own country with that of the con- 
 tinental peoples, one begins to realize how much harder the 
 struggle for existence must be in the old world. 
 
 In spite of all the work that was done before, it is the Third 
 Republic, however, that has made the most striking advances. 
 It is all since 1881 that the three cardinal laws concerning 
 compulsory attendance, free tuitiou, and the laicization of both 
 instruction and the teaching force have been passed. In spite 
 of the enormous strides that public education has made in 
 France, as late as 1902, of the 91,239 primary schools of all 
 kinds in France and Algeria, 70,441 of these were public and 
 20,798 were private.^ In other words, more than twenty 
 per cent of the primary schools were out of the 
 
 The Religious ^^^^^^ charge and responsibility of the State. 
 
 Bodies , : - , , , , 
 
 This has been productive of much trouble, and 
 
 even now France is certainly passing through a crisis in her 
 educational history. The influence of the congregations is 
 almost entirely thrown against the government and even 
 against the republic itself, and at times the government offi- 
 cials have met armed resistance in attempting to carry out the 
 recent repressive legislation passed against these bodies. 
 Since these figures were published, the struggle has actually 
 resulted in a separation of church and State. The time was 
 when France was one of the staunchest supporters of the 
 Vatican, but to-day even the most conservative admit that the 
 majority of the French people no longer owe allegiance to the 
 
 ^ Statistique, VII, 1901-1902. p. xxviii. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 83 
 
 Catholic Church. In fact, the law of laicization in 1881 suffi- 
 ciently proves that. It is a deibatable question, however, if the 
 instruction in inorale which has been subtituted for the old 
 religious instruction is satisfactorily supplying the need of 
 education of that nature. 
 
 Since 1886, the law has required ^ that every commune shall 
 be provided with at least one ecole primaire publique, unless 
 legally joined to one or more neighboring com- 
 munes for school purposes. In IQO2, however, Prevalence 
 . • T^ 1 °^ Schools 
 
 there were nmety-one communes m France and 
 Algeria that had no public schoo'l, and fifty-one that had no 
 school at all. Of these latter, strange to- say, only one was 
 in Algeria. There were seven hundred and ninety-three 
 communes that were legally joined for school purposes. These 
 with the 35,667 that support at least one public school make 
 up the total oi 36,551 communes.^ When the commune or 
 the union O'f com^munes above referred tO' contains at least five 
 hundred inhabitants, a special school for girls must be pro- 
 vided. Many of the communes have a great deal of local 
 pride and do even more than the law requires here, for of the 
 eighteen thousand four hundred and four communes in 1897 
 that had five hundred or less inhabitants, three thousand seven 
 hundred and ninety-three supported a girls' public school. Of 
 the eighteen thousand one hundred and forty-seven others, one 
 thousand twO' hundred and fifty-three had no- public school for 
 girls, but six hundred and twenty-five of these supported at 
 least one private schooh^ Thus there are three distinct kinds 
 of ecoles pmnaires elementaires, those for girls, those for boys, 
 and the mixed.* 
 
 After the passage of the compulsory school law of 1882, 
 it was incumbent on the communes to provide adequately for 
 
 '^ Loi, Oct. 30, 1886. Art. 11, Gr. V. pp. 675-676. 
 
 - Statistique, VII. 1901-1902, p. xliii. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. xliv. 
 
 * These were divided as follows in 1902: boys' and mixed, 44,631; girls', 
 23,216; or a total of 67,847. At the same t)im€ there were 17,385 private 
 schoo'ls, 4,138 for boys, and 13,247 for girls. Ibid., p. xxvii. 
 
84 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ^ .,^. the education of their children. As if to chnch 
 
 Buildings 
 
 the matter, the law of 1886 specifically required 
 
 this, and put the burden of the expense on the commimity, 
 Aithoug-h the conseil departemental is practically the sole au- 
 thority in determining- the number and situation of the schools 
 in the department, in case this council refuses to act from 
 any trouble over the congrcganiste schools or if for any other 
 reason the law is obviously being disregarded, the prefect may 
 interfere, order the erection of a school and inscribe the ex- 
 penses on the budget of the commune.^ This whole process 
 is rather long and tedious, but it may be done as a last resort. 
 The State is often willing to help the poorer communes, 
 but only in erecting new buildings, enlarging old ones, or 
 buying buildings that may be adapted for 
 school purposes. In no case, however, will the 
 State aid a commune the value of whose ccntUne communal 
 is more than six thousand francs." While previous to the 
 passage of this law, the amount of assistance a given com- 
 mune could obtain was generally dependent upon the activity 
 and strength oi the influence it could bring tO' bear on the 
 educational authorities, now all is arranged vei"y fairly. The 
 amount in any particular case cannot be less than fifteen per 
 cent nor more than eig"hty per cent of the total cost, and this 
 still further varies inversely according to the resources and the 
 debt, and directly accoTding tO' the importance of the school 
 work undertaken by the commune.^ 
 
 The State exercises a careful supervision over the plans and 
 
 the construction of thesebuildings and demands always that they 
 
 shall conform to certain specified standards.* 
 
 m ing Y^^ windows are always found on the left O'f 
 
 Requirements -^ 
 
 the pupils, although some school rooms have 
 them on two- other sides also. The class rooms are planned 
 for an ordinary maximum of fifty pupils, each pupil having 
 a surface allowance of 1.25 m. (about seventeen square feet), 
 
 1 Decret, Apr. 7, 1887, Arts. 41-49, Gr. VI, pp. 27-29. 
 
 2 Loi, June 20, 1885, Art. 8, Gr. V, p. 615. ^ /^j^. 
 * Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Annexe D, Gr. V, pp. 830-838. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 85 
 
 and they must be at least 4 m. (about thirteen feet) in height. 
 The schools are usually swept and dusted by the pupils, dele- 
 gated in turn by the teacher. It seems rather strange to find 
 this same custom prevailing even in the normal schools. 
 
 Sufficient provision is supposed tO' be made for heating and 
 ventilating, but from the American point of view at least, 
 these are very inadequate. The rooms are all 
 
 heated by stoves, and even in winter when -f^^"5-^" 
 ■^ . Ventilatmg 
 
 the temperature is down tO' fifty degrees or 
 thereabouts, it is by no means unusual tO' find one or two 
 windows wide open and no fire in the room. When it be- 
 comes necessary to close the windows, the last chance for 
 ventilation is gone, and only too often the windows are opened 
 solely at recreation periods. In many a school that I visited 
 last winter, either the temperature was too low to enable one 
 to sit there comfortably even with an overcoat on, or else 
 the air was so close as toi be unpleasant. In the arrangements 
 of their school (buildings, the French still have much to learn, 
 and they probably will not improve very much until the con- 
 struction oi the buildings is confided to architects that have 
 made a special study of schools and their needs. 
 
 As far as the external appearance of the buildings is con- 
 cerned, there is nothing to be desired. Even in the modern 
 buildings, however, there are no dressing rooms for the 
 pupils, their caps and capes being hung on hooks around the 
 walls O'f the school rooms. Aside from the trouble and un- 
 sightly appearance oi the clothes, in bad weather the wet capes 
 cannot fail to be positively deleterious. The arrangements of 
 the water-closets is generally bad and often totally inadequate. 
 In one of the largest boys' schoo'ls in Paris, which, however, 
 is very oM and admittedly unsatisfactoiy, there are only seven 
 closets and nine urinals for more than seven hundred boys. 
 Here, however, not all the boys have recess at the same time. 
 In another school which is supposed tO' be a model school — in 
 many respects the best that I have seen in France, and really 
 as far as the teachers and the work are concerned well able 
 to serve as a pattern — I have seen on several occasions a 
 
86 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 whole class wait in line throughout the recess in order to 
 visit the closets, and even then be late in returning to the 
 class room. 
 
 The commune is responsible for the buildings, all that per- 
 tains to their lighting, heating, furnishing and general care 
 
 . as well as keeping all this plant in good repair. 
 
 Furniture t^, , .... - . . 
 
 1 he bare essentials m the way of furniture are 
 
 a desk and platform for the teacher, a blackboard, a book 
 closet, and desks, benches and clothes hooks sufficient for the 
 pupils. Besides there should be a table of the metric system, 
 a wall map of France, and in girls' schools the necessary sup- 
 plies for teaching the sewing required by the programi.^ 
 In the better schools, one finds in addition other charts for 
 the teaching of reading, histoiy and natural history. The 
 commune must also provide the necessary school registers for 
 the pupils, the catalogue of the library (where the school is 
 fortunate enough tO' have one) together with other equip- 
 ment necessary for its proper use. The schooi desks are too 
 often old fashioned and are usually intended for twoi pupils. 
 There are four different sizes, and thus they serv^e as best they 
 can the varying ages oif the pupils. They are made entirely of 
 wood even to the legs, with a slightly-sloping, stationary top, 
 and a space inside for books. This latter is in use only during 
 school hours, for it is forbidden to have any books in the desk 
 overnig^ht. All books that are common property or need to 
 be kept at the school are collected and put in the book closet. 
 In fact, it is a familiar sight almost anywhere on the continent 
 to see even the very young- children trudging to school in the 
 morning with their books and boxes of luncheon in a kind of 
 knapsack slung over their shoulders. They march along as 
 soberly and sedately as though dimly conscious of the great 
 weight and importance of the knowledge borne upon their 
 backs. The ordinary school seat is a kind of bench generally 
 provided with a backpiece and adapted for as many children 
 as the desk it accompanies. One advantage oi the double desk 
 and seat is that in case of lack of accommodations, especially 
 ^ Decret, Jan. 29, 1890, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 226. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS g? 
 
 with the young children, it is often possible to crowd an extra 
 pupil with his legs astride the dividing rail, in between the 
 rightful occupants of the desk. The disadvantages of this 
 multiple seat system, however, are prefectly obvious in France, 
 and the expense involved is said tO' be the only reason for 
 not adopting our American system/ The blackboard space 
 in the ordinary school room is small, almost universally con- 
 fined to a portion of the wall behind the teacher's desk, and 
 the quality is even worse than the quantity. On account of 
 the prevailing methods, comparatively little blackboard room 
 is needed, but certainly this is all the more reason for that little 
 being good. In all my inspection of the French schools, I re- 
 member seeing only one school where the boards were really 
 excellent. That was a city school where there were slate 
 boards. A regular blackboard eraser is quite unknown, the 
 ordinary appliance for cleaning being a cloth or a dry sponge, 
 though many a pupil and even the teachers do' not always stop 
 to find that. 
 
 One is strangely disappomted at the lack of decoration al- 
 most everywhere noticeable in the public schools of every 
 grade. If the French were not a people noted 
 
 ^ , . . . . . Decoration 
 
 for their artistic sense and appreciation, perhaps 
 this want would not be so painfully evident. A Minister of 
 Public Instruction said not long since : " The school, such as 
 we conceive it, is not merely a place O'f instruction for youth 
 from six to thirteen years oi age; it ought tO' be a homelike 
 place where the adult could return to the scenes of his youth. 
 I desire that these centers oi friendship and comradeship 
 should be decorated in a manner appropriate to their pur- 
 pose." " Unfortunately these wishes oi M. Leygues are yet 
 far from being fulfilled. At that same time, he sent among the 
 schools oi the coimtry some colored railroad pO'Sters ( of course 
 without the advertisements of the companies) representing 
 views in various parts of France. Some O'f these are accept- 
 able, but the majority are far from satisfactor}^ It seems to 
 
 1 Greard, Education et Instruction, p. 78. 
 
 2 Circ, Sept. 24, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 898. 
 
88 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 be the opinion of many of the teachers that these pictures are 
 not only oi little practical value, but on the contrary are ac- 
 tually a positive harm. There is really nothing artistic about 
 most of them, and about all one can say is that they cover an 
 otherwise dingy wall with a dash of bright color. There are 
 so many beautiful photogravures and other reproductions of 
 faimous pictures that one can buy very cheaply in France that 
 it seems too bad not tO' make special effo'rts to put these be- 
 fore the eyes of the children. One need not spend a large 
 sum at once, but a few francs a year judiciously expended 
 would give a school at least an artistic collection of pictures at 
 the end of a few years. In striking contrast with the general 
 lassitude along these lines, it is only fair to^ say that here and 
 there one finds a school where the teacher has made the most 
 of small opportunities, and one sees a few pictures evidently 
 mounted and set by t!lie teacher's own hand in neat looking 
 frames. Besides this must be noted the practical effort that is 
 being made at the boys' ecole normale at Lyon to develop a 
 desire for good pictures and to show future teachers how this 
 desire may be gratified at small expense. 
 
 The school walls are supposed to be done over at least once 
 a year, but general appearances do- not seem to^ indicate that 
 this provision is very faithfully carried out. In the matter 
 of decoration, there is one school, at least, where the ideal of M. 
 Leygues seems realized, and that is in the girls' ecole normale 
 pritnaire superieure alt Fontenay-aux-Roses. There is a valu- 
 able collection of artistic reproductions of famous pictures here, 
 the building withal is most homelike, and it all stands as a 
 fitting monument to its founder and late director, M. Felix 
 Pecaut. 
 
 One finds a mitsee scolaire or school museum in almost 
 
 every school, and this is often of great assistance in the object 
 
 lessons. The teacher encourages the children 
 
 School |.^ bring here things that have any unusual in- 
 
 Museums ° ° . , . , . 
 
 terest, and they often take great pride ni their 
 
 botanical or natural history collection, necessarily small, but 
 
 none the less valuable from an educational point of view. In 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 89 
 
 the poorer communities, one alsO' finds the simple scientific 
 apparatus that the teacher has been able to- gather or to put to- 
 gether with his own hands in order to make clearer the ele- 
 mentar};- notions of physics that the curriculum demands. The 
 best of these museimis contain specimens from the animal, 
 vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as well as samples of cloths 
 and other manufactured articles together with various ma- 
 terials for teaching geography, history, and the metric system. 
 There are no' less than six schoo'l registers that must be kept 
 by the teacher : ^ ( i ) the matriculatio'n register. Here one 
 
 finds a good deal O'f infoi-mation about each in- 
 
 Registers 
 dividual child, and by means of this can trace 
 
 the progress of the pupil throughout his entire school course, 
 or at least as long as he remains in that particular school ; 
 (2) the class roll; (3) the inventory register, containing a list 
 of all the school furniture, for which the teacher is to be held 
 responsible; and (4) finally three reg'isters connected with the 
 library — ^the catalogue, the records of the books loaned, and 
 the account oi the receipts and expenses O'f the library. 
 
 Although as early as 1862,- a library was ordered to be 
 esitablished in each public primary school, the central authori- 
 ties seem^ toi have given this matter only desul- 
 tory attention. In fact, the great school laws ^ .^ °° 
 
 . ^ LLoranes 
 
 smce then hardly refer tO' the institution, 
 
 though it has nevertheless grown tO' be quite an important fea- 
 ture of the outside work O'f the school. One can readily see, 
 in a country where the free public library idea has never 
 reached the development it has in the United States, and wbere 
 there is such an enormous quantity o<f all so'rts of printed mat- 
 ter (one can hardly call it literature) that is positively dan- 
 gerous to put into the hands of children and young people, 
 that these school libraries might really have a very important 
 influence on the social and moral life oi the community. From 
 time to time books are acquired through gifts of the Min- 
 ister, the departmental authorities or individuals, or are bought 
 
 '^Arrets, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 772,. 
 '^ Arrete, June i, 1862, Art. i, Gr. Ill, p. 796. 
 
90 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 with the funds of the hbrary itself. All the libraries gener- 
 ally purchase their books of a single firm designated by the 
 Minister and thus obtain special reductions. The growth in 
 the development of these institutions is mainly due to the in- 
 spectors working through the teachers. The latter can use 
 the libraries as an accessory means of showing the children the 
 need O'f cooperation and a social spirit on the part of eveiy 
 member of the body politic, for here is a case where all can 
 work together for the coinmon good and yet all may share in 
 the common benefit. In 1902/ there were 43,411 of these 
 school libraries with a total of 6,977,503 volumes, and 8,082, 
 936 volumes loaned. These figures show a decided increase 
 over the corresponding ones of five years before. The num- 
 ber of loans, however, is not sO' satisfactory, varying from an 
 average of only twenty-five per year for each library in the 
 department of Lozere tO' more than six hundred and eight in 
 Pas-de-Calais. 
 
 The small number ot' text-books in use in the schools will 
 immediately attract the attention of the American visitor. In 
 fact all the material for individual use is very 
 limited. A note-book for monthly lessons, and 
 the necessary paper, pens and pencils for the ordinar}^ school 
 work are prescribed for all. Besides this, each pupil mus< 
 have : in the cours elenientaire, a slate and an elementary 
 reading book ; in the cours moyen, the note-books for the daily 
 work, a reading book suitable tO' this grade, an elementary 
 grammar with exercises, an elementary arithmetic, a small 
 elementary atlas, and a history of France; in the cours su- 
 perieur, the necessary note-books as before, a reading book 
 adapted to this grade, a French grammar with exercises, an 
 arithmetic, a history of France or a general histO'ry according 
 to the program, an atlas, and a text-book for moral and civic 
 instruction." The question immediately suggests itself, 
 " How do the pupils get along with so few text-books?" The 
 answer is ver}^ simple, for flicy make their ozmi. The above 
 
 1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902. pp. 258-259. 
 
 2 Decret, Jan. 29, 1890, Art. 7, Gr. VI, p. 228-229. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 91 
 
 phrase, " the note-book for the daily work " covers the point 
 
 in question. In the discussion on method a httle later on, this 
 
 matter will come out more clearly. 
 
 There is, however, an admirable method oi choosing the 
 
 few text-books that are in use. In fact, it is much more 
 
 democratic than the ordinary practice in our 
 
 country, and we mig-ht do well to take a sue- Jt °'?^ ° 
 
 . , -r? , • ^ , Text-ibooks 
 
 gestion from our French cousms. Only too 
 
 often with us, the text-books are adopted by a committee that 
 are generally entirely unable tO' distinguish a good from a 
 bad one. The adoption of a book is due to^ the persuasive 
 powers of the repTesentative of a given publishing firm rather 
 than to the real merits of the book itself. In France, during 
 the first part of July, the regular teachers of each canton 
 meet in conference, usually under the presidency of the pri- 
 mary inspector, tO' consider the text-book question.^ The pub- 
 lishers have had nearly a year in which tO' present their new 
 books, and they always receive fair treatment. At this time, 
 each book is the subject of a special report by one or more 
 teachers. This report is then discussed in the conference, and 
 a decision is reached. As a result, a list is made up of books 
 that might profitably be used in the elementary schools. This 
 method of choice serves a double purpose : in the first place, 
 the chances are very much against an inferior book being able 
 to stand the fire of all this criticism ; and secondly, it is of no 
 small advantage to the teachers themselves as a means of 
 training their judgment and developing their pedagogical 
 spirit. All these various lists are brought together in the 
 chief town in each department and subjected to the further 
 scrutiny of a commission presided over by the academy in- 
 spector and composed of the primaiy inspectors, the heads of 
 the two normal schools, and the professors and other regular 
 teachers in these schools. This commission revises and fi- 
 nally determines the list for its own dqDartment subject to the 
 approval of the rector. The general result is that only the 
 very best books are designated, for although there is no limit 
 1 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 20-22, Gr. V, p. 77:^. 
 
g2 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 to the number, it is only confusing- to have a cumbrous list 
 
 to choose from. Changes in the books in actual use are not 
 
 numerous for they are not only troublesome to bring about, 
 
 but the parents can ill afford the change. The expenses of 
 
 furnishing these school supplies is almost always borne by the 
 
 families, for the free text-book idea has as yet made little 
 
 progress, although one finds it to a limited extent in some of 
 
 the large cities. Provision is always made, however, for the 
 
 veiy poor. It is one of the duties of the commissions scolaires 
 
 not only to provide them with books and school supplies, but 
 
 also with clothes, and in general to remove every obstacle that 
 
 might prevent the children from going tO' school. 
 
 In spite of the fact that so many efforts have been made 
 
 to improve the attendance, there still remains much to be 
 
 desired. Since 1882, primary instruction has 
 Attendance , ,,,.,, . 
 
 been obligatory for all children from six to 
 
 thirteen years of age.^ It must be noted, however, that the 
 child may receive this at the public school, at a private school, 
 or even at home. All the State demands is that he shall get 
 the instructiou. Reference has already been made tO' the 
 commissions scolaires and their efforts to solve the attendance 
 problem, and it certainly seems as though they were success- 
 ful in getting the children registered in the schools, if noth- 
 ing more. In 1897, out of the 4,636,381 children of school 
 age in France proper (that is, between six and thirteen) 4,- 
 465,166 were registered as receiving instruction.^ Although 
 these latter figures probably represent many thousand double 
 registrations, yet when one considers the number of children 
 between eleven and thirteen years of age that have gained the 
 primary certificate and are free from further attendance, it 
 will be readily seen that the number of children entirely with- 
 out instruction is reduced to- a comparatively small figure. 
 Being registered in school, however, does not always mean 
 much, for in the public schools the average registration in 
 
 1 Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 420. 
 
 - Statistique, VI, 1896- 1897, pp. ciii, 201. The corresponding figures were 
 not complete in the report for 1901-1902. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS qo 
 
 December of that year was only 87.6 per cent of these figures 
 and on a particular day during that month, the fifth, only 78.7 
 per cent were in attendance.^ The corresponding figures for 
 the following June and for the fifth of that month were 84.6 
 and 73.2 per cent respectively." In some of the worst de- 
 partments notably Hautes-Alpes and Lozere, the attendance on 
 this specific day in June w^as only 49.8 and 49.9 per cent re- 
 spectively.^ These are the conditions that must be fought, 
 for in many districts, as the grazing season approaches, the 
 children begin tO' leave school to tend the animals. In fact, 
 it is nO' unusual sight along the highway tO' see twO' goats and 
 a cow feeding quietl}^ together, with a child tO' watch each one. 
 The children not only lose the work themselves and forget 
 much during their absence, but they also' tend tO' break up the 
 organization of the classes they leave. 
 
 There is no lack of law toi reach these cases, but it is too 
 loosely enforced, for the commissions scolaires often neglect 
 the matter and the maire is afraid of his politi- 
 cal future if he attempts to^ force matters. In ^ °^ , 
 
 Enforced 
 
 case a child is absent at least four half-days 
 during the same month without satisfactory excuse, the mairc 
 summons the parent befoi'e the commission scolaire and ex- 
 plains tO' him his duty. Upon a repetition of the offence with- 
 in the year, the couunission scolaire orders the parent's name 
 posted on the bulletin board O'f the town hall. If this still 
 has no effect, the commission or the academy inspector brings 
 the matter before the district judge, and he has power to 
 punish the offender.'* The efforts of these committees in 
 Paris have been attended with greater success, and one can 
 hardly pass a single mairie in the city without finding a list 
 of offenders posted outside on the bulletin board. 
 
 The cantines scolaires, or school luncheon roo'ms, and the 
 supervised study periods have been of great importance in 
 furthering the efforts of these committees, for by means of 
 
 1 Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, p. 189. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 189. 3 75/^^ p 187. 
 
 4 Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Arts. 12-14, Gr. V, pp. 426-427. 
 
94 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 these two institutions the parents may send their children to 
 school in the morning and be sure that they will be kept there 
 throughout the day. After luncheon at noon, the children 
 play about the yard under the eye of a teacher. At the close 
 of school in the afternoon there is a similar recreation period, 
 and then the pupils are gathered in one of the school rooms 
 to spend the succeeding hour or hour and a half in quiet 
 study under the supervision of a master. This whole attend- 
 ance question is still a grave one, but as M. Compayre has 
 pointed out, what is needed is not more laws, but better en- 
 forcing of the existing legislation.^ 
 
 1 Compayre, Organisation Pedagogique, p. 269. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Lower Schools (2) 
 
 Under natural conditions the six years of the ecoles pri- 
 tnaires elementaires are divided into three cours : the cours 
 elementaire, including the pupils from seven 
 to nine years oi age, the cours moyen, those Organization 
 from nine tO' eleven, and the cours superieur, r. , ? 
 
 bchools 
 
 those fromi eleven to- thirteen. However, as 
 has already been noted, in the country schools one often finds, 
 instead O'f the cours superieur, the cours preparatoire at the 
 beginning oi the school course. The fact that the examination 
 for the graduating certificate of the elementary schools is 
 based upon the work of the cours moyen is doubtless partly 
 responsible fo'r this state oi affairs. On the other hand, in 
 more prosperous localities, the work of the elementary school 
 is continued by an extra year of more advanced work, the so- 
 called cours c ample mentaire. This is intended to provide the 
 pupils O'f those communities that cannot afford to support an 
 ecole primaire superieure with something more than the mini- 
 mum amount of knowledge that the lower schools give. This 
 higher degree of primary education is, however, even under 
 the most fortunate conditions, reserved for a relatively small 
 number oi the school population. In 1896, oi the 2,257,904 
 children in France and Algeria between thirteen and sixteen 
 years of age — the time when they would naturally be found 
 in the advanced schools — ^only 64,658 were enrolled in the 
 cours complementaires and the ecoles priniaires superieures.^ 
 i\llowance must be made for a few hundred in the ecoles 
 professionnelles that are not included in these figures and also 
 for a few thousand children that were to be found in the 
 secondary schools : that is, the lycees and the colleges. At this 
 1 Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, pp. xcviii-cvi. 
 
 95 
 
C)6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 same date, the total number of children between these ages 
 in the primary schools of all degrees was 439,626. Of course 
 the great majority of these would represent those above the 
 legal age that were still enrolled in the elementary schools. 
 In the communes where there is an ecole maternelle, the chil- 
 dren come tO' the elementary school with at least a fair start. 
 In the others, however, the ecoles prmnaires elementaires must 
 prepare their own pupils, and so the cours preparatoire has 
 been organized to do this work. 
 
 The three cours of the elementary school do' not treat three 
 distinct or even partially distinct groups of subjects, arbi- 
 trarily supposed tO' be adapted to the mental 
 
 rogress development of the children oi the various 
 of Studies ^ 
 
 ages. They all cover exactly the same sub- 
 jects, but presented to the pupils in ever widening circles. In 
 other words, the programs are made up on a concentric circle 
 plan. This after all is the way young children learn outside 
 the schools, and the French programs seem to have been par- 
 ticularly skilful in adapting this method to school purposes. 
 Unfortunately, however, once seized with this idea, they never 
 seem to be able to get away from it, and it forms the basis of 
 the programs in the primary schools of all grades. This does 
 not necessarily mean that all the work of the two upper cours 
 of the elementary school is a mere dry repetition of that of the 
 cours elementaire. On the contrary, there is a regular de- 
 velopment of the pupil's knowledge, a gradual extension of 
 his horizon and with it all an entire lack of monotony. Nor- 
 mally, one expects to find two divisions in each of the cours, 
 but obviously such is not possible in schools that have but a 
 single teacher. The promotion from one to the other is not 
 by years but at the discretion of the instructor. In fact, one 
 hears far more of the cours than of the divisions of the cours. 
 Naturally the most important thing in the cours elementaire 
 is the acquisition of reading and writing, the tools absolutely 
 essential to all intellectual progress. With 
 Basis of these, however, " it is necessary to teach un- 
 der a familiar form, and as much as possible 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 97 
 
 by concrete examples, the elementary notions of each g"roup of 
 studies."^ "The object of the cours moyen. is to lay the foun- 
 dation of the various kdnds of knowledge, ... to endow the 
 child with that positive group of ideas without which a man 
 to-day will find himself outside society." ^ The distinctive 
 feature of the cours superieur, according to M. Greard, is the 
 employment of the deductive method, " wherein the child can 
 be trained to descend logically from principle tO' fact, from 
 rule to application." ^ 
 
 Tlie discipline in the schools is usually good. The teach- 
 ers generally have their pupils well in hand, and almost all 
 the children work. However, as has already 
 been pointed out, the stimulus for this is too Discipline 
 
 often an objective one. A French school ^" ^, 
 
 Pupils , 
 room presents quite a different appearance 
 
 from an American one. When a visitor, an inspector, or even 
 the director of the school enters the room, instantly every 
 pupil rises, and if it happens to be a boys' school every right 
 hand goes up for a military salute. This position is main- 
 tained until the word is given to be seated. The custom is 
 decidedly interesting, and it certainly shows a feeling of re- 
 spect on the part of the pupils. It would seem to be very 
 disturbing for the teachers, howe\'er, for it matters not if they 
 are in the midst of a dictation exercise or even the quasi-lec- 
 ture work of the upper classes, the custom is rigidly observed. 
 This idea oi respect for visitors and superiors is certainly one 
 of the characteristics of the French child. After I had visited 
 some schools for two or three days, the little fellows almost 
 invariably lifted the hat on meeting me in the street. The 
 school children, boys and girls alike, wear the black tahlier, 
 a kind of long apron or frock that reaches a little below the 
 knees and fastens in the back usually with a button at the neck 
 and a belt around the waist. It must be an economical way of 
 
 ^ Compayre, Organisation Pedagogique et Legislation des Ecoles Pri- 
 maires, p. ii. 
 
 2 Greard, Education et Instruction, p. 84. 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
98 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 dressing, and it certainly presents a A^ery neat appearance. 
 More than nine tenths of the children in the elementary schools 
 and even many of those of the normal schools wear this garb. 
 
 One might characterize the general discipline of the schools 
 as military or at least semi-military. The pupils always enter 
 and leave the school room and the building in double file, often 
 singing as they march. In fact, in one school room, at CA'-ery 
 change of lesson, the girls sang while putting awa}'- and taking 
 out their books. This naturally was an effective means of 
 preventing conversation betv^-een the lesson periods. While 
 the attention oi the pupils was not always of the best, prac- 
 tically never have I found a class disturbed by talking during 
 the progress of the lesson. One never sees children wandering 
 into the school room from fifteen tO' twenty minutes before the 
 beginning of the regular work or staying about the buildings 
 after the lessons for the day are over. The pupils that arrive 
 early assemble in the playground or, in bad weather, in the 
 preau, a kind of covered court or play hall attached to every 
 school, and from there march to the class rooms. Although 
 detention after school hours is one of the recognized means 
 of enforcing discipline, I never happened to see a child so de- 
 tained. One does find, however, supervised stud}'' hours be- 
 ing introduced in various schools. It naturally happens that 
 some children find it much easier to study at school than at 
 home, and besides, sometimes both parents are out at work all 
 day and do not want the children left free to wander about the 
 streets after school hours. To meet these conditions, especi- 
 ally in the cities, certain teacher's in the building are designated 
 to take charge of all these children from the close of school 
 until half-past five or six o'clock. A few minutes are spent 
 in recreation just after the close of the regular session, and 
 then the pupils are gathered in a class room for study. Some 
 slight extra remuneration is granted by the community, and 
 the director and the teachers that have been engaged in this 
 work divide this among them. 
 
 Corporal punishment is absolutely forbidden in the public 
 prim.ary schools, and the only means of enforcing discipline 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS gg 
 
 that are recognized by the authorities are : 
 nuiuTMis pomts, or bad marks, the reprimand, ^^^, 
 
 Punishments 
 partial deprivation of the recreation period, 
 
 detention after school in charge of the teacher, and temporary 
 exclusion from the school/ The last may not continue for 
 more than three days, although the academy inspector has 
 power to exclude for a longer period. The first of these is 
 the one most often used, and these mo.uvais points are some- 
 times distributed with a generosity that is really surprising and 
 ottly exceeded by a still greater generosity in the distribution 
 of hons points. In fact, in one school that I happened to visit, 
 the best boy in the class had gained seven hundred and two 
 of these merits since the beginning of the school year. Dur- 
 ing the same period the " low boy " had received about seventy, 
 and had lost all but nine. When I asked the teacher of this 
 same class 'what he thought of this system of hons and mau- 
 vais points, he replied that when judiciously used it seemed to 
 him a good thing, but some teachers were likely to labuse it. 
 There must be something radically v^-rong albout a system like 
 this, however, that allows one pupil to appear to be nearly one 
 hundred times as good as his classmate. At the end of the 
 month or year, these merit marks are generally exchanged for 
 books, of varying value according to the number of marks they 
 represent. It may be added, ho'wever, that the rewards are 
 usually given for correct recitations or written work, and take 
 no account of the effort made by the pupil. " Without doubt, 
 the true reward for the good pupil is the satisfaction of a 
 task accomplished, the consciousness of intellectual gain com- 
 ing through work." " Unfortunately these words O'f one of 
 the foremost educators in France are as yet far from being the 
 gospel of the rank and file of the French teachers. From 
 time to time, however, one finds a director or a teacher broad- 
 minded enough to comprehend their full significance, but even 
 these few are vei*y dubious of their general application, at 
 least for the present. 
 
 ^ Arrete, Jan. 19, 1887. Annexe B. Arts. 19-20. Gr. V., p. 825. 
 
 - Compayre, Organisation Pcdagogique, p. 247. 
 
lOo PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 It is not very long since the schools of France departed 
 
 from the old Bell-Lancaster system of instruction/ and some 
 
 of its traces may still be found. While the 
 
 Monitors . . „ . ,, 
 
 use of monitors is nowhere orncially recog- 
 nized, yet with the present organization they are practically 
 a necessity. Wherever the three-fold division into cours was 
 strictly carried out in the 53,107 schools that had but a single 
 classe in 1902/ it is safe to say that some sort of a monitor 
 system was employed to a greater or less extent. Inasmuch 
 as at the same time, the total number of ecoles priniaires 
 elementaires both public and private was only 85,232, and since 
 that time the conditions have not materially changed, one can 
 readily see that the fundamental ideas of the old mutuul sys- 
 tem must still be reckoned with. It is only fair to state that 
 these figures do not indicate the comparative number of pupils 
 that would come under this influence. In 1902, there were 
 700,132 pupils registered in the mixed schools.^ Unfortu- 
 nately no figures are at hand to^ show the number of boys and 
 the number of girls in the other one-class schools. It seems 
 a conservative estimate, however, tO' say that at least eleven 
 per cent of all the pupils will be found in schools subject to this 
 monitorial influence. Tlie general practice is to select some of 
 the best pupils in the highest division to take turns in drilling 
 the youngest children. It goes without saying that there are 
 some subjects like morale that must always be taught by the 
 teacher, but on the other hand such thing-s as reading and 
 simple drill work in arithmetic may readily be entrusted to 
 these older pupils. Tliis can hardly be called teaching, but 
 after all, this method to-day is only an expedient. One can 
 easily appreciate the terpptation especially for the poorer com- 
 munities to glide along under this old regime semi-officially 
 sanctioned, and it is not surprising that a little less than a cen- 
 tury ago this economical system, at least from the point of 
 
 1 It was to be found in the schools of Paris as late as 1867. Cf. Greard, 
 Education et Instruction, p. 35. 
 
 2 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. xlvi. 
 
 3 Ibid., pp. xc-xci. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS lOr 
 
 view of teaching expenses, spread like wildfire over much of 
 
 the civilized world. 
 
 The old monitorial system has left other traces on the French 
 
 schools, and one is likely to- find them there for many years to 
 
 come. These appear in the collective or simul- 
 
 . ^ . . . ,, , , Method 
 
 taneous method of mstruction, the natural 
 
 and necessary form of primary instruction.^ Individual in- 
 struction," M. Greard continues, " if it were applicable to the 
 school, would be powerless there. Its action, isolated, cold, 
 essentially reflective and logical, is suited only to- minds that 
 are discerning-, delicately poised and rich in themselves and 
 are continually absorbing the elements of life from' the very 
 atmosphere in which they develop. Such are not the condi- 
 tions, such is not the environment of popular education. These 
 natures for the most part undeveloped, need the inspiration 
 of numbers, the stimulus of example, the influence of imitation, 
 the swing of class work. But these very principles must be 
 applied with care." 
 
 Unfortunately this last caution has not been well heeded, and 
 the result is that the individuality of the pupil is much neg- 
 lected, for it is always the class that is taught 
 
 and not the individual. In fact, I sometimes ^ ^.^. .° 
 
 Initiative 
 
 think the teacher loses sight of the individual. 
 One finds the same thing among the teachers themselves, a lack 
 of individuality, a laJck of abihty to grasp situations, and to 
 adapt means to ends. One of -my friends once said : " We 
 French teachers stand like open-mouthed yoimg birds wait- 
 ing to be fed by their parents. We receive whatever the edu- 
 cational authorities choose to- drop down for us." The teach- 
 ers usually teach just as they have been taught, though at times 
 one finds some that change their methods from year to year. 
 The pupils are not encouraged to any show of individuality and 
 have no opportunity to develop any spirit of leadership. 
 Much of their work is done under the influence of some rule 
 which they are encouraged to quote as often as applied. 
 " Teach not much but well " is a good precept, but it is pos- 
 
 1 Greard, Education et Instruction, p. 65. 
 
I02 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 sible to limit that amount to a very .small quantity. It may 
 truthfully be said that the teachers " treat the mind like the 
 stomach and choose for it the food that can readily be as- 
 similated." ^ This is perfectly sound and necessary doctrine 
 for infants, but one of the objects of the school should be to 
 teach the oWer pupils tO' choose their own mental food from 
 all that is spread before them. I believe firmly that what 
 the French child really knows, he is stire of, but I also doubt 
 strongly his ability to think for himself much outside certain 
 narrow limits. He readily grasps the facts of geography, but 
 he is quite at a loss when brought face to face with the facts 
 of history and asked to draw therefrom his own deductions. 
 As has been already indicated, one finds comparatively few 
 text-books in the elementary s'chools, and the pupils have to 
 
 make their own. In some schoo'ls there is a 
 Note-books . , , - , , . . , , 
 
 Special note-book for each subject; m others the 
 
 subjects are grouped : that is, a note-book for writing, one for 
 all home work, and another for class work ; in a third group and 
 in by far the largest number O'f schoo'ls, one finds a single 
 note-book, cahier unique, for all subjects. Tliis last is much 
 the most popular because it is the most economical, the easiest 
 to use, and lends itself most readily to inspection. There is a 
 variation in this last form of note-book keeping that is most 
 commendable. It consists in having two' sets of books, each 
 one being used on alternate days. It necessarily entails a great 
 amount of work on the teacher, for he examiines and marks 
 the books regxilarly each day. The parents are thus kept in 
 constant touch with the work at the schoo-l, for every night 
 the child carries home a note-book which the parent must sign 
 before it goes back tO' school the next day. I have seen this 
 system tried in some rooms in a large school building, and the 
 improvement shown in writing and in general neatness under 
 its influence was certainly remarkable. 
 
 Tlie question probaibly arises : " What goes intO' these note- 
 books?" In the first place, in the lower schools at least, the 
 children are not given a certain amount of text to study, first, 
 
 ^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 279. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS I03 
 
 because they have practically no' texts and secondly from prin- 
 ciple. Every lesson is carefully explained by the teacher be- 
 fore it is assigned toi the pupils. In history, for example, the 
 teacher tells the story of the lesson, occasionally putting a few 
 questions tO' the children, and at the close dictates a summary 
 of the chief points to be written in the note-books. Thus the 
 pupil has in the very words of the teacher himself the exact 
 topics oif the lesson for which he will be held responsible. Un- 
 fortunately some of the children commit these summaries to 
 memory, and come to schooil the next day all primed tO' repeat 
 them word for word. At the beginning of the next lesson, 
 a few minutes will be devoted to a review of the previous 
 day's work, and after that the same routine is followed. This 
 general method of peptonized mental food may be said to char- 
 acterize all the work of the entire primary schooi system and 
 even until one comes tO' the legitimate lecture courses that 
 are found in some of the better normal schools, as far as my 
 experience goes, the French child is never taught tO' select the 
 wheat from> the chaff for himself. All he has to do is to- as- 
 similate what is already selected for him. Undoubtedly there 
 is a certain virtue in this for the young, but followed too far 
 its influence is only debilitating. 
 
 Again, in arithmetic for instance, the typical examples will 
 be first worked on the board by the teacher, fully explained 
 and then copied into the no'te-books by the 
 
 pupils. After that slightly different examples, Method in 
 ^ ^ . ^ . Arithmetic 
 
 but always employing the same general prin- 
 ciples, are given to tlie pupils to solve independently. These 
 are never very numerous, but are all worked through most 
 carefully. In fact, three or four examples even of the sim- 
 plest sort will occupy an ordinary recitaition hour. After an 
 example has been worked by all, one of the class is called to 
 the board to do it again. Every step of the calculation is 
 gone over very dehberately, and the reason for every operation 
 stated most minutely. The other pupils then correct their 
 \vork from this model. No effort is made to induce the class 
 as a whole to take part in the exercise, unless, it may be, to 
 
I04 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 call on them to recite a certain rule in concert. If the pupil 
 at the board gets into trouble, it is a rare thing to find a 
 teacher that endeavors to help him reason out the difficulty. 
 After making a perfunctory effort of this nature, he calls upon 
 another member of the class, evidently assuming that the mass 
 can learn nothing from the struggles of the individual, and 
 that time is too valuable to spend upon a single pupil. When 
 a given sdholar is thus called up for recitation, he is almost in- 
 variably marked by the teacher, and often that mark is an- 
 nounced to ihis fellows as well as to him. At such times, it is 
 evidently the desire of the teacher to find out how much that 
 particular pupil knows, whether or not the rest o'f the class 
 learn anything from the interrogation. The result is that 
 although each one is not called on very often, when that time 
 comes, he is questioned pretty thoroughly, and this method 
 becomes more and more striking as the age of the pupil in- 
 creases. In fact in some oi the more advanced schools, I 
 have visited classes where not more than three or four pupils 
 were called upon during the whole hour. 
 
 Since the organization oi the schools in 1882, every pupil 
 has had tO' have a caliier de devoirs nvensuels} This is a note- 
 book with which the child is pro'vided when 
 
 „*^"* 7 he first enters school, and which must be re- 
 Record 
 
 tained throughout his course. From time to 
 
 time, various regulations have been issued as to how this book 
 should be kept. In the last,^ however, M. Leygues left the 
 details entirely to the teachers. In general, some of the first les- 
 sons of each month are entered here regularly just as they are 
 done by the pupils. These are all examined and marked very 
 carefully by the teacher, sometimes even indicating the rank 
 that the particular child holds in the class. The subjects of 
 the lessons are so chosen that one can follow with reasonable 
 accuracy the progress of each pupil in each subject from the 
 very beginning of his school career until the end. These books 
 are kept at the school and are sent home once each month 
 for the signatures of the parents. 
 
 1 Arrite, July 27, 1882, Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 455- 
 
 2 Circ, Jan. 13, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 596. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 105 
 
 There is another note-book in general use throughout the 
 schools/ called the cahier de roulement. Though primarily 
 instituted to facilitate the work of the in- 
 spectors, it also furnishes them an admirable r^^^Y^ ^ 
 
 Kouleinent 
 comparative study of the abilities of the pupils ; 
 
 and where it is sent home for the inspection of the parents, 
 it enables them to- see how their children are progressing 
 with reference to their classmates. Each class has one of 
 these books, and in this each pupil in turn records the work 
 of one day. By merely g'lancing at this the inspector can see 
 exactly what the teacher has been doing, if the pupils are well 
 classified, and if the class is making satisfactory progress. In 
 a word he has here a kind of record of the work of the teacher 
 for each lesson, kept by the pupils themselves (for instead of 
 writing in their regular note-books they enter the day's work 
 directly here), a sort of composite class note-book. The use 
 of this cahier de roulement is really one of the best possible 
 expedients for keeping up the work of the school, for the 
 teacher necessarily feels that everything he does, almost every- 
 thing he says is coming directly under the eye of the in- 
 spector. Tlius the latter, although he cannot visit the school 
 very oiten feels that he can still keep in touch with what is 
 being done there. 
 
 From time to time there is very serious opposition made to 
 the amount of home work that the children in the primary 
 schools are required to do. And this is not en- 
 
 . ... -,,,,. Home Work 
 
 tirely without reason, for the school day is a 
 long one, ordinarily from half past eight until half past eleven 
 in the morning and from one to* four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 In any case, the length of the daily sessions is always the same, 
 with a recreation period of fifteen minutes in the middle of 
 each. The week-day holiday in France is on Thursday, and 
 Saturday is a full school day like the other days of the week. 
 Besides all this school work, there is a varying amount of 
 home work which increases regularly with the age of the 
 pupils. At first this is only about half or three quarters of 
 1 Circ, Jan. 13, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 596. 
 
I06 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 an hour per day in the second year of the cours elementairc, 
 but in the upper grades of the school one finds that the very 
 best of the pupils are expected to spend at least two hours per 
 day outside of school. It is in just such instances as these 
 that the system of supervised study periods previously referred 
 to is an especial boon, for the children can find in the school 
 roo'm that quiet and atmosphere of study that are practically 
 unknown at many of their homes. From oiir point of view, 
 the amount of outside work is entirely too much for children 
 that are about on a par with those of our upper grammar 
 grades. On the other hand, however, it must be said that the 
 number of prepared lessons practically never exceeds four- 
 teen or sixteen per week even in the higher classes, so there 
 still remains about the same number of hours out of the thirty 
 when the mental strain is not so severe. 
 
 " The chief object of the ecole primaire is to form the man 
 
 in the child, but it ought at the same time to prepare him as 
 
 much as possible for practical life, for the 
 
 Purpose of future that lies before him." ' To attain this 
 
 , . . purpo'se the elementary school programs rec- 
 
 primaire ^ ■ -^ . 
 
 ognize three aspects of education — moral, 
 
 intellectual, and physical. 
 
 " Elementary primary instruction includes : moral and civic 
 
 instruction; reading and writing; the French language; arith- 
 metic and the metric system; history and geo- 
 
 Subjects of o-raphy, especially of France: object lessons and 
 Instruction t- i .^ ' t ^ _ .;!,.,. 
 
 the first scientific notions, chiefly m their ap- 
 plication to agriculture ; the elements of drawing, singing, and 
 manual training (needle work in the girls' schools) ; and g'}mi- 
 nastic and military exercises." ^ The actual arrangement O'f 
 these various subjects in the emploi dii temps, or daily pro- 
 gram, is left tO' the teacher or director oi the school, subject 
 only to the approval of the primary inspector. There are, 
 however, some general suggestions to aid in this work. 
 
 Since 1882, moral and civic instruction has headed the list 
 
 1 Organisation et Situation de I'Enscignement Primaire, p. 297. 
 
 2 Decret, Jan. 18, 188;, Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 725- 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 107 
 
 of the required subjects in the elementary schools.^ The moral 
 
 aspect, until that time entirely obscured by the 
 
 relisfious instruction, then for the first time ^ °''^. 
 
 *^ . Instruction 
 
 took a predominant place in the work of the 
 
 French schools. It represents the efforts of the people who 
 had just forced religious teaching- out of the program tO' find 
 an effective and at the same time non-sectarian means of de- 
 veloping the ethical side of the child's nature. Undoubtedly, 
 the previous religious instruction was entirely formal and 
 empty, for it consisted merely in going through the various 
 articles of the catechism without comment, but it is very 
 doubtful if its present substitute is much richer in real content. 
 It savors toO' much of the narrow minded doctrines of our 
 Puritan ancestors. I have visited many classes and talked with 
 still more people on this very subject, but I have yet to- find a 
 single class where the teacher ever rose tO' any ethical basis 
 above the idea of reward and punishment. Whatever may 
 be their real feeling on the matter, their teaching never seems 
 to reach the pohit of doing right foi" right's sake. I am not 
 quite ready, however, to agree with Matthew Arnold when he 
 says : "All direct religious instruction, Catholic or Protestant, 
 is entirely banished from the French schools, and the ' moral 
 and civic instruction ' which is the substitute, seemed to me, 
 so far as I could judge from the manual O'f it which I perused, 
 and from the many lessons in it which I heard, of little or no 
 value." ^ 
 
 One of the mO'St prominent educators in all France said to 
 me not long since: "The work in morale has not succeeded 
 here in France, for the present generation is 
 
 evidently not so good as the last." Among ^"^^^ 
 
 ■' ° . . . Opniion 
 
 the teachers themselves, there is a decided dif- 
 
 1 It is beyond the limits of this study to take up in detail the subjects 
 of the elementary school curriculum and to consider the special method 
 of eaoh. Some subjects, however, have been selected for particular com- 
 ment because they seemed to present certain features that could not or 
 might not be readily learned from the official program. 
 
 2 Matthew Arnold, Report on Elementary Education in Germany, Swit- 
 zerland and France, 1886, p. 19. 
 
Io8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ference of opinion on this matter. One is pretty sure, how- 
 ever, to find those people that have broken away from this 
 earher rehgious training — and there is a vast number of these 
 even among the teachers to-day — staunch supporters of the 
 new regime, while the church adherents of whatever faith will 
 as stoutly oppose it. From a theoretical point of view, one 
 wO'uld expect the children to become very tired of this lay 
 preaching and grow to look upon it all like the other subjects 
 of the schooil curriculum, tO' be studied and applied only at 
 certain periods and never to become a real integral part of 
 their natures. 
 
 It is always dangerous to make generalizations, especially 
 on a subject of this sort where one finds almost as many vari- 
 ations as persons. It must be added, however, that some 
 teacbers succeed remarkably well with this most difficult O'f all 
 subjects to bandle. It is of course toO' much tO' expect to 
 send children- of eleven or thirteen years of age out into the 
 world with a moral code or standard that will serve them 
 through life, but there is good 'OppoTtunity for success in teach- 
 ing such children the ideas of protection of song birds, kind- 
 ness toward dumb animals and similar notions of a practical 
 nature that will appeal tO' their young minds. And this is 
 exactly the line of work that the most successful of the teach- 
 ers follow. 
 
 This whole religious matter is one of the burning questions 
 of the day in France, and the trouble over the congregations 
 
 is stirring the people to the very depths. The 
 e e igious j.g(.gj^^ legislation can be regarded as only a 
 
 continuation of the work of laicization begun 
 in the sdiools as a whole a little more than twenty years ago, 
 and still earlier than that in some of the northern departments. 
 But for these efforts to rid the schools of this religious domin- 
 ation, France would soon be in the same position in that re- 
 gard that Spain is to-day. Tbe disturbance, however, will 
 probably be only temporary, and in the end the ideas of free, 
 public education will be more firmly than ever imbedded in 
 the popular mind. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 109 
 
 In spite ai what has been said on the general method in arith- 
 metic, I feel sure that the French children age for age are 
 fully as strong as our own in the mechanical 
 
 ^r>i -11 1 r Arithmetic 
 
 operations. Ihey certanily have plenty of 
 
 drill in that work. Much importance is laid upon mental arith- 
 metic even from the very first. At least as early as the second 
 year of the elementary school, they beg'in tO' use a shortened 
 form of division. There is certainly a considerable saving in 
 writing figures, but it demands a greater amount of care and 
 mental effort. The children, however, acquire a rapidity and 
 degree of accuracy that is most praiseworthy. Subjoined is 
 a page taken from a text-book in arithmetic ^ which will show 
 the exact method of procedure. It will also' give some idea 
 of the extent tO' which the use of rules is carried. 
 
 " Shortened form of division. 
 Rule. — In actual practice, in order to shorten the work, we 
 subtract at the same time that we multiply. 
 Example. — Given to divide 24961 by 137. 
 24961 137 
 
 1 126 182 
 
 0301 
 027 
 Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 249? or rather 
 13 in 24? It is contained once. 
 
 Multiply and subtract: 1X7, from 9 = 2; 1X3, from 
 4 := I ; I X I , from 2=1. 
 
 Bring down one figure: We bring down the next figure, 6. 
 Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 1126? or 
 rather 13 in 112? It is contained 8 times. 
 
 Multiply and subtract: 8 X 7=^56, from 56^0, and we 
 carry 5 ; 8 X 3 = 24, -|- 5 = 29, from 32 = 3, and we carry 
 3; 8X 1=8, + 3^11, from 1 1 ^ o. 
 
 Bring down one Hgure: We bring down the next figure, i. 
 Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 301 ? or rather 
 13 in 30? It is contained twice. 
 
 1 Leyssenne. La Premiere Annee d'Arithmetique, p. 69. 
 
no PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Multiply and subtract: 2 X 7= 14, from 21 =7, and we 
 cari-y 2 ; 2 X 3 = 6, + 2 = 8, from 10 = 2, and we carry i ; 
 2 X I = 2, -f- I == 3, from 3 = 0. 
 
 The division gives a quotient of 182 and a remainder of 27." 
 
 Then follow twelve examples by way of illustration, and 
 at the very bottom of the page : " What is the rule for the 
 shortened form of division?" 
 
 This shows that even modern text-books retain traces of the 
 old catechetical form. 
 
 In all work in denominate numbers, the French have an 
 
 immense advantage over the English-speaking peoples. It is 
 
 quite unnecessary to-day to sug-g-est any iusti- 
 
 Metnc System ^ . . , •" . "^ .^'^ / -^ 
 
 ncation 01 tne metric system, for our educators 
 already generally appreciate its advantages. The matter was 
 most forcibly and concretely brought tO' my attention, how- 
 ever, in a lower division of a cours superieur. The boys would 
 probably average about eleven years O'f age. The teacher 
 spent less than half an hour in showing the pupils the relation 
 between the measures oi volume and capacity, and the method 
 of transition from one tO' the other. As far as one could judge 
 from the appearance of the class, every" one seemed to under- 
 stand the explanation and to be able to apply it. Although 
 boys of this age would probably be perfectly familiar with 
 these measures, yet how many American boys even after weeks 
 of work could change from cubic inches tO' quarts with any de- 
 gree of facility? The fact that perhaps we never want to 
 make this particular transition has no bearing on the prin- 
 ciples involved, namely that the metric system is founded upon 
 some logical and scientific basis, while there are few things in 
 the world more utterly unrelated and difficult tO' understand 
 than our English systems of weights and measures. 
 
 Work in geometry is carried on simultaneously with that 
 in arithmetic. It is always, however, of a very elementary 
 sort, and even in the higher grades of the 
 lower schoods one finds very few strictly geo- 
 metrical proofs. Most of the demonstrations are purely arith- 
 metical, and in fact the geometry as a whole is not much un- 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS HI 
 
 like the mensuration formerly required for entrance by some 
 of our scientific schools. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the rapidity with which 
 French children learn to read and write, and they do both 
 well. The general excellence in these two sub- 
 jects is everywhere apparent. I am rather in- ^f,/"^ ^" 
 . , . , , . Writing 
 
 chned to thmk that so^me of the excellence in 
 
 writing is gained at the expense oi speed, but one would be 
 willing to take a httle more time in order to have the neat, well 
 written cahicrs dc roulement that I found in most of the 
 schools. The children have not the same liberty as ours in re- 
 gard to the size of the letters, but there are three distinct 
 sizes, large, medium, and small, with heights of six or seven, 
 four or live, and three millimeters respectively. Not only 
 must each pupil be able tO' write any one of these sizes as the 
 case requires, but also in most of the better schools there are 
 different types of letters — the French call them the round, the 
 mixed, and the Gothic. The first is very much like our verti- 
 cal hand except that every downiward stroke is heavily shaded ; 
 the second has the slant of the ordinary writing with the 
 letter form and shading of the round ; the Gothic is similar to 
 our old English script. Two different kinds of pens are used, 
 for no one kind is suitable for all these styles of letters. The 
 children beco'me very proficient in the various types, and one 
 can readily see what attractive note-books might be made 
 with the combinations. 
 
 The work in geography and history is confined almost ex- 
 clusively to France and her co'loiiies, most of the other parts 
 of the world receiving oniy hasty consideration. 
 
 These two' subjects illustrate the concentric ^^^l^^ ^ 
 
 and History 
 
 method that has already been briefly treated, 
 
 but some concrete examples taken from: a suggested division 
 
 of the subject matter by months may make this considerably 
 
 clearer. 
 
112 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 o 
 
 ;z • »-i l-i •-' ^^ 
 
 rt r; « 4) 
 
 
 o « g 
 
 c "" 
 
 d ^ °? 1 ° ^ -s ,? ;2 I .^ ,• « :;: ^ . -s , - ^ ^ p-^ | 
 
 
 ik; C — 
 
 ^ M-( 111 »rH 4-t I • •n • I 1 • _ • J3 
 
 JS CO i 
 
 W ^ .^. ^ -S o ^ S > ^ ^ ^" 8 I -S -g ^ .• I -It 
 
 2 N't!o.'^<<.t, S't^na '-"'^iii^ a"?;!) 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 113 
 
 This partial program in geography does not include all the 
 subjects for the month of October, but there are enough here 
 to indicate the general plan, and tO' show how the work for 
 each cours is a little more difficult, and covers a somewhat 
 larger field than that of its predecessor. Map study is begun 
 in the cours elementaire, and the pupils begin tO' draw for 
 themselves in the next grade. This map-drawing is a very 
 important part of the geography work, and the pupils learn to 
 do this accurately and remarkably quickly. In general, how- 
 ever, I am afraid that the memory still plays an altogether too 
 important part in the geography lessons. Many times these 
 become a mere naming of the departments with their chief 
 towns or a dry recapitulation of statistics that are interesting 
 and valuable in themselves, but have little significance for chil- 
 dren of primary school age. However that may be, on leav- 
 ing the elementary school, the pupils are undoubtedly thor- 
 oughly familiar with the geographical and historical facts of 
 their own country, but whether they appreciate even in a 
 small way the great fundamental principles underlying the 
 changes that France has experienced in both these aspects of 
 her national life is quite another matter. 
 
 Singing occupies the last place on the program of the sub- 
 jects of intellectual education, and its relative importance seems 
 to be fairly measured by the position it holds. 
 Until the cours moyen, all the music is taught 
 by ear, and it consists almost entirely of one-part exercises. I 
 have heard some very good singing indeed, but on the whole, 
 there still remains much toi be desired. The interest in this 
 subject, however, seems to be increasing, for since 1895,^ there 
 have been two grades, an elementary and an advanced, of the 
 special certificate for the teaching of singing. 
 
 Although physical education occupies one third of the pro- 
 grams, its practical value is far from, being ap- 
 preciated. In fact, in their attitude toward ■Gymnastics 
 . . . 1 4.U TT u t, and Military 
 
 physical exercise in general, the l^rench boys •pj.^j 
 
 must be classed with the Germans rather than 
 1 Decret, Apr. 29, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 610. 
 
114 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 with the Americans or the Enghsh. Very few of them seem 
 to find any real pleasure in the mere modicum of this work 
 that one finds in the schools. The official program is quite 
 a formidable looking document, but I seldom found it fol- 
 lowed. Anything like g}minastic apparatus is almost unknown 
 in the equipment of the elementary schools. Practically all the 
 swimming exercises referred to in the program are performed 
 on dry land, for very few O'f even the higher schools have 
 any other facilities for this work. The boxing is equally 
 formal. The pupils gO' through the various movements — and 
 they are more complicated than ours, for the French use their 
 feet as well as their hands — ^but have only imaginary oppo- 
 nents. The only military drill that I ever found was con- 
 fined to simple marches and squad evolutions entirely without 
 arms. Even this is found but rarely. 
 
 One thing that tended to prevent any use of gymnasium 
 apparatus even when the ordinary conditions were otherwise 
 favorable was the law holding teachers person- 
 Responsibility ^^1^ |j^,|^j^ fQ,j. ^ji accidents to their pupils while 
 for Accidents ", , • , a^ n i. i-i 
 
 under their charge. At all events there was an 
 
 actual decrease in the number of public schools that had a 
 more or less complete gymnasium, from sixty-two hundred 
 and thirty-foin- in 1892 to fifty-one hundred and forty in 1897 
 and to forty-two hundred and seventy-four in 1902.^ More- 
 over, there seems to be a generally well-established feeling 
 against the so-called heavy apparatus of all kinds, so although 
 the State has assumed ^ the responsibility previously imposed 
 upon the teachers, there does not seem to be any immediate 
 prospect of the gymnasium returning to popular favor. 
 
 Comparatively little is done in manual training. In the two 
 
 lower coiirs, the subject matter is confined chiefly to paper 
 
 folding, simple cardboard constructions anrl 
 
 Manual modelHng for the boys, and to sewing and 
 
 raining j-,^gj|,g ^ork for the girls. In the cours su- 
 
 perimr, the boys are supposed to become acquainted with the 
 
 ^ Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, p. xlv; VII, p. xlii. 
 
 2Loi, July 20, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 893- 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS II5 
 
 commo'ii tools employed in wood and iron work, but the fre- 
 quent absence of this upper cours and the fact that in the 
 61,296 school buildings in France and Algeria in 1902, only 
 seven hundred and fifty-nine had a work-shop for manual 
 training, with nearly one fifth of these in the department of 
 the Seine,^ will give some idea of the amount ol this kind of 
 instruction given. The little found is confined to a few oif the 
 larger towns and cities. Although the expense O'f any ade- 
 quate installation is a great obstacle tO' satisfactory work of 
 this nature, yet even the idea does not seem tO' be strongly pres- 
 ent, for there are plenty O'f ways oi introducing cord work, 
 or grass braiding and weaving that could be employed in even 
 the poorest communities. Although the normal schools attach 
 considerable importance to this subject, yet the teachers have 
 little opportunity to apply what they have learned there in the 
 classes O'f the lower schools. The most of the work done, 
 however, shows a lack of unity and a poverty of content. 
 Tlie sewing and needle work of the girls is much more satis- 
 factory, although even here the formal aspect is too often 
 predominant. 
 
 The wish of the authorities to adapt the programs of the 
 manual work tO' the needs oi the various sections is well evi- 
 denced by the introduction of object lessons connected with 
 the fife of the sailor or the fisherman in the departments bor- 
 dering on the sea. A similar adaptation is found in the work 
 oif the girls, for in the lace-making co'untry of the north much 
 attention is devoted to designing, and in the silk provinces of 
 the south, the culture oi the silk worm is the subject of no 
 little concern. 
 
 In the strictly rural schools, the manual work is entirely 
 devoted to agriculture. For some years past, France as well 
 as other countries has been grappling with the 
 
 r 1 , , ■ r 1 ,• Agriculture 
 
 problem of the depopulation of the country dis- 
 tricts. As a means oi counteracting this urban movement of 
 the people, the authorities have given much attention during 
 the last six or eight years to improving the agricultural con- 
 1 Statisfique, VII, p. xli. 
 
Il6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ditions/ Some of the departmental authorities have become 
 even more actively interested, and in several departments, ac- 
 cording to Mr. Brereton,^ have met with varying- success. 
 
 The reason for the general lack of success is due tO' the 
 
 impractical nature O'f the work attempted. " Tlie child has in 
 
 his head the names of grasses he has never seen, 
 
 Impractical q,£ j^ianure of whose composition and properties 
 Nature of , . ,., . tt i 1111 
 
 the Work "^ ^^ alike Ignorant. He draws o-n the black- 
 board or in his copy book all the parts of the 
 plough, and he does not know why one ploughs, or why one 
 ploughs deep in one place and shallow in another. . . . There 
 is a necessary link between the object and the lessons he learns 
 by heart, but this link escapes him, because there is nothing 
 given in the teaching of a nature to permit him to lay hold 
 of it." ^ The government is doing its best tO' encourage this 
 agricultural work by offering prizes not only to the pupils but 
 also to the teachers that have children among the prize winners. 
 T'he French pupils are not troubled with a great number of 
 written examinations in course, though there are plenty of 
 them out of course. There are, however, fre- 
 
 Reviews and q^gnt reviews. The last week of each tri- 
 Examinations . ... 
 
 mester is generally devoted to a review of the 
 
 preceding three months ; the first week in July is occupied with 
 
 the review of the last trimester; and finally the last three weeks 
 
 are spent in a general review of the work of the year. The 
 
 examinations that come at these periods are almost entirely 
 
 oral, the only written ones being those in spelling, composition, 
 
 arithmetic, and writing. 
 
 The natural culmination of the elementary schooi course is 
 
 the certiHcat d'etudes primaires elementaires. This is given as 
 
 the result of an examination, partly written 
 
 Primary ^^^ partly Oral, held near the close of the 
 Certificate , , , . . . . 
 
 school year before a cantonal commission. 
 
 The members of this commission are appointed by the rector 
 
 1 Cf. especially Circ, Jan. 4, 1897, Gr. VI, pp. 745-746. 
 
 2 Brereton, The Rural Schools of Northwest France, pp. 117-141. 
 ^Rapport de I'Inspecteur d' Academic, quoted in Brereton, ibid., p. 120. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 117 
 
 on nomination of the academy inspector/ and the primary in- 
 spector is president of this body ex officio. For the examina- 
 tion of girls, women necessarily form a part of the member- 
 ship of the committee. Each candidate must be not less than 
 eleven years old on September 30th of the year in which he 
 presents himself." 
 
 The written examination ^ precedes, and the candidate 
 is required to pass this with an average of fifty per cent 
 in order to be admitted to the oral examination. This 
 written part consists of about fifteen lines of 
 
 dictation which serves as a test of both ( i ) ^ ^^5 ^" 
 
 Examination 
 writing and (2) spelling; (3) twOi questions 
 
 in arithmetic based ou the metric system; (4) a simple com- 
 position on a subject taken from moral or civic instruction, 
 from geography and history, or from the elementary science 
 lessons. Besides these, the girls are required tO' do' an ordi- 
 nary piece of sewing, and the boys have a few written questions 
 on the work in agriculture, if tlhey are fromi the country, or a 
 simple exercise in drawing, if they come from the city schools. 
 The oral or second part oi the examination, consists oi ( i ) 
 the reading and explanation oi a passage sdected at random 
 by the examiner, together with the recitation of 
 
 a few lines of poetry, and (2) some simple ^ ^.^ ^. 
 
 ^ -^ ^ \ ^ Examination 
 
 questions in geography and history.* The 
 subjects Oif the first series, except the writing and spelling are 
 allowed one hour each, while the whole second part of the 
 examination does not last more than fifteen minutes for each 
 pupil. Each of these seven subjects is marked on a scale of 
 ten, and thirty-five represenlts the minimum passing mark. 
 The girls and those boys for whom the questions in agricul- 
 ture are obligatory may also take the examination in drawing 
 if they choose. A mark of at least five in this subject assures 
 
 1 Arrete, July 24, 1888, Arts. 254-255, Gr. VI, p. 113. 
 ^ Bull. Adm., 1899, XLVI, p. 14. 
 
 » Arrete, July 31, 1897, Arts. 256-257, Gr. VI, pp. 783-784. 
 * Arrete, July 24, 1888, Art. 258, Gr. VI, p. 115. 
 
Il8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the mention ol that fact on tlieir certificate. This question, 
 however, is purely optional. ^ 
 
 The possession of this primary certificate releases the holder 
 from any further obligation to attend school. The examin- 
 
 , , ation, however, is so notoriously easy that its 
 
 Advantages . 
 
 passmg does not imply any very great intellec- 
 tual attainments. More than that, the examination is based 
 only on the work of the coiirs moyen, which is decidedly a 
 narrow field. Tlie teachers have tried to obviate this by dis- 
 couraging the pupils that have only finished the work of this 
 COUNTS from attempting the examination, but not always with 
 much success. There is still that eager haste on the part of 
 both parents and children tO' gain this government sanction for 
 leaving school. 
 
 Besides, the valuations of the various subjects are far from 
 equitable, for ten is the maximum mark for each ; that is, the 
 
 examination in spelling, or in writing:, has as 
 Criticisms , . , , . . , . ^ 
 
 much weight as that m arithmetic or composi- 
 tion, and twice as much as that in either geography or history. 
 Tbe fact, too, that the examination does not cover all the sub- 
 jects oi even the cours moyen necessarily throws added influ- 
 ence on the required ones at the expense of the others during 
 the last months before the examination. At this same period, 
 moreover, the teacher is tempted tO' devote himself too' ex- 
 clusively to those pupils that are coming up for their examin- 
 ations, and to- resolve their work into- a kind oi " cram." But 
 after all these are the attendant evils that accompany almost 
 every- examination system. 
 
 One of the more progressive O'f the Paris directors told me 
 a short time ago that some O'f his colleagues had long rec- 
 ognized the insufficiency of this examination but had thus 
 far striven in vain to- have the standard raised. He further 
 complained that the conditions now were not sO' strict as for- 
 merly because to-day every pupil that succeeds in the written 
 part O'f the examination is almost sure to pass the oral. Un- 
 
 1 For an account of an examination for the primary certificate, cf. Ap- 
 pendix B. 
 
THE LOWER SCHOOLS 
 
 119 
 
 satisfactory though the present requirements may be, time and 
 effort might better be spent in increasing the number of pupils 
 that gain the certificate rather than in raising the existing 
 standard. In spite of the fact that the number of successful 
 candidates has increased almost steadily from 175,675 ^ in 
 1893 to 209,168 ^ in 1904, on the average not quite eighty per 
 cent of the competitors, this number still represents consider- 
 ably less than one sixth of all the children in the country eleven 
 and twelve years O'f age. 
 
 The successful candidates for this primary certificate during 
 the last five years have been as fohows : ^ 
 
 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 
 
 Boys 106,026 107,674 111,749 112,929 II3-390 
 
 Girls 91,110 94,574 95,i8i 94,384 95,778 
 
 Total 197,136 202,248 206,930 207,313 209,168 
 
 Per cent 'boys 80 70 80 80 81 
 
 Per cent girls 82 83 83 83 83 
 
 Notwithstanding tlie accompanying drawbacks, this primary 
 certificate has certainly been of great value in bringing up the 
 average of the poorer schools. It sets practically the same 
 standard foT all the elementary schools everywhere, and gives 
 the teachers some more definite object to reach than the mere 
 vague idea of implanting in each pupil's mind the funda- 
 mental principles of primary education. It gives them, too, 
 some measure whereby they can estimate in a rough way the 
 success that they have attained in their efforts. 
 
 1 Statistique, VI. 1896-1897, p. clxviii. 
 
 2 Bull. Adm., Dec. 24, 1904, LXXVI, p. 1003. 
 
 3 Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 11 15; LXXIV, p. 1308; LXXVI, p. 1003. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Upper Schools 
 
 " Primary education necessarily has its limits. In the last 
 analysis it includes and it includes only that which it is not 
 possible tO' be ignorant of and yet be a man, 
 that which it is indispensable tO' know in order 
 to be a useful man." ^ This fairly typifies the work of all 
 branches of the primary school, the first part representing the 
 task of the lower schools and the second that of the upper. 
 The latter are the expression of an attempt to satisfy the wants 
 O'f the great mass of the people for something more than the 
 mere minimum of knowledge. They form " the natural trans- 
 ition, not between elementary education and secondary classi- 
 cal education, but rather between primary studies and the 
 studies of the schools of applied science. ... In a word, 
 theirs is the task of furnishing the under officers for the great 
 army of work and industry, for which, as M. Greard has 
 said, modern secondary instruction provides the leaders." ^ 
 
 There are several groups of schools included in this term 
 
 upper : ^ the cours complementaires, the ecoles primaires su- 
 
 perieures, the ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage 
 
 Classes of ^^^ ^j^^ ecoles professionnelles. These upper 
 Schools ^ ' 
 
 schools are practically coordmate groups of 
 
 schools that are adapted to the various needs or means of the 
 
 communities which they serve, for they all continue directly 
 
 the work of the lower schools. The ecoles priniaires su- 
 
 perieures may be taken as the norm, the cours complementaires 
 
 being substituted in places that cannot afford the expense of 
 
 installation that these schools require, and the ecoles manuelles 
 
 1 Greard, £ducation et Instruction, Enseignement Secondaire, II, p. 76. 
 
 2 Duplan, L' Enseignement Primaire d Paris, II, p. 7. 
 
 3 That is, the upper schools of the primary system. 
 
 120 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 12 1 
 
 d'apprentissage and the ecoles professiomielles as their names 
 imply, providing a minimum of intellectual work with the 
 maxitaum of practical. These last are higher class apprentice 
 schools. As in the other primary schools, all instruction is ab- 
 solutely free, and besides there are many scholarships, so that 
 often even the expenses oi clothes and food are borne by the 
 State or the community. As has been already indicated, how- 
 ever, these schools are open to only a limited number of 
 children, and naturally these places are filled by the most prom- 
 ising pupils. So that as a matter oi fact, the child of aver- 
 age ability in France is educated at the expense of the State 
 O'nly through the lower schools. The justification for this is 
 that this higher kind of education is expensive, and the State 
 is not willing to undertake the burden unless reasonably sure 
 that the community will be repaid for it. 
 
 M. Guizot was the first to appreciate the need O'f something 
 beyond the very elementary schools, and he tried to establish 
 
 these hig-her schools as early as iS"^^, in order 
 
 ^11 1 1 ■ J ,_ , • First Schools 
 
 tO' nil the gap that existed between the primary 
 
 and the secondary grades and tO' offer to a great class of the 
 people an opportunity for " reaching a certain intellectual de- 
 velopment without imposing upon them the necessity of seek- 
 ing it in the secondar}^ schools, so expensive and at the same 
 time so perilous." ^ 
 
 The few schools that were started had a more or less pre- 
 carious existence. Finally in 1878, the central authorities be- 
 came more interested, and the budget for that year carried 
 110,000 francs for encouraging the foundation of these 
 schools.^ Since that time, their number has increased rapidly, 
 and to-day, although by no means the largest of the State's 
 various educational interests, they are assuredly one O'f the 
 most important. The phrase of M. Duplan quoted above, " to 
 supply the under officers," really gives the key to' the develop- 
 ment O'f these schools. In other words, France trusts tO' their 
 pupils to improve her commercial, agricultural, and industrial 
 
 1 Guizot, Motives of the law of 1833, Gr. II, p. 4. 
 
 2 Circ, May 16, 1878, Gr. IV, p. 785. 
 
122 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 position, and a study of the programs of these schools will give 
 some idea oif the effort she has made to prepare them for 
 their mission. 
 
 Altho'Ug^h the cours complementaire and the ecole primaire 
 
 superieurc represent different developments of the same idea, 
 
 in actual practice there is quite a wide distinc- 
 
 Continuation ^j^^^^ between them. The first of these cannot 
 Classes 
 
 exist by itself but is nothing more than an 
 
 annex to some ccole primaire eleincntaire and is in charge of 
 the director of that school. It is a prerequisite, however, that 
 the lower school shoiuld have its three cours completely organ- 
 ized and that the director should hold the brevet sitpericur.^ 
 The length of the course in the coiirs complementaire is limited 
 to one year, whereas in the ccole primaire superieitre it may 
 be two or three years or even longer." ^ Not only is the equip- 
 ment of the former much more limited than that of the latter, 
 but the grade of the instructO'rs is distinctly lower. The 
 teacher in the cours complementaire is a simple instituteur, 
 and in respect to appointment and classification is reckoned 
 with the teachers of the lower schools. The ordinary teacher 
 in the ecole primaire superieurc, however, holds the certiiicat 
 d'aptitude an professorat in the normal schools and so' is ap- 
 pointed, promoted or removed directly by the Minister. 
 
 These continuation classes are established in the same gen- 
 eral way as the other primary schools ; the installation and 
 maintenance of the buildings and the additional remuneration 
 of the teachers are at the expense of the community, while the 
 regular salaries are paid by the State. The State, however, 
 will not do- this unless the commune agrees 
 to support this school just as it does the obliga- 
 tory schools for at least five years, and furthermore it will with- 
 draw its support if the number of pupils falls below twelve for 
 three consecutive years.' Since about five years ago, in order 
 
 ^ Decret, Jan. 21, 1893, Arts. 30-31, Gr. VI, p. 472. -Ibid. 
 
 3 In Paris, these schools all have a four-year course, and in the girls' 
 school at Lille one even finds this extended to five years. 
 * Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 5, Gr. VI, p. 164. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 1 23 
 
 to receive State aid in founding such a schoo'l, the commune has 
 had to bind itself to support it for at least thirty years/ Pre- 
 vious to 1893, ^^^ State aid of this nature was given in the 
 form of annuities running over a long period of years. Then 
 the commune had to support the school at least as long as the 
 annuities continued. Since that time, instead O'f a series of 
 installments, the amoimt has been given in a lump sum. That, 
 then, is the basis of this thirty year period, for since the State 
 has so many demands for this assistance, it must receive some 
 guarantee that the money will be profitably used and that it 
 will be O'f more than tempo-rary benefit. 
 
 The requirements for admission tO' the coiirs complemen- 
 taires and the ccoles primaircs stiperieures are exactly the same : 
 namely, the possession of the primary certi- 
 ficate and at least one year in the cours supe- 
 rieur of the elementary primary school. On account of the 
 great number of these lower schools, however, that have no 
 upper division, it has been rather difficult to insist on this 
 second condition. Nevertheless, the authorities are very much 
 in earnest in the matter and they will not rest until these re- 
 quirements are fully satisfied. 
 
 There is no regular curriculum outlined for the cours com- 
 plement aires. Each year the director and tlie teacher of the 
 
 cours supcrieiir of the lower school draw up ^ . , 
 
 "^ ... Curriculum 
 
 their own program, and it is only necessary to 
 
 have it approved by the superior authorities." Here is one of 
 the few places in all the French educational system where any 
 great amount of real freedom is left to the teachers. The re- 
 sult generally is that the work is much better adapted to the 
 abilities of the pupils and the needs o'f the communities, for 
 the teachers endeavor to supplement the work of the elemen- 
 tary school and in order to do' this they miay select almost at will 
 from the programs of the lower or the upper schools what 
 they find o'f use there. Of course it is quite out of the question 
 to pursue all the various subjects of the ecole priuiairc supe- 
 
 ^Decret, Mar. 28, 1899, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 880. 
 2 Arrets, Jan. 25, 1895, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 599. 
 
124 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 rieure, for the cours complementairc has only one teacher and 
 continues but a single year, but the pupils can at least be given 
 a taste for a certain amount of culture that is entirely outside 
 the province of the curriculum: of the lower schools. Finally, 
 at the end of their course, they may submit to an examination 
 on the work of the year, and if successful have a special men- 
 tion to that effect inscribeld in their elementary certificates. 
 
 The number of these classes has increased quite rapidly 
 during the last decade. The four hundred and eighty-two re- 
 ported in 1892, ten years later had increased to 
 
 Number of f^f^een hundred and twenty-four, of which 
 Cours Complc- . 
 
 mentaires seven hundred and two were private. At best, 
 
 however, the cours complementaire is only a 
 make-shift, installed in a community where the population or 
 the prosperity will not warrant an ecole primaire superieure. 
 Of late years, in order to encourage the more useful form of 
 the upper schools, the authorities have given all the scholar- 
 ships available for this degree of education to the pupils of the 
 ecoles prim-aires superieures instead of dividing them as here- 
 tofore between these schools and the cours complementaires.' 
 The ecoles primaires superieures together with the ecoles 
 manuelles d'apprentissage and the ecoles professionnelles form 
 
 a much more important though less numerous 
 SchcKjh'^'' g'^O'^P O'f these upper schools. The ecoles 
 \ manuelles d'apprentissage are simply a modi- 
 
 fied form of ecoles primaires superieures. As these upper 
 schools were left somewhat free in their choice of programs, it 
 naturally followed that the schools founded in the great in- 
 dustrial and commercial centers tended more and more to be- 
 come real technical schools. Under these conditions, the 
 
 Ministry of Education was obviously reaching 
 Schools Qygj- ij^t-Q, |-}-,e fiold^ properly belonging to the 
 
 ■n. ^ . Ministry of Commerce, although there was 
 Departments -^ . 
 
 still no small amount of purely intellectual sub- 
 ject matter left in the programs. In the first place, a co'm- 
 
 ^ Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, p. xlii ; VII, 1901-1902, p. xxxix. 
 2 Circ. Sept. 7, 1895. Gr. VI, p. 664. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 125 
 
 promise was effected, and those schools that had primarily this 
 industrial or commercial aspect were put under the condo- 
 minium of both ministers. That is, subventions to these schools 
 were inscribed in the budgets of the two ministers/ and both 
 sent their inspectors tO' the schools. 
 
 This arrangement continued with more or less success for 
 several years, until in 1897, there were no less than twenty- 
 nine schools that were controlled in this fashion. Although 
 the two departments worked in perfect harmony, the incon- 
 gruity O'f the situation became more and. more apparent, until 
 it was finally decided that these schools should either reas- 
 sume their purely intellectual training with a modicum of 
 manuai work and so fall back under the Ministry of Public 
 Instruction, or else they should become out and out technical 
 schools with the intellectual work entirely subordinate and thus 
 cottne under the control oi the Ministry of Commerce and In- 
 dustry.^ This change could not be made all at once, but in 
 1902 there were only twelve schools under the condominium 
 of the two ministers^ and the probability is that this dual con- 
 trol will soon cease to exist altogether. Un- 
 der the new arrangement, these transferred Schools Trans- 
 schools took the name ecoles pratiques de com- -^^- ■ r 
 merce ou d'indiAstrie and they are controlled Commerce 
 by the department of commerce and industry in 
 exactly the same way as are the ordinary schools by the de- 
 partment of education. At first, twelve schools were thus 
 transferred, since then others have been treated likewise and 
 still other new ones created, so' that on December 31, 1899, 
 there were in all thirty-three ecoles pratiques. In order to 
 facilitate the classification of these schools, a commission was 
 appointed consisting of the Vice-Rector of the Academy of 
 Paris and eight other members, four being designated by the 
 Minister of Education and four by the Minister of Commerce.* 
 
 1 Lot, Dec. II, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 207-208. 
 
 - Loi de Finances. Jan. 26. 1892, Art. 69, Gr. VI, p. 407. 
 
 3 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. xxxix. 
 
 * Decret, Jan. 25, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 598. 
 
126 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 This transformation has not been entirely effected as yet, so to- 
 day these schools form- three categories : ( i ) those under the 
 education department; (2) those under the department of com- 
 merce; and (3) those under the condominium of both ministers. 
 In the first of these three groups, intellectual development 
 is the chief object, and the technical work is added solely as a 
 
 means of providing a certain training for hand 
 , ~ and eye, but with nO' idea of teaching any trade. 
 
 It is not a " professional school except in the 
 general sense of being practical and utilitarian. It is a school 
 and not a workshop; one finds there pupils, not apprentices." ^ 
 It not only gives the pupils a good general preparation for 
 their life work, but it alsO' provides those that cannot afford 
 the expenses of the secondary schools with a means of enter- 
 ing the higher technical and scientific schools, and so of be- 
 coming the veritable leaders of the industrial and commercial 
 world. The ecoles pratiques de commerce et d'industrie, on 
 the other hand, are strictly professional schools. They occupy 
 themselves primarily with this or that aspect of commerce or 
 industry and devote a few hours per week to French, geog- 
 raphy, history, mathematics, and the sciences, solely with the 
 idea of providing a more substantial apperceptive basis for 
 their real work. Here, then, the intellectual subject matter is 
 entirely subordinate,' and they aim to- prepare their pupils 
 for the various trades. These are not mere apprentice schools 
 to teach ordinary workmen a trade, but inasmuch as their 
 pupils are a picked set and of more than ordinary intelligence 
 and capacity, they try to combine with mere technical skill a 
 certain training of the creative powers that will enable their 
 students to become intelligent foremen or overseers; in fine, 
 to develop a real love foi- imanual work and not to turn out a 
 class of individuals dissatisfied with their positions in society 
 and only waiting for vacancies in the already overcrowded 
 clerkships and minor goivernmient positions that are thought to 
 carry with them certain prestige. The pupils of these schools 
 
 1 Circ, Feb. 15, 1893, Gr. VI, p. 485. 
 
 - For the programs of these schools, see infra pp. 13S-136. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 1 27 
 
 are composed chiefly of the brighter boys and girls of the 
 upper working or small tradesmen class that cannot afford to 
 stay at school much beyond their fifteenth year. The last of 
 these groups of schools forms a sort of hybrid class, and at- 
 tempts to make these two aspects of education o'f more nearly 
 equal importance. They are gradually disappearing, however, 
 and will soon cease tO' exist altogether. Then the whole or- 
 ganization O'f these upper schools will be reduced to a logical 
 basis. 
 
 The ecoles profcssionnellcs or rather the ccolcs nationales 
 professionnelles ^ form still a different group. The outgrowth 
 of one of the lessons that France learned from 
 her first exposition under the Republic, these National 
 great national schools aim to train a mass O'f ^^ ^^^'°"^ 
 industrial workers, but still tO' train them in- 
 telligently. In order to do this most effectively, we find not 
 single schools but rather groups of schools, for the children 
 are received there when the}^ enter school hfe. Through all 
 the grades, professional instruction finds its place, continuing 
 " progressively from the very first years, where it is almost 
 nothing, up to> the very last semester, where it is everything." ^ 
 Besides these lower departments, there are special examinations 
 for admission to the upper school proper which are conducted 
 under similar conditions to those for entrance tO' the ecoles 
 primaires superieurcs. There are now four of these great na- 
 tional schools, Vierzon, /\rmentieres, Voiron, and Nantes. 
 The first three, although authorized in the early eighties, were 
 not opened until several years later, Voiron in 1886 and Vier- 
 zon and Armentieres in 1887. Thus it was 1889 before the 
 schools had completed their organization. The school at 
 Nantes was established in 1899. These all have courses in 
 wood work and iron work, while Armentieres in the midst of 
 the linen industry at the north devotes special attention tO' spin- 
 
 1 During the deibate on the budget of 1900, these schoo^ls which had 
 heretofore been under the joint control of the Minister of Education and 
 the Minister of Commerce were transferred entirely to the latter. 
 
 2 Buisson. quoted in, Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Pri- 
 maire, p. 420. 
 
128 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ning and weaving, Voiron in the south to weaving and silk 
 culture in general, and Vierzon in central France has a 
 special workshop for pottery/ 
 
 Except the cours complementawes, the ecoles primaires 
 supericures proper are not only the most numerous, but they 
 are also the most important of all these upper 
 Higher schools. They form the natural conclusion to 
 School ^^^ ordinary primary school co-urse and corre- 
 spond in a general way to the American high 
 schools. Although they are now nearly three quarters of a 
 century old, in their present form they are practically a cre- 
 ation of the last twoi decades and a half. The course lasts at 
 least two years, and a school is not considered de pleiii exercice 
 if this does not continue for three years or more. 
 
 There is noi one program prescribed for all schools, but there 
 are several courses from which to choose: namely, general, 
 
 commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Thus 
 Courses ,,,.,, , . , , , 
 
 the school is able tO' adapt its work to the real 
 needs of the community, but it must state clearly at the outset 
 what courses it intends to give and then must confine itself 
 strictly to the regulations prescribed for these. One does not 
 find all four in any one school, but the general course may be 
 combined with any of the others, as, for example, in the large 
 city schools, the general, commercial, and industrial are usually 
 found together. In fact, for the first year the prescribed 
 studies are exactly the same foi* all groups, and it "is not until 
 the second year that any differentiation is allowed. Even 
 here certain subjects are common tO' all, but the names of the 
 various sections indicate sufficiently clearly the general trend 
 of each. 
 
 These schools are in no sense obligatO'ry but always repre- 
 sent the expression of a certain amount of public sentiment and 
 
 educational interest. The initiative is taken 
 Establishment ^ ^^^ municipal council, but the conseil de- 
 and Support -^ ,.„,., , , 
 
 partemental practically decides whether or not 
 
 1 Martel and Ferrand, Bcoles Primaires Superieures, £coles d'Appren- 
 tissage et Scales Nationales Professionnelles. Monographies Pedagogiques, 
 No. 9. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 129 
 
 the school shall be opened. Then it only remains to gain the 
 support of the Minister, and this is almost sure tO' follow, for 
 the authorities are only too glad tO' encourage these schools to 
 the utmost of their financial ability. This government as- 
 sistance is given in the form of scholarships, grants of appa- 
 ratus and other material for instruction, while the teachers' 
 salaries are regularly paid by the State just as in the lower 
 schools. The support will cease, however, if the number of 
 pupils falls below fifteen for each year of work in the school 
 for three consecutive years. ^ The amount of extra money 
 that the communities may spend is dependent entirely upon 
 themselves. In fact in Paris, one may truthfully say that these 
 schools have about all that the directors choose to- ask for. 
 The city furnishes the books and school supplies, and the use- 
 fulness O'f the schools is limited only by the utility of the 
 methods, the capacity of the pupils and the ability of the 
 teachers. 
 
 The teaching force in the ecoles primaires superieures falls 
 into twO' general groups : those appointed by the Minister, and 
 
 those appointed by the prefect under the same 
 
 ... . , , , , ^, Teachers 
 
 conditions as m the elementary schools, ihe 
 
 first of these form by far the larger of the twO' groups, fix the 
 
 standard for the schools and mark their superiority over the 
 
 lower. They include the director, professors that hold the 
 
 certificate for teaching in the normal schools, as well as many 
 
 teachers from the ranks of secondary education that find the 
 
 work in these large city schools much more attractive socially 
 
 and financially than that in the country lycees or colleges. The 
 
 nominees of the prefect are simply instituteurs adjoints, who 
 
 must hold the brevet superieur and the certiftcat d'aptifude 
 
 pedogogique, and the workshop assistants who- are always 
 
 practical workmen. The expenses o-f this latter class are 
 
 reckoned as a part of the general installation of the school 
 
 and are invariably borne by the community. It is needless 
 
 to say that the titulaires are appointed only when the Minister 
 
 cannot fill the vacancies with his own appointees. These pro- 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 5, Gr. VI, p. 164. 
 
I30 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 fcsscurs are not always attached to any one school, but distrib- 
 ute their time among several. This is especially true of the 
 teachers of singing, agriculture, commercial branches, and mod- 
 ern languages. The result is that the number of teachers at 
 first sight seems entirely out of proportion tO' the number of 
 pupils. In one school in Paris, for example, there are fifty 
 teachers for about five hundred boys. It certainly gives a 
 kind of variety to the character of the instruction, but on the 
 other hand the teachers never really become acquainted with 
 their pupils. 
 
 In spite of the fact that according tO' the official regula- 
 tions, in the smaller schools the directors are required tO' spend 
 from ten to fifteen hours per week in actual teaching — save in 
 those where there are more than one hundred and fifty pupils, in 
 which case they may be relieved of all except the work in moral 
 and civic instruction ^ — I did not find a single school among 
 those I visited in Paris or in the department of the North where 
 a director or directress gave any regular instruction. In fact 
 this would be quite out of the question in such schools where 
 the number of pupils varies from three hundred to nearly a 
 thousand. The other tea.chers are expected to- spend twenty 
 hours per week in the class room and to devote five hours to 
 the surveillance of study, recreation periods or excursions. 
 
 The social class of the pupils in the ccoles priniaires su- 
 pericnres varies greatly wnth the schools. The intellectual re- 
 quirements, however, are the same for all : 
 PupHs , , . . , , 
 
 namely, the possession of the elementary cer- 
 tificate, and at least one year in the cours superieur. This 
 practically fixes the age for entrance at twelve or thirteen 
 years. In some of the larger cities where the supply of can- 
 didates is far in excess of the accommodations, there is further 
 a special entrance examination, and here one naturally finds 
 the general level of the pupils somewhat higher. In Paris, the 
 successful candidates are allowed as far as possible to choose 
 amo'Ug the five ecoles primalres superieures for boys, and the 
 two for girls. 
 
 1 Decret, Aug. 14, 1893, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 525. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 131 
 
 Although all instruction, in these schools is practically free, 
 nevertheless one of them, Jean Baptiste Say at Auteuil, is 
 really a semi-pay school. This is legalized by having a 
 pensionnat or boarding department, by supervised periods of 
 study, and by various extra subjects of instruction for which 
 additional fees are charged. Thus one finds here a distinctly 
 higher social class than in the other similar schools in Paris, yet 
 the letter of the law is kept if not the spirit. About one half 
 of the nine hundred boys are paying pupils of this nature, who 
 come here not only from a;ll over France but even from 
 abroad. The other half enter under the same conditions as in 
 the other schools of the same grade. Of the nine hundred and 
 fifty boys that passed the examinations for entrance to the 
 ecoles primaircs superieurcs of Paris in 1902, Jean Baptiste 
 Say took one hundred and eighty. This schoo'l is situated in 
 one of the better quarters of the city, so the charges constitute 
 no real hardship, but merely act as a kind of social sieve. 
 There are a few other schools conducted on a similar plan to 
 be found in various parts of France but they are usually private 
 schools that have been absorbed bodily by the Minister of 
 Education and made to- conform to- the standards of the or- 
 dinary schools of their grade. 
 
 Toward the end of the school year, the pupils are con- 
 fronted with a series of examinations called the exayncn de 
 
 passage, which cover the work of the year. If 
 
 .,'.,, , . ,, Examinations 
 
 a pupil fails here, the parent is usually re- 
 quested to zvithdrazv his child, for the State does not believe in 
 carrying along any unpromising candidates. Those that are 
 so disposed of at the end of the first year will not account for 
 the great decrease in numbers of the second year of the course 
 as compared with the first, and this althoug'h the State has 
 put forth every effort to make it possible for the pupils to stay 
 at school. In the seven schools of Paris, only thirteen per 
 cent of the boys and twenty-three per cent of the girls stay 
 more than three years, ^ and at the sdhool Jean Baptiste Say 
 
 1 Morant, The French System of Higher Primary Schools, Eng- 
 lish. Educational Department. Special Reports on Educational Subjects, 
 I, P- 327. 
 
132 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 where we mig^ht expect to find these conditions much better, 
 the per cent O'f boys in the fourth year from 1888 to 1895 
 varied from twelve to twenty and gave an average of less than 
 seventeen/ This is really a very serious defect inasmuch as 
 in general these courses are all planned on a basis of four 
 years. 
 
 One of the most important ways in which the State has at- 
 tempted to encourage the founding and development O'f the 
 ecoles primaires superieures has been through a 
 system of scholarships. These are of three 
 sorts: d'intcrnat, d'entretien, and favmliales. The first are 
 given to pay the living expenses at the boarding schools, but 
 they can never amount to more than five hundred francs each. 
 The second vary from one hundred to four hundred francs and 
 are given to children that live at home and attend an ecole 
 primaire superieure in the vicinity. These fulfil a double pur- 
 pose and serve not only to pay the living expenses of the boys 
 or girls but also to compensate the families in some measure for 
 the loss of any possible income on the part O'f the children. 
 The bo2crscs familiales, with a uniform value of five hundred 
 francs, — although these as well as the others may be assigned 
 by halves or three quarters — are given in cases where there 
 is no boarding department in connection with the school, and 
 the pupils live with private families in the town. 
 
 Each year, the Minister has about a thousand of these 
 scholarships at his disposal," and they are invariably awarded 
 after a searching competitive examination. All candidates 
 must be between twelve and fifteen years of age. The ex- 
 amination is partly written and partly oral, and is very similar 
 to that for the brevet elementaire, with the addition of an oral 
 interrogation on moral and civic instruction. It is based on 
 the work of the cours supcrieur of the lower school. The in- 
 
 1 Leveque, Rapport au Comite de Patronage de I'Ecole Jean Baptiste 
 Say, 1899, pp. 196-197. 
 
 2 During the ten years 1889-1899, there were 10,437 national scholarships 
 conferred, of which 6,356 were given to boys and 4,081 to girls. Organisa- 
 tioti et Situation de I'Enseigncnient Primaire, p. 372. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 133 
 
 tellectual worth and promise of the candidate are of prime im- 
 portance, but account is also taken oi the services that the 
 parent may have rendered the State and the financial situation 
 and the number of children in the family/ The scholarship 
 ordinarily continues through the school course, or during good 
 behavior and good work on the part of the beneficiary. Be- 
 sides these national bourses, the government makes special 
 g-rants to needy families for clothing, and there are also de- 
 partmental or local scholarships. The government appointees 
 are usually assigned tO' schools in their own departments, but 
 this rule is not invariable. Sometimes, when these scholar- 
 ship holders have made brilhant records in the upper schools 
 and have gained the certificate at the end O'f the course, they 
 may be transferred to the secondary schools and have their 
 scholarships continued." This is only possible, however, for 
 those under sixteen years of ag'e, and it must not be inferred 
 that this forms any regular way for entering secondary schools, 
 for the primary and secondary schools are each complete sys- 
 tems, and the transition from one tO' the other is nowhere 
 made easy. 
 
 In connection with each ecolc primaire superieiire, there is 
 a comite de patronage whose members are appointed by the 
 Minister himself on recommendation of the 
 
 rector.^ This committee has absolutelv noth- Committee of 
 
 Patronage 
 mg to do with the educational aspect of the 
 
 school work, but is a kind of godfather to the institution. 
 The director or directress of the school and the primary in- 
 spector are always active members, and the rector and the 
 academy inspector ex oificio members of each of these bodies. 
 This committee is especially interested in the material wel- 
 fare of the pupils, is often of much assistance in finding suit- 
 able positions for the graduates, forms a most valuable nucleus 
 about which to center public sentiment and general interest in 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 48, Gr. V, p. 731. 
 
 2 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 61, Gr. V, p. 781. 
 
 3 Ibid., Art. 33, Gr. V, p. 775. 
 
134 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the school and its success, and its members are usually very 
 
 important persons on all gala occasions. 
 
 The programs of the ecoles priinaircs supericurcs have not 
 
 been formulated with the idea of training pupils for ultimately 
 
 reaching any of the so-called liberal profes- 
 Programs . . . , , 
 
 sions or even for passmg to the secondary 
 
 schools or the universities. They have, however, tried to 
 " O'rient their pupils from the first day to the last with refer- 
 ence to the necessities of the practical life which awaits them; 
 . . . and although reminding them that democracy has re- 
 moved the barriers which formerly confined the individual 
 within narrow limits, the school should strive to make them 
 love and honor their career rather than make them long for 
 the means of escaping it." ^ 
 
 Although the distinction has already been drawn between 
 the ecoles primaires siiperieures proper and the ecoles pratiques 
 de commerce et d'indusfrie, it may be instructive to put the 
 programs of these two schools together for purposes of 
 comparison. 
 
 1 Dupuy, Circ. F^^b. 15, 1893, Gr. VI, p. 485. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 135 
 
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136 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Comparison of the Time-Tables of the Girls' Higher Primary 
 
 Schools and the Ecoles Pratiques de Commerce et 
 
 d'Industrie.^ 
 
 (Number of hours pel 
 
 ■ week) 
 
 
 
 
 Ministry of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Public 
 
 
 Ministry of Commerce. 
 
 
 Instruction. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 £coles 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Primaires 
 
 
 £coles Pratiques. 
 
 
 
 Supirieures ."^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General 
 Course.' 
 
 Industrial. 
 
 Commercial. 
 
 Year . . 
 
 I. II. III. 
 
 I. 
 
 II, III. 
 
 I. 11. 
 
 III. 
 
 Morale 
 
 I I I 
 
 
 I I 
 
 lA 
 
 ^A 
 
 French language . . . 
 
 4 4 4 
 
 3 
 
 3 I'A 
 
 4/2 3 
 
 3 
 
 Writing 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 
 3 ^'A 
 
 ^A 
 
 History and civic in- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 struction 
 
 I I I 
 
 i>^ i^ 
 
 I'A i^ 
 
 T-A 
 
 Geography ..... 
 
 III 
 
 ij 
 
 4 lyi 
 
 iX 3 
 
 3 
 
 Modern languages . . 
 
 3 3 3 
 
 
 
 4K 4A 
 
 4A 
 
 Arithmetic, geometry or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 algebra . 
 
 211 
 
 ij 
 
 ^3 T-% 
 
 3 4/2 
 
 4A 
 
 Book-keeping and ac- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 counts . . 
 
 I I 
 
 
 lyi 
 
 4A 4A 
 
 4A 
 
 Natural and physical sci- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ences, hygiene 
 
 222 
 
 \) 
 
 43 4'A 
 
 lA 3 
 
 3 
 
 Common law, political or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 commercial economy . 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 4A 
 
 Drawing 
 
 3 3 3 
 
 6 
 
 3 3 
 
 lA lA 
 
 lA 
 
 Manual work and domes- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tic economy 
 
 4 4 4 
 
 27 
 
 2S/2 31 'A 
 
 3 3 
 
 3 
 
 Gymnastics 
 
 I I I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Singing 
 
 III 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 24 24 
 
 43 
 
 44>^ 44>^ 
 
 28>^ 31A 36 
 
 The schedules for the girls' schools were almost exactly the 
 
 same as those for the boys, according to the 
 
 Program arrSte oi January, 1893, but before they had 
 
 Schools gone into effect they were modified in the fol- 
 
 lowing August as above. 
 
 The most striking 
 
 ' Organisation et Sittiation de I ' Enseignement Primatre, p. 38a. 
 
 ' For the professional sections of the icoles primaires supirieures a special program ii 
 drawn up for each school. This is formulated by the directress, but must be approved by 
 the academy inspector. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 137 
 
 difference here is in mathematics, which in the girls' schools 
 loses two hours per week throughout the course. In the applica- 
 tion O'f the programs, however, the differences are even greater, 
 but they are chiefly due to the difference in sex of the pupils. 
 Thus in the girls' schools we find that the theoretical work in 
 agriculture is entirely omitted; the manual training takes the 
 form of sewing, dressmaking and doimestic economy ; hygiene, 
 the principles off common law and political economy are treated 
 entirely under the influence o'f the part that woman naturally 
 plays in the life oi the world. Suffice it to say that the con- 
 stant aim in all these schools has been to give the pupil the 
 sort of instruction that will be useful in after life. 
 
 In attempting to arrange courses of study that will benefit 
 great classes O'f people, and in endeavoring to include every- 
 thing that may possibly be of use, the school work has been 
 fearfully crowded and the minds of the pupils cumbered with 
 a mass of facts that are too' numerous tO' be assimilated prop- 
 erly. ' It is only fair to state that these official programs rep- 
 resent the maximum amount of work in the various subjects 
 and are by no means to be followed in tlidr entirety; in fact, 
 that would be utterly impossible. No- detailed discussion of the 
 work of the higher primary schools will be attempted at this 
 time, for most of the criticism of the general work and the 
 methods in vogue in the normal schools will be equally ap- 
 plicable here. Before leaving this subject, however, I cannot 
 refrain from calling attention to the general excellence of the 
 work in drawing and of the valuable results in correlation 
 where the professor of drawing works in connection with the 
 teacher of manual training. This was especially noticeable 
 in the school at Lille where the girls designed patterns for laces 
 and embroidery which they afterwards worked out in the sew- 
 ing class. At the boys' school in the same city, I found one of 
 the very few installations of power for the manual work that 
 I saw in France in either ecoles primaires siiperieures or ecoles 
 normales. I can hardly speak in too' high terms of the general 
 excellence O'f the schools in that city. 
 
 At the end of the course, the pupils of the ecoles primaires 
 
138 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 supericurcs come up for their certificates/ The examination 
 
 for this covers the work 'O'f the 'vvho'le course 
 Certificate ,.,..,,. , . , 
 
 and IS divided into three parts : written, oral, 
 
 and practical, lasting eight, one, and four hours respectively. 
 Although one would naiturally expect any final examination 
 to be within reach of a large majority of the candidates with- 
 out any special preparation, such does not always seem to have 
 been true. Up to 1898, about one half of the four thousand 
 candidates that ordinarily presented themselves were success- 
 ful. The next year the new reguiations became ejffective, and 
 then the per cent of failure increased slightly. 
 
 Since that time there has been a marked improvement. The 
 results of the last five years are as follows : ' 
 
 Year. Candidates. Passed. 
 
 1900 3,431 2,144 
 
 1901 3,816 2,265 
 
 igo2 4,624 2,847 
 
 1903 4,702 3,148 
 
 1904 6,095 3,561 
 
 The girls have been uniformly much more successful than 
 the boys, for the last four years having an average o^f seventy 
 per cent, while during the same jieriod, less than fifty-six per 
 cent O'f the latter have succeeded. Beginning with the year 
 1903, this certificate or that of tlie ecolcs pratiques d'industrie 
 is to be required of all candidates for the ecoles nationales 
 d'arts et metiers, the great national scientific schools that are 
 found at Paris and a few oi the large provincial cities. 
 
 The following figures ^ for the years 1889- 1898 inclusive 
 
 will give a clearer idea of the antecedents and the destination 
 
 of the pupils of the boys' higher primary 
 FunctioH , , . , , p , . , ... 
 
 schools, m other words o^i their real position in 
 
 the economic life of the nation : 
 
 1 Arrete, Sept. 17, 1898, Gr. VI, pp. 832-836. 
 
 ^ Bull. Adm., 1900, p. 1092; 1902, p. 1163; 1904, p. 1004. 
 
 8 Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 410. 
 
THE UPPER SCHOOLS 
 
 139 
 
 Agriculture has furnished 10,636 pupils and has received 6,824 
 
 Industry has furnished 18,728 " " " 17,680 
 
 Commerce has furnished 14.033 '" '" " 12,146 
 
 Technical schools have furnished " have " 5,138 
 
 Primary school teachers have furnished 3,243 " " " 6,204 
 
 Minor officials have furnished 10,854 " " " 7,oi8 
 
 Unknown 4,192 " " " 6,676 
 
 61,686 61,686 
 
 The most striking proportional change here is in the case 
 of the teaching proifessio'n, for while the parents of thirty-two 
 hundred and forty-three boys were primary teachers, nearly 
 twice as many of the pupils entered this calling. 
 
 " Higher primary instruction has a character essentially edu- 
 cational, but at the same time clearly professional; it is no 
 exaggeration to say that it is both theoretical 
 and practical ; it does not mark the end of any 
 particular apprenticeship, but it prepares seriously for many. 
 The chief care of the teachers is to make each pupil an intelli- 
 gent workman and an honest man who shall become a good 
 citizen." ^ 
 
 ^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 414. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Normal Schools (i) 
 
 development 
 
 Although the idea of creating a normal school in France 
 is often attributed to the Convention, one must seek farther 
 
 back for the first traces of this great movement. 
 P , . The need for some such institutions had long 
 
 been apparent, but it was not until the time of 
 
 the Convention that we find in actual existence anything that 
 
 we may fairly call the prototype of the modern normal school. 
 
 As early as 1681, the Abbe de la Salle, appreciating the need 
 
 of some special work for his teachers, founded an establishment 
 
 for this purpose at Reims. ^ Just how much 
 
 work La Salle did with and for his teachers we 
 do not knoiw. At all events, he brought them tO' live with 
 him, " entered more than ever intO' all the detail oi their life 
 and attempted to correct what he found there amiss." This 
 undertaking continued at least from Easter until the last of 
 June of that same year. Encouraged by the success of this 
 venture, he opened a kind of seminary for teachers a few years 
 later at Paris. ^ Here the young teachers were taught " the 
 method oi Christian teaching " and afterwards took turns in 
 conducting the classes " in order tO' accustom themselves tO' the 
 practical work." Their own course oif study seems tO' have 
 included merely reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing. 
 Little more is known o^f the organization or the work of this 
 school or the length of its existence. At all events, the suc- 
 cessors of the worthy Abbe abandoned the undertaking. Al- 
 
 ^ Garreau, Vie de Jean Baptiste de la Salle, I, pp. 82, 156. 
 
 a Ibid., II, p. 15. 
 140 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 141 
 
 though this antedates Francke's institution at Halle by more 
 than a decade, yet La Salle lacked much of the real pedagogical 
 idea that dominated his German contemporary. 
 
 Whatever sporadic attempts may have been made in the 
 meantime, we find the question again coming to a head after 
 the expulsion of the Jesuits from France. They had been 
 the teachers of the secondary schools, and some steps had to 
 be taken to- fill their places. The Parliament started an in- 
 quiiy on the " Condition of Instruction in France." ^ One of 
 the most striking results of this investigation v^^as the con- 
 clusion that at that moment, there was a body of teachers in 
 the country capable of filling the places of the Jesuits. 
 
 As a result of the plan of education determined upon by 
 Parliament in September, 1762, some pamphlets appeared on 
 the necessity of establishing at Paris an insti- 
 tution for the preparation of teachers.^ Tlie 
 author saw quite clearly the diflference between the scholar and 
 the teacher. " I do not think," he says, " there is any public 
 school where one may learn that art (that is, of teaching) so 
 necessary to teachers of the youth. We need, then, an insti- 
 tution where this shall be taught." ^ In the introduction to 
 his second pamphlet, he puts the matter a little more forcibly 
 and says, " It would not be so bad for the nation to lack 
 teachers for a time as to have only bad ones." * A little later 
 Rolland reiterated the statement of the need for an institution 
 where those that wished to teach might go through a kind of 
 apprenticeship under the direction of the most skilful teachers 
 of the university. This, however, was directed rather toward 
 the preparation of teachers for the secondary schools. At all 
 events, neither the efforts of Abbe Pelletier nor those of Rol- 
 land had any very important results. 
 
 1 Jacoulet, "Ecoles Normales," p. 378. 
 
 2 L'Abbe Pelletier, Memoire sur la Necessite d'etablir dans Paris une 
 Maison d' Institution pour former des Maitres, et quelques colleges pour les 
 basses Classes, 25 Octobre, 1762. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 17. 
 
 •* Thery, Historie dc I'Ediication en France depuis le V^ Sicclc jiisqu' 
 a nos jours, II, p. 178. 
 
142 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 By that time in Germany, this moA'-ement had made no httle 
 
 headway. Francke had hved and died, and his institution at 
 
 Halle was then in full viefor: Frederick the 
 Germany . 
 
 Great had lent his assistance to the movement ; 
 
 Berlin had started its seminary in 1748; Von Rochow had put 
 new life into the idea. France, on the other hand, was still 
 slumibering. It remained for that tremendous social and poJit- 
 ical convulsion of 1789 to recreate the normal school idea in 
 France. Among the legacies, good and bad, that the Revolu- 
 tion has left to the people of France, not the least valuable of 
 them ail must be reckoned this most important idea. 
 
 It seems most remarkable that during the stormy times of 
 the Convention there should have been any consideration g'iven 
 
 to educational affairs, but really they caused 
 Under the , ■,■,.■, t ^1 r 
 
 ^ ^. not a little concern. In the summer O'f 1704, 
 
 Convention ^ _ ' ^^' 
 
 Barere, in the name oif the Comite de Salut 
 Public, complained bitterly of the blig'hting effect of the con- 
 tinuance of the Revolution on public education.^ Although at 
 the time he proposed that a school should be founded in Paris 
 
 for training teachers to be scattered all over 
 Morma c 00 ]7p3J-^,(.g^ |-|-,g question does not seem to have 
 
 3,t X 3.ris 
 
 been discussed. The whole matter slumbered 
 apparently until autumn. On the 9 Brumaire, An III. (Oct. 
 30, 1794), however, in consequence of the report O'f Lakanal, 
 seven days before, the Couvention decreed that there should 
 be created in Paris an "Ecolc Normale where citizens of the 
 Republic already instructed in the useful sciences should be 
 taught tO' teach." ^ The wish oif the Convention that the pro- 
 fessors in this school should be the most skilful is fully attested 
 by some of the names : Lagrange and Laplace conjointly in 
 mathematics, Berthollet in chemistry, and Bernardin de Saint- 
 Pierre in morale.^ 
 
 The idea O'f the Convention was as broad and comprehensive 
 as were so many others that proceeded from that famous body. 
 
 1 Allain, L'Oeuvre Scolaire de la Revolution, p. 158. 
 
 2 Decret, 9 Brumaire An III, Art. i, Gr. I, p. 98. 
 
 3 Gr. I, p. 106. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 143 
 
 The influence of this school was not to be merely local, but it 
 was expected to reach out into the most remote corners oi the 
 new Republic and affect the life O'f the humblest of its citizens. 
 For that reason its pupils were to be called by districts from 
 all over France on the basis of one for every twenty thousand 
 inhabitants, and every pupil must be at least twenty-one years 
 of a'g"e.^ The object of this institution was to train its stu- 
 dents in the method of teaching. At the end of the four 
 months' course, they were to return tO' their respective districts 
 and open other no'rmal schools, where they should transmit to 
 other citizens who wished tO' become teachers " the method 
 of teaching which they had learned in the normal school at 
 Paris." ^ These new courses, in turn, were to continue for 
 four months. The Committee of Public Instruction of the 
 Convention was to have general oversight of all these schools,^ 
 the plan of work and the method of instruction, and was re- 
 quired to report tO' the Convention every ten days on their 
 condition. 
 
 A detailed plan o^f the work in the school at Paris is con- 
 tained in the regulation of the Convention of January 14, 
 1795.* The daily sessions of the school con- 
 tinued from eleven o'clock in the morning 
 until quarter past one in the afternoon. The program, which 
 included mathematics, physics, descriptive geometry, natural 
 histO'ry, chemistr}^ agriculture, geography, history, morale, 
 grammar, metaphysics and literature, was so arranged that 
 each subject had twO' periods every ten days, thus giving three 
 lectures per day. On the "quintidis," the professors were to 
 conduct discussions before the pupils and distinguished men of 
 letters on the elementally text-books in use in the schools 
 oif the Republic, and on the "decadis" the ordinary school 
 
 1 Decret, supra, Art. 2. 
 
 ^ Ibid., Art. 11. 
 
 3 This follows the nomenclature of the revised calendar. The month 
 was divided into three periods of ten days each. The -days of each of these 
 periods were named, respectively, primidi, duodi, tridi, quartidi, quintidi, 
 sextidi, septidi, octidi, nonidi, decadi. 
 
 ■* Gr. I, pp. 106-107. 
 
144 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 work was interrupted in order t'hat the students might have 
 opportunities for visiting the hbraries and museums O'f the city. 
 The meetings of the courses were to* be devoted akemately to 
 lectures by the professors in developing the principles of the art 
 oi teaching, and to conferences and discussions on these lec- 
 tures. 
 
 This school was opened on January 20, 1795, in the great 
 amphitheatre of the museum. Fourteen hundred pupils from 
 all over France thronged to its courses.^ The pro'fessional 
 attainments of the body of instructors are far beyond question, 
 but their ability as teachers of teachers is not sO' evident. The 
 immediate effect of this venture was not very encouraging. 
 The Convention soon reaHzed that the school was not progress- 
 ing according tO' the ideas of its founders, and it was closed 
 by decree on May 15th, after an existence a little short of what 
 was originally planned. It is perfectly clear that four months 
 is far too short a time for training ordinary teachers, much 
 less for training teachers of teachers. Moreover, it seems 
 quite evident that these professors, able as they were, could 
 not appreciate the idea that they were to teach the best method 
 of teaching their subjects rather than to teach the subjects 
 themselves. Nevertheless, the pupils, realizing the inadequacy 
 of the length of the course, and convinced of the advantages 
 to be derived from such an experiment, plead most earnestly 
 before the Convention that the work of the school might be 
 continued. This address," signed by forty-nine of the students 
 of the school, was presented to the Convention and read there 
 April 25, 1795, but the appeal fell upon deaf ears. The whole 
 effort was rather unfortunate, for it was not only unsuccess- 
 ful in itself, but the recollection of its failure discouraged any 
 further attempt in this direction for several years." It is 2i\- 
 
 ^ Addresse de plusieurs clcves dc I'Ecolc Normale, a la Convention, lue 
 dans la seance du 5 Floreal, An 3 (Apr. 25, 1795)1 P- 3- 
 
 2 Cf. supra. 
 
 3 This normal school really cost the Republic no small sum. " There 
 were twelve professors at 1,000 1. per month, four stenographers at 500 1., 
 six copyists at 333 1. 6 sols. 8 deniers, two employes for distributing the 
 papers of the school at 250 1. and 200 I. respectively, one office attendant at 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 145 
 
 most unnecessary to add that the faikire of the undertaking 
 
 in Par'is bH^hted whatever prospects the proposed rural normal 
 
 schools ever had of succeeding. 
 
 Nearly thirteen years later Napoleon created the University. 
 
 In order that reading, writing and arithmetic might be taught 
 
 in the best manner possible, each Academy was 
 
 to establish '* one or more normal classes to ,, ^^tV°" ^"^ 
 
 the University- 
 train teachers for the primary schoo'ls." ^ It ; 
 
 is interesting to note that four years after this, the academy 
 inspectors were specifically required to see that the teachers in 
 the primary schools did not carry their instruction beyond the 
 limits of readings zvriting and arithmetic. ~ The contrast be- 
 tween this simple program and that outlined in the normal 
 school of the Convention is most striking. Urilike the Con- 
 vention, however, Napoleon took no- further stq^s tO' carry his 
 decree into effect. During the Hundred Days we find another 
 normal school — on paper at least. A model school was to be 
 provided at Paris which should eventually become a normal 
 school and should train teachers for service in the primary 
 schools.^ A committee was formed to plan the course, but 
 " Waterloo swept away the decree and the Minister " who 
 proposed it.'* 
 
 The decree O'f 1808 was not without its effect, for in the 
 extreme eastern part of the empire the suggestion seemed to 
 be well received. At all events, thanks tO' the 
 prefect of the department and the rector O'f the "^ 
 
 academy, who ^were perhaps as much influenced by the progress 
 that Germany had already made in the training oif her teachers 
 
 150 1. This amounts to considerably more than 16,000 1. per month. One 
 must add to this 1,680,000 1. indemnity — 1200 1. to each of the 1400 pupils — 
 their teaching expenses, and 30,000 1. for text-'books." Allain, L'Oeuvrc 
 Scolaire de la Revolution, p. 191, note. Aside from the traveling expenses, 
 this is equal to more than $350,000, truly no inconsiderable sum to spend 
 for such a short-lived experiment. 
 
 1 Decret, Mar. 17, 1808, Art. 108, Gr. I, p. 199. 
 
 ^ Decret, Nov. 15, 181 1, Art. 192, Gr, I, p. 222. 
 
 3 Decret, Apr. 27, 1815, Gr. I, p. 237. 
 
 * Jacoulet, Les Scales Normales; in Recueil des Monographies Peda- 
 gogiques. Exposition 1889, II, p. 386. 
 
146 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 as iby the imperial decree, the first normal school in France 
 was opened at Strassburg in 1811/ 
 
 This started at first with sixty scholarship pupils, varying in 
 age from sixteen to thirty years, and many others besides. 
 Tlie expenses of these scholarships were divided among the 
 " communes of the department in proportion to their popula- 
 tion, their income, and the number and importance of their 
 schools." ^ The course, four years at the beginning, but sub- 
 sequently reduced to three, included instruction in French, Ger- 
 man, geography, arithmetic, physics, calligraphy, drawing, 
 music, some notions of agriculture and g}^mnastics, and finally, 
 some study of the best methods of teaching. Though this 
 program is incomparably richer than that proposed by Napo- 
 leon's decree, it is yet much below the plan oif the normal 
 school of the Convention. Although undoubtedly far more 
 practical in its actual work, it nevertheless lacked much of the 
 breadth of its famous predecessor. The omission of history 
 is perhaps its most striking feature. This school at Strass- 
 burg met with immediate success, so much, in fact, that its 
 influence rapidly extended outside its own department. The 
 department of the Upper Rhine soon made arrangements to 
 send pupils to be trained at Strassburg. M. Guizot thus testi- 
 fies to the success of the Strassburg school : " The superiority 
 of the public school in the academy of Strassburg is striking, 
 and the convictioii of the coimtry, as just as it is general, 
 attributes this above all to the existence of the normal school." ^ 
 
 The return of the monarchy, however, put a check on the 
 spread of this idea by turning the efforts along this line in 
 
 another direction. It encouraged the union 
 Other Schools r 1 1 1 11 
 
 of several classes under one teacher and sev- 
 eral assistants, with the idea of " training a certain number of 
 young people in the art of teaching." * This is the same plan 
 that was adopted again in 1850. at that time with the idea not 
 
 1 Guizot, Rapport au Rot. Mar. 2, 1833, Gr. I, p. 435. 
 
 2 AUard, j£coles Normales Primaires, p. 3. 
 •* Op. cit., Gr. I, p. 436. 
 
 ^ Ordonnance Royale, Feb. 29, 1816, Art. 39. Gr. I, p. 248. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 147 
 
 only of preventing- the foundation of new schools, but even of 
 killing those already in existence. Fortunately, at this junc- 
 ture some of the academies took up the burden that the State 
 had cast aside, and again one can trace the influence of the 
 school at Strassburg. The academies of Metz and Nancy 
 esitablished normal schools for primary teachers at Helfedange 
 and Bar-le-Duc respectively. The first of these, founded in 
 1822, was subsequently removed to the academy seat at Metz. 
 The course of each of these schoo'ls lasted two- years, and at 
 Helfedang-e, besides the work given at Strassburg, we find 
 geometry, mechanical drawing, the elements 
 
 of mechanics and astronomy, some notions of ,^ erences m 
 
 the Curricula 
 natural history, hygiene, and practice in draw- 
 ing up simple legal papers,^ but still no history. Bar-le-Duc 
 added history (with especial emphasis put upon that of 
 France) and surveying, but it lost f)hysics, natural history, 
 hygiene, gymnastics, and the preparation of legal papers. On 
 the whole, it is evident that the introduction of history was 
 rather dearly bought. The presence of these schoo'ls, M. Gui- 
 zot goes on to say, 'had a most remarkable influence on the 
 prevalence of schools in the departments of the Moselle and 
 the Meuse, for in the latter department there were only four 
 small communes that had no schools. There was a great ad- 
 vance, too, in the methods of instruction, and the individual 
 method almost completely disappeared. The foundation of 
 these three schools, at Strassburg, Helfedange, and Bar-le-Duc, 
 may be said to mark the first period in tlie history of the nor- 
 mal schools in France. About this time attempts were made 
 at Paris, under private enterprise, to provide some professional 
 training for teachers of both sexes, but the results were not of 
 sufficient or lasting importance to merit consideration here. 
 
 The creation of the office of Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion in 1828 ^ put renewed life into the schools of the nation. 
 i\ few months later a royal ordinance ^ restored to the Univer- 
 
 ^ Guizot, Op. cit., Gr. I, p. 436. 
 
 - Ord., Feb. loth, Gr. I, p. 340. 
 
 3 Ord., Apr. 21, 1829, Gr. I, pp. 340-345. 
 
148 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 sity its authority over the pubhc schools which it had lost some 
 years before. In an official circular/ the new 
 Extension Minister recommencled to the rectors of the 
 Normal Schools ^'^^"^0"^ academies that they use all their 
 efforts to found normal classes patterned after 
 the one that had been so successiful at Strassburg. This cir- 
 cular was followed by another the next August," wherein the 
 Minister gave the rectors many valuable suggestions on the 
 administration and internal arrangements of these normal 
 classes, and the aim and duration of the work to be under- 
 taken. Here for the first time since the Convention, we find 
 the State taking a real live interest in this work and doing 
 something more than merely publishing decrees. These efforts 
 were crowned with no little success. The lower authorities 
 seemed to awake from their lethargy and really to bestir them- 
 selves toward better things. Although checked by the polit- 
 ical events O'f 1829- 1830, yet there is no doubt but that these 
 aJttempts prepared the people in a way fo'r the far greater work 
 oif Guizot. Be that as it may, by 1829 the number of normal 
 schools had grown from three to thirteen, and by the time of 
 Guizot's report in 1833, on the condition of the normal schools, 
 this number had still further increased to forty-seven. Then, 
 however, the mo'vement was no' longer confined to the eastern 
 departments, but had extended from one end of the country to 
 the other. 
 
 At this period when the whole scheme oif primary instruc- 
 tion was entirely reorganized, and an impetus hitherto un- 
 known was given tO' popular education, at the 
 Condition of i\\j\Q when the higher primary schools sprang 
 
 o into existence, and Guizot had inspired the 
 
 in 1832 ' '^ 
 
 authorities, from the king down, with a lively 
 interest in the schools, let us see what the normal schools 
 really were. With an existence oif a little more than two 
 decades j they had a!lready begun to have an important influ- 
 ence on the personnel of the public schools. One must not 
 
 1 Circ, May 6, 1828, Gr. I. pp. 345-349- 
 
 2 Circ. Aug. 19, 1828. Gr. I. pp. 357-359- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 49 
 
 forget, liowever, that this was long before the days of a highly 
 centralized educational system in France. There were almost 
 as many different grades of work as there were normal schools. 
 In fact, some could hardly be called schools at all, for they 
 were mereily normal classes attached to a college or, even as 
 that at Nimes, to a private boarding school.^ Exactly how 
 many pupils were enrolled in the forty-seven schools then in 
 existence or what their real influence was on elementary edu- 
 caition in general, we have no means of knowing. We do 
 know that the equipment and installation were entirely de- 
 pendent upon the generosity O'f the department which founded 
 the school. Sometimes these were boarding schools, some- 
 times day schools, and again at times a combination of the two, 
 although the greater number belonged to this last class. The 
 value O'f the hoiwscs, and consequently the living expenses, 
 were practically limited to three hundred francs. These schol- 
 arships were founded by the departments, the communes, by 
 private generosity, or, as seldom happened, by grants from 
 the State. Generally speaking, the course continued for two 
 years, although occasionally this was lengthened to three and 
 at other times reduced to one. The plan of the work, too, was 
 about as varied as can readily be imagined. 
 
 Better days, however, were in store for the normal schools. 
 Guizot became Minister of Public Instruction in October, 1832, 
 and immediately proceeded to bring order out 
 
 of all this chaos. From the first he was in- ^ ""^*^* '' 
 
 Influence 
 tensely interested in the training of teachers, 
 
 and hence we have the new regulation of December 14, 1832,^ 
 
 systematizing the normal schools. So fundamental were the 
 
 changes and so lasting the effects that this regulation has been 
 
 aptly called the " chart of the normal schools." At this period 
 
 they ceased to be exclusively departmental, and have since been 
 
 coming more and more under the direction oif the central 
 
 authority. One may be a little surprised at not finding these 
 
 irLsititutions made obligatory in all the departments. This aj>- 
 
 parent lack, however, was supplied by the new law of the fol- 
 
 1 Jacoulet, op. cit., p. 393. - Gr. I. pp. 428-433. 
 
I^o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 lowing June. Tliis says specifically : " Each department will 
 be required to support a normal schooil for primary teachers, 
 either by itself or in connection with one or more neighboring 
 departments." ^ 
 
 The regulation of 1832, however, did provide very carefully 
 for uniformity in curriculum, organization, admission require- 
 ments and general management. The subjects 
 
 Curriculum r ■ .. ,■ , • 1 j 11 
 
 r o of mstruction were to mclude : moral and re- 
 
 01 1832 
 
 ligious instruction, reading, arithmetic, includ- 
 ing the legal system of weights and measures (that is, the 
 metric system), French grammar, mechanical drawing, sur- 
 veying and other applications of pradtical geometry, the ele- 
 ments o'f physics as applied to life, music, gymnastics, geog- 
 raphy and history (especially those of France). Besides these, 
 during the last six months O'f the course, there was instruction 
 in the preparation of simple legal papers, and also in grafting 
 and pruning trees. The length of the course was two years. ^ 
 One is immediately impressed with the practical nature of 
 this course, for it has considerably more points O'f contact with 
 
 ^ . real life than had that oif the Strassburg nor- 
 
 Comparison , ^ 1 r 1 r t^i 1 
 
 with the "^^^ sdhool 01 twenty years beiore. ihe the- 
 
 Earlier oretical work in education has been supplanted 
 
 rograms ^^ ^-^ months Spent " in the practice of the 
 best methods of instruction" in a primary department attached 
 to the normal school. German, -which had been in the pro- 
 grams oi the earliest schools, and calligraphy have botli dis- 
 appeared, and the French has been cut down to merely gram- 
 matical questions. Some other subjects that had appeared at 
 Helfedange, such as the elements of mechanics and astronomy, 
 hygiene and natural history, have alike been swept away. On 
 the other hand, geometry is taught for its application to sur- 
 veying, and the notions O'f the physical sciences are such as 
 are '' appli'cable to practical life;" history and geography deal 
 almost exclusively with Fmnce; the work in agriculture is 
 confined specificallly to grafting and pruning. We do find, 
 
 ^ Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 11, Gr. II, p. 13. 
 
 2 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Arts. 1-3, Gr. I, p. 429. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 151 
 
 however, two entirely new subjects: reading, and moral and 
 religiious instruction. Thi's latter was to be given to the nor- 
 mal school pupils, according to their belief, by the ministers of 
 the viarious creeds recognized by the law. Tlie new program 
 was intended to apply only tO' the schools to be founded in the 
 future, for Guizot realized that the various schools already in 
 operation under curricula presumably best adapted to satisfy 
 the local needs might better be left unhampered. The sole 
 condition he exacted was that the curriculum should be ap- 
 proved by the Royal Council. 
 
 The Minister was practically in control of all these normal 
 schools, for he appointed the director, approved the rector's 
 
 choice of the rest of the teaching force, and 
 
 ■ J Control 
 
 nlamed the members of the commission de sur- 
 veillance, Who were directly responsible for the care of the 
 school, althoug^h the prefect and the rector were interested in 
 the administration to the extent oi nominating the director 
 and the governing board. The directors and Other teachers 
 were chosen almost exclusively from the ranks O'f secondary 
 teachers, and it was not until 1845 ^ that the directors were 
 required to be taken from the primary service. The commis- 
 sion de surveillance nominated the teaching force, other than 
 the director, approved the annual budget, ddtermined the num- 
 ber of pupils to be admitted to the school, inspected the school 
 regularly and examined the pupils in class, decided upon the 
 promoition's, conducted the final examiimations of the course, 
 and actually granted the certificates tO' the successful candi- 
 dates.^ 
 
 The requirements for admission were not very se\^ere. The 
 pupil must be at least six'teen years o'f age, must present cer- 
 tificates of good conduct and good health, and 
 
 • . • • ,1,- •■• Conditions of 
 
 must pass an exammation m reamng, writing, .... 
 
 ■■^ . . Admission 
 
 French grammar, arithmetic, and the chief 
 
 tenets of the particular religious belief that he professed.^ 
 
 1 Ord., Nov. 18, Art. 5, Gr. II, p. 530. 
 
 2 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832. Arts. 17-25, Gr. I, pp. 431-433. 
 ^ Ibid., Art. 11, Gr. I. p. 430. 
 
152 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Moreover, he must cootract to serve alt least ten years in the 
 pu'bHc school service/ The great majority of the pupils en- 
 joyed scholarships which paid the board at the school. In 
 1837 more ithan seven-eighths of tlie students were thus sup- 
 ported.^ 
 
 There was one important provision quite generally taken 
 advantage Oif. Teachers already in active servnce were en- 
 couraged to attend the courses given in the 
 Courses normal school during the year, and especially 
 during the vacation periods in the public 
 schools " in order to improve the knowledge which they al- 
 ready possessed or to learn to apply better methods." ^ Most 
 of the departments gladly voted funds for these extension 
 courses. Thus the sphere of influence of the normal schools 
 was widely extended, and they fulfilled the double purpose of 
 providing new teachers and of improving those 'already in ser- 
 vice.* 
 
 The effect of ithis regulaltion of 1832 and the law of the 
 following June was very widespread. Guizot wished to miake 
 it obligatory for every department to support a normal school 
 of its own. This measure appeared too drastic to the Cham- 
 
 1 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Art. 12, Gr. I, p. 431. 
 
 - Actually 2,136 out of a total of 2,406, showing a slight proportional in- 
 crease over 1833 when the corresponding figures were 1,671 scholarship- 
 holders out of 1,944. Statistique, II, p. xcv. 
 
 2 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Art. 16, Gr. I, p. 431. 
 
 * According to Allard, op. cit., pp. 293, 296 and 308, nearly 7,000 of the 
 30,644 teachers actually teaching on Jan. i, 1843 in the communal public 
 primary schools were normal school graduates. This represents nearly 
 seven-eighths of the teachers that had entered the service during the last 
 ten years. Of the 23,727 that were not normal graduates, 6,527, or about 
 twenty-eight per cent, had taken advantage of these vacation courses. 
 
 Unfortunately the official statistics — which, by the way, were compiled in 
 1877-1880, covering the period 1829-1877 — do not confirm these statements. 
 In regard to the total number of teachers, the figures given here are con- 
 siderably below those given in the volume Statistique Comparcc dc I'En- 
 seignement Primaire 1829-1877. Yet these in turn do not agree with those 
 in the official Rapport ati Rot by the Minister of Public Instruction in 1840. 
 However, M. Allard being Secretary to the Minister of Public Instruction 
 in 1843, his figures merit some consideration at least. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 153 
 
 ber, and this particular article was amended to read : " Every 
 
 department will be required to support a 
 
 normal school, either by itself or in conjunc- Results of the 
 
 . , . , , . , Legislation of 
 
 tion With one or more neighbormg depart- 18^2-18^^ 
 
 ments." ^ It is really surprising how com- 
 paratively few departments availed tliemselves O'f the second 
 option co'ntained in this amendment. From forty-seven in 
 1833. the number of schools increased very napidly, uritil when 
 Guizot left the Ministry in 1837 there were no less than sev- 
 enty-four in full operation distributed all over France." These 
 scboofe were all for boys, and it was not until five years later 
 that the first g'iris' schools were opened in the departments of 
 Jura and Orne.^ 
 
 It is only fair to state, however, that this lack of girls' 
 schools was in some measure compensated for l^y the estab- 
 lishment oi normal courses in connection with 
 
 . . . Normal Courses 
 
 other schools. Ihe religious societies stepped 
 
 to the front here, but even under the most favorable conditions 
 these could hardly be expected to assume the burden of train- 
 ing women teachers for the whole country. These normal 
 courses spread rather rapidly and cannot be disregarded, for 
 they were the real precursors of the normal schools for girls. 
 In fact, not a few of the first girls' schools were merely trans- 
 formed normal courses. Naturally these were much less effi- 
 cient than regular normal schools, but they 'were considerably 
 beitter than nothing at all. The first was founded at Mens in 
 1833, and by 1877 the courses for boys and girls numbered 
 seventy, with two hundred and seventy-eight boys and thirteen 
 hundred and eighty-five girls in attendance.* 
 
 1 Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 11, Gr. II, p. 13. 
 
 2 Statistique. II. 1829- 1877, p. 176. In 1840 this number had increased to 
 sevent3'-six, vAih three ecoles modeles in addition. Of these sixty-five had 
 a three years' course, and fourteen a two years'. The number of students 
 was 2,684, and the total expenses to the .State, departments, communes and 
 faTnilies amounted to 1,538,203 francs. Villemain, Minister of Public In- 
 struction, Rapport au Roi, 1840, p. 54. 
 
 3 Statistique, II, 1829-1877, p. 178-180. 
 * Ibid., p. xcviii. 
 
154 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 It is rather interesting to note in tliis connection that Paris 
 
 had to wait; until 1872 before she had a pubhc normal school 
 
 of her O'vvn for primary teachers, either for 
 
 Lack of School , j. . , t-i ' 7 r kt ^ 
 
 . -r, ■ ooys or for girls. ihe ordoimancc oi March, 
 
 at raris ^ t> > 
 
 1 83 1, w'hich had provided for the establish- 
 ment at Paris O'f a school to train teachers for the Academy 
 of Paris, was subsequently modified so that the school could 
 be located in any 'town of the academy/ Now, inasmuch as 
 the neighboring department oif Seine-et-Oise had just founded 
 a normal schooil at Versailles, the department of the Seine 
 arranged to maintain a certain number o'f scholarships in the 
 school at Versailles." Nevertheless, on account of the supe- 
 rior attractions of the city, Paris was able to driaw on the 
 country departments for her teachers, and seemed to have little 
 difficulty in getting her share of the best of them. 
 
 It is perhaps worthy of note that this remarkable and wide- 
 spread interest in the founding of normal schoois was really 
 
 contemponary with the first Lsltrug-gles • toward 
 Reaction , ^ , . ^^ ^ ., 
 
 the same end ni our own country. James G. 
 Carter had begun tlie agitation in Massachusetts only a little 
 w'hile before Guizot came into favor in France, and the effort 
 on this side oif the Atlantic was finally crowned with success 
 througii the influence of Horace Mann. There were, how- 
 ever, troublesome times in store for the movement in France. 
 From about 1840 the mutterings against the normal schools 
 grew mo're pronounced. They were said to be reaching be- 
 yond the regular hmits of their instruction, to be g'rowing 
 more and more superficial in their training, and to be sending* 
 forth a class o'f pupils dissatisfied w^ith the positions in society 
 that they were expected to fill.^ Instead of studying the mat- 
 ter carefully with an earnest desire to seek out the causes of 
 t/hese charges, which unfortunatdy were more or less true, and 
 to correct the evils, the popular feeling turned against the 
 normal schools themselves. The opposition became so wide- 
 
 1 Ord., Apr. 15, 1831, Gr. I, p. 391. 
 
 2 Statistique, II, 1829-1877. p. xciv. 
 
 3 Jacoulet, ()/''. cit., p. 406. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1^5 
 
 Spread that even die Academy of Moral and Poldtical Sciences 
 considered very seriously the question : " Tlie improvement 
 of the primary normal schools considered in relation to the 
 moral education of the youth." Several essays were submitted 
 in competition for the prize offered by the Academy, among 
 them that of M. Barrau, principal of the college at Chaumont, 
 and a man really very devoted to the cause o^f primary edu- 
 cation. 
 
 This pamphlet was a severe tirade against the 'work that the 
 schools were doing, against their programs, organization, 
 direction and pupils. The remedies that Bar- 
 rau proposed were a thorough simplification Barrau s 
 
 e , . Pamphlet 
 
 from top to bottom, with the idea of abohsh- 
 ing the luxtury both in -curriculum and life that prevented the 
 schools from playing their proper part in the primary educa- 
 tion of the nation. To this end he proposed: (i) that pupils 
 s'liould be chosen from among the poor people of the country 
 that they miglit better understand and minister to the wants 
 of the ruraH communities; (2) the course oi study should be 
 reduced to a more practical basis with increased emphasis on 
 religiiious teaching; and (3) .all the work, especially that in 
 history, should be concentrated upon developing a stronger 
 feeling of patriotism. In other .words, the education should 
 be made essentially primary instead of attempting to reach up 
 into the domains o'f secondary and university work.^ So 
 strong was the feeling against the normal schools that some 
 of tlie departments — Loire-Inferieure and the Vosges — even 
 went so far as to^ close their schools entirely. This uncertain 
 and unsatisfactory state of affairs continued .until the time of 
 the Second Republic in 1848. Then the opposition took more 
 decisive measures, and shortly after that actually pushed 
 through some legislation w^hich it vv^s confidently hoped 
 w^ould sound the death-knell of the normal schools. This ^^"as 
 the famous Falloux law of 1850. 
 
 1 Barrau, De I'Education de la Jcunesse a I' Aide des Lcoles Normales 
 Primaires, pp. 132, 159, 166. 
 
 The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences granted the prize of 2,000 
 francs to M. Barrau for this work. 
 
1-6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 For'tunately the law was not so severe as the framers first 
 
 intended/ As finally passed, it required every department to 
 
 ^ „ ^ provide for the recruiting- of its teachingf force 
 
 Falloux Law . , . ,, , ,. , ^ , . !^ 
 
 either m estabhshments for primary instruc- 
 tion designated by the Academic Coundl or in the normal 
 school established for that purpose by the department." ^ 
 The alternative offered here really grave an indirect means of 
 supplanting the normal schoods. The same section oi the law 
 went even further and provided definitely for suppressing the 
 schools altogether either by the conseil general oi the depart- 
 ment, or by the Minister himself on the recommendation o'f 
 the Academic Council. The last of these three means had 
 only a nominal existence, for no Minister dared use this 
 power, and only four conseils generaux abolished their normal 
 schools.^ 
 
 The curriculum was revised the following year * so^ as to 
 cover almost exactly the same range as that provided for the 
 
 primairy schools in the Palloux law, thus still 
 jg further reducing the simple program of 1832. 
 
 By this new arrangement only seven subjects 
 were made obligatory : moral and religious instruction, read- 
 ing, writing, the elements of tlie French language, arithmetic 
 and the metric system, religious music, and the practical work 
 in the ecole annexe. During the rest of the three years' course 
 the following were optional : arithmetic in its practical appH- 
 catioos ; the elem:ents oi history and geography ; some n'otions 
 O'f physics and natural history as applied to life; elementary 
 instruction in agriculture, industry and hygiene; surveying, 
 levelling and mechanicail drawing; and gymnastics. 
 
 Tlie practical work in the ecole annexe occurred during the 
 last two years of the course, while the other obligatory sub- 
 jects continued throughout the three years. There was no 
 
 1 Pro jet de loi sur l' Instruction piiblique, presente al'Assemhlee nationale, 
 June 18, 1849, Art. 2,^, Gr. Ill, p. 178. 
 
 2 Loi, Mar. 15, 1850, Art. 35. Gr. Ill, p. 332. 
 
 3 Jacoulet, op. cit., p. 414. 
 
 * Reglement. Mar. 185 1. Gr. III. p. 453. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 57 
 
 opportunity for the optional subjects to begin until the third 
 year, for the regular program as officially outlined included 
 thirty-five hours' work per week for each of the first two 
 years/ Minister Fortoul, in his instructions to- the rectors 
 three years later, spe'aks O'f the great improvement in the nor- 
 mal schools since the change in 185 1, and furthermore asks 
 the rectors not to encourage the normal schools to go beyond 
 the obligato-ry subjects O'f instruction required by that law. 
 " It is more important for the pupils to know well what they 
 do knoiw, and above all to know how to impart that knowledge 
 to others." ' 
 
 The commission de surveillance sitill rdtained most of the 
 powers granted to it under the old conditions in 1832, the five 
 
 members oi this body, however, no^w being 
 
 ^, ' . . "= Further Modi- 
 
 appointed by the rector. ihe Mmister ap- fications by the 
 
 pointe'd the director as before, and also fixed Regulation of 
 the number of pupils to be admitted to the ^ ^^ 
 
 schoo'l. Candidates must be between the ages of eighteen and 
 twenty-two, but the competitive examination is abolished. 
 Each individual case is considered by the rector and the pri- 
 mary inspectors, and the former finally decides the question 
 of admiission and awards the schoiarships. Besides investigat- 
 ing carefully the moral and physical health oif the candidates, 
 these officials had to satisfy themselves that the candidates 
 could " read and write readily, observed the principal rules of 
 spelling, could apply the four rules (that is, arithmetic), and 
 could answer the questions put to them on the catechism and 
 Bibhcal history." ^ The regime was hardly less than that of 
 a lay monastery, for the vacations were limited to twO' weeks, 
 morning and evening prayers were followed by religious read- 
 ing, no leave oi absence was allowed except in very unusual 
 cases, and the pupils were always accompanied on their walks 
 by the director or another teacher. Although the discipline of 
 the normal schools to-day seems unduly severe according to 
 
 ^ Arrete, July 31, 1851, Art. 3, Gr. Ill, p. 481. 
 2 Instruction, Oct. 31, 1854, Gr. Ill, p. 615. 
 •'' Circ. Feb. 2, 1855, Gr. Ill, p. 624. 
 
I^g PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 our Amerrcan ideas, such conditions as these only fifty years 
 
 ago g^ far toward explaining the present state of affairs. 
 
 When Rouland became Minister in 1856, the normal schools 
 
 fell upon better tim'cs. The regulation of 1851 had limited 
 
 ^ . . the teaching fo'rce, not including the chaplain 
 
 Transition .. ,,■ , 
 
 and the smgmg teacher, to the director and 
 
 two other masters. By the royal decree of Augusit 7, 1861,^ 
 the rectors could join with the commission de surveillance in 
 asking the Minisiter for a third master. As though fearful of 
 the consequences of this new legislation, Rouland, in the min- 
 isterial circular accompanying the decree, suggested that the 
 rectors take advantage of this provision only after consider- 
 ing the local conditions." The rectors, however, very gener- 
 ally improved the opportunity to increase the teaching force, 
 and by 1863 a large majority oif the seventy-six normal schools 
 had at least three regular teachers besides the director. Natu- 
 rally the situation was very materially ameliorated. A few 
 years before, the financial condition oif the teachers had been 
 rendered much m'ore satis'fiactory. In 1855,^ the directors and 
 other masters had for the first time been divided into classes, 
 with a maximum and a minimum wage fixed by law. These 
 two bodies were each divided into- three groups with minimum 
 and maximutn' salaries respectively of 2200-3000 francs for 
 the directors and 1000- 1800 francs for the regular teachers. 
 Eight years later these figures were all raised two hundred 
 francs.* The ministry of Rouland was thus a kind of transi- 
 tion stage between a period of undisguised hostility to the 
 normal schools and one o'f intense interest and care for their 
 welfare under Duruy. 
 
 TTie six years that Duruy was Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion, 1 863- 1 869, were of much importance to 
 
 uruy, ^^^ normal schools. From the first he was 
 
 Minis'ter 
 
 their faithful champion. In the early part 
 
 1 Decret, Gr. Ill, p. 781. 
 
 2 Circ, Sept. 25, 1861, V, p. 468. 
 
 8 Decret, Dec. 26, 1855, Art. i, Gr. Ill, p. 670. 
 * Decret, Sept. 4, 1863, Art. 2, Gr. IV, p. 13. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 159 
 
 of his ministry, a letter to the prefects ^ recommends that 
 they take special pains to reserve the vacancies in the schools 
 within their jurisdiictioin for the young teachers that have 
 passed succes'sfnlly through the normal schools. In case of a 
 lack of regular positions, these young men, who are necessa- 
 rily provided with " irrefutable evidence of ability and moral- 
 ity," s'hould receive temporary appointments, for " experience 
 has shown that they consititute the very best of O'Ur teachers." 
 The interest shown thus early was manifest all through his ad- 
 ministration. 
 
 In a circular to the rectors,- he recommended that they use 
 their efforts to introduce giardening into the normal school 
 
 course in order that the future teachers mio-ht 
 
 !?' 
 
 Gardening 
 
 learn how to care for the school garden skil- 
 fully and might thus suggest to the people oi the communities 
 new opportunities for increasing their income. In June of the 
 next 3''ear musical instruction was made obligatory for all the 
 pupils— not the simple hymnology as heretofore — but a good, 
 
 thorougli course in singing, reading- and writ- 
 
 ,. 1- • 1, • Music 
 
 mg music from dictation, as well as practice 
 
 on the organ or the piano. This work, exclusive O'f the in- 
 strumental practice, was allotted four hours per week through- 
 out the three years.'' In the spring of 1865 a normal school 
 was created in Algeria under a special form of organization.* 
 In the circulars to the rectors, September i, 1865 and May 
 17, 1866,^ Duruy recommended, and then ordered, that they 
 establish pedagogical co-nferences in the nor- 
 mal schools of their academies. These were ^^ agogica 
 
 Conferences 
 to continue through the last trimester of the 
 
 normal course and were to serve as a kind of review of the 
 lectures in pedagogy, to " initiate the students into the true 
 
 1 Circ, Oct. 17, 1863, Duruy, Circulaires et Instructions OfHcielles Rela- 
 tives a I' Instruction Publiqiie, p. 55. 
 
 2 Circ, Dec. 22, 1864, Duruy, op. cit., p. 195. 
 
 3 Arrete, Jan. 30, 1865, Gr. IV, pp. 37-38. 
 * Decret, Mar. 4, 1865, Gr. IV, pp. 38-39. 
 5 Duruy, op. cit.. pp. 282, 356-357- 
 
l6o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 principles oif educaticwi and the principal methods of instruc- 
 
 . . tion." ^ In December, 1867, a reg-ular pro- 
 
 Agnculture . , . . , ^ 
 
 gram for the course m aigricuTture was 
 
 adopted, and for the future this -work was carried on more 
 
 logically than heretofore.^ 
 
 The great woirk oif Minister Duruy for the normal schools, 
 
 however, was the entire reorganization provided by the decree 
 
 O'f July 2, 1866, and the ministerial circular of 
 
 Reorganization j-^^ same date.^ About the only new subjects 
 
 ^ . , specifically mentioned here are p-eometry and 
 
 Curriculum . & ^ 
 
 bookkeeping. There are, however, many and 
 important changes in the old subjects. The work in history 
 and geography is particularly enriched, for instead of one hour 
 per week for each during the third year, three hours are de- 
 voted tO' both throughout the entire course. The field is still 
 much attenuated, for the first year is occupied with all of an- 
 cient history and that oi France throug^li the tenth century. 
 The last two years furnish a more satisfactory amount of time 
 for French history from: that period to^ the present. We now 
 find for the first time the well-known threefold division of the 
 geography course, 'Which remains practically unchanged to- 
 day : first year, all the world except Europe ; second year, all 
 Europe except France; third year, France and her colonies. 
 There is this striking change, however: the optional subjects 
 of 185 1 have been generally made obligatory, and most of 
 them continue throughout the entire three years' course. 
 
 The irregular work in pedagogy now becomes " exposition 
 of the best mdthods; physical, intellectual and moral educa- 
 tion; and school organization," and receives one hour per 
 week during the third year. Although assigned no regular 
 plaK:e in the program, the work in the ecole annexe is recog- 
 nized as forming the principal part of the pedagogical train- 
 ing of the pupils, and according to M. Duruy this should be 
 a model school in every sense of the word.* As a means of 
 
 1 Duruy, op. cit., p. 356. 
 
 ^ Arrete, Dec. 30, 1867, Gr. IV, pp. 183-185. 
 
 ' Gr. IV. pp. 90-103. •* Circ, July 2, 1866, Gr. IV, p. loi. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS l6l 
 
 still further intreasdng the importance of this department, its 
 director is put on equal footing with the masters oif the nor- 
 mal school itself. The powers of the commission de surveil- 
 lance remain practically unchanged. The director, appointed 
 by the Minister as •heretofore, is specifically required to con- 
 duct the class in pedago'gy. 
 
 Tlie age for entering is now between sixteen and twenty, 
 and the competitive entrance examination is restored. Instead 
 of the previous simple test, this included a 
 
 written and an oral examination.^ The writ- _ " ^.^"^.^ 
 
 Examination 
 
 ten examination consisted of writing, dicta- 
 tion, a simple narrative, and the solution of a few problems 
 in arithmetic. The oral examination covered some questions 
 on religious instruction, reading and the explanation of an 
 easy French text, questions on the elements of French gram- 
 mar, on the theory of the four first operations in arithmetic 
 and the metric system, and also on the history and geography 
 of France. In order to provide still better opportunities for 
 preparation for entering the normal school, M. Duruy recom- 
 mended to the rectors " that they establish in each normal 
 scliooil a preparatory class for the children of teachers. Ad- 
 mission was restricted to those that had attained the age of 
 thirteen or fourteen years and had completed the ordinary 
 public school course. These classes were to be conducted by 
 the instructors and the members of the third year class of the 
 normal school. 
 
 The internal conduct of the school was still only a. little less 
 than monastic, but the vacations have been lengthened to six 
 weeks, besides the week at Easter. Another one of the recom- 
 mendations of the ministerial circular of July 2, 1866,^ de- 
 serves tO' be noted. It suggests that the third 
 year pupils should be used to relieve the teach- „ ^ . 
 ers of some of the work of surveillance, for 
 they are soon tO' go out to be masters in their turn. It is cer- 
 tainly unfortunate that this suggestion has not been accepted 
 
 1 Arrete, Dec. 31, 1867, Gr. IV, pp. 185-187. 
 
 " Circ, Oct. 20, 1868, Duruy, op. cit., pp. 611-612. 2 Gr. IV, p. loi. 
 
l62 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 in France, for this seems to be one of the greatest faults in the 
 training O'f teadiers to-day — the neglect of cultivating a spirit 
 of leadership. This is even more intensified by the entire lack 
 of student organizations in the norm'al sdhools themselves, or 
 in the country at larg-e, for that matter. While undoubtedly 
 these new regulations left much to be desired from the ideal 
 point of view, yet they worked well practically, and continued 
 almost unmodified until 1881. 
 
 One oif the last official acts of Minister Duruy was to initiate 
 
 the movement that was to place the normal schools for girls 
 
 on equal footing with those for boys. The 
 
 Movement \^^ ^f ^g^y 1 ^^d recently made it obligatory 
 
 G'rl ' S h Is ^^^ every commune of five hundred inhabitants 
 and over - to support separate schools for girls, 
 and as these latter must have women teachers, new difficulties 
 arose forthwith. At that time there were in all France only 
 nine normal schools for girls and fifty-three normal courses,^ 
 which siatisfied the wants, as best they could, oi ten and fifty 
 departments respectively. Under tlie most favorable condi- 
 tions there yet remained nearly thirty departments that were 
 entirely unprovided for. Besides this, these no^rmal courses 
 were conducted as mere appendages of other educational insti- 
 tutions, many of them outside the direct control of the State, 
 and the instruction was mo'St unsatisfactory. This was the 
 state of affairs that confronted M. Duruy and called forth his 
 letter to- the prefects asking for the exact condition o^f these 
 girls' schools in the several departments. A few days later 
 M. Duruy retired from the ministry, and the responsibilities of 
 the Franco-Prussian war soon relegated the question of nor- 
 mal schools to a secondary position. 
 
 For the next few years there was little of absorbing interest. 
 The salaries O'f the directors and teachers in both the boys' and 
 
 1 Loi, Apr. 10. 1867, Gr. IV, p. 133. 
 
 - The law of Mar. 15, 1850, Art. 51 (Gr. Ill, p. 336), had made the same 
 requirements for communes of eight hundred inhabitants and over. Al- 
 though this number was later decreased to four hundred, yet to-day it re- 
 mains as in the law of 1867. 
 
 3 Circ, July 6, 1869, Gr. IV, p. 227. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 163 
 
 the girls' normal schools were increased shghtly. In 1872 the 
 new Minister begfan working over the curriculum of the 
 schools. He seemed to feel the need for some improvement, 
 but he did not knoiw exactly where or how it should be made. 
 A succeeding Minister, M. Fourtcni. grappled with the proib- 
 lem moire successfully. He sought to strengthen the normal 
 course by bringing teachers from the ranks of secondary edu- 
 cation to give some of the work in the normal schools.^ Al- 
 though he attempted to prepare the way for the innovation by 
 lauding the work already done by the teachers in the normal 
 schooils, and also by saying that the undertaking was only an 
 experiment, his criticisms seem well foimded, for the teaching 
 force coiild not help a certain lack O'f depth in their knowledge, 
 because almost without exception they had come up directly 
 from the primary schools. Tlie new plan was intended espec- 
 ially to apply to the work in physical and natural science. 
 This method O'f employing secondary teachers in the normal 
 schools still prevails almost exclusively at the ecoles normales 
 primaires superieures at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud, 
 \\'-hich prepare the teachers for the ecoles nornmles primaires, 
 but it has practically ceased to exist in the departmental nor- 
 mal schools. 
 
 The first ministry of Jules Ferry — February 4, 1879 to 
 November 14, 1881 — 'marks the beginning of a new period 
 
 in the history oif the normal schools. Then 
 
 Jules Ferry 
 France had recovered somewhat from the de- 
 pression that immediately followed the FrancO'-Prussian war, 
 and the time seemed ripe for a new advance. M. Ferry was 
 ably seconded in all his efforts by M. Buisson, then director of 
 primary education, a mian who has been intimately associated 
 with all the great educational movements in France for the 
 last twenty-five years. A great number oif reguiations affect- 
 ing all branches of education foillo'wed each other in rapid suc- 
 cession. T'his period of almost unparalleled activity was fit- 
 tingly terminated by the great laws on free, laic, and compul- 
 sory education. 
 
 1 Circ, Feb. 21, 1874. Gr. IV, pp. 511-513. 
 
164 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 For the normal schools, the irniportant period beg-an a little 
 
 earlier. The law of 1879 allowed each department four years 
 
 in which to provide itself with two normal 
 
 Normal Schools gchools, one for boys and the other for girls, 
 
 Obligatory for ■ ^ ' nz ■ 1 
 
 Both Sexes unless it received omcial permission to com- 
 bine with another department for that pur- 
 pose/ Thus for the first time we find the girls' schools, in 
 the eyes o^f the law at least, on the same footing with those of 
 the boys. At tlie time this law was passed, France itself had 
 seventy-nine normal schools for boys and nineteen for girls. 
 Since then the number has rapidly increased, so that in 1905 
 in France and Algeria there were eighty-five boys' and eighty- 
 four girls' schools. By means O'f combinations in the few re- 
 maining departments, all of them provide for the recruitment 
 oi their teachers, and the requirements o^f this law of 1879 are 
 fully satisfied. 
 
 The decree and the regulation of June, 1880," provided that 
 
 nobo'dy could become a regTiIar teacher in the normal schools 
 
 without first passing a special examination 
 
 Special Ex- either in letters or sciences, and thus gaining 
 amination for .^ ,..,,, 
 
 the Teachers ^^ certificate ioT the professorship in the ecoles 
 
 normales. Two years later,^ an examination 
 was demanded O'f every candidate, man or woman, for the 
 directorship of a normal school. As a prerequisite for this 
 tlie candidate must be at least twenty-five years old and hold 
 the certiiicat d'aptitude au professorat des ecoles normales or 
 an equivalent degree in secondary education. Tlie primary 
 inspectors of both sexes were likewise held to the same re- 
 quirements. 
 
 The great free education law of 1881, one of the most im- 
 portant events in the educational history of France, carried the 
 
 gratidte even into the normal schools, and 
 
 ., f.^^ , abolished all regular fees there even for food 
 At»olished ^ 
 
 and lodging. A few months before this, the 
 
 1 Lot, Aug. 9, 1879, Art. I, Gr. V, p. 72. 
 
 - Dccret and arrete, June 5, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 161-162; 165-167. 
 
 3 Dccret, Dec. 23, 1882, Gr. V, pp. 488-489. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 65 
 
 normal school programs that had been in force since 1866 
 were entirely reformed, only to be changed again slig'htly in 
 the following July/ The laicization of all public school in- 
 struction the next year caused still further changes in Janu- 
 ary, 1883.' 
 
 The program of January, 1881 was composed of the fol- 
 lowing subjects: ^ 
 
 " Instruction in the primary normal schools, whether for boys 
 or for girls, includes, besides the religious instruction which is re- 
 served for the ministers of the various denominations (appointed 
 as chaplains by the Minister) : 
 
 ( 1 ) Moral and civic instruction ; 
 
 (2) Reading; 
 
 (3) Writing; 
 
 (4) French language and literature ; 
 
 (5) History, and particularly that of France down to the 
 present time ; 
 
 (6) Geography, and particularly that of France; 
 
 (7) Arithmietical operations, the metric system, arithmetic ap- 
 plied to practical work; some notions of algebraic solutions; some 
 notions of book keeping ; 
 
 (8) Geometry, surveying and levelling (for the boys only) ; 
 
 (9) Some general knowledge of physical science applicable to 
 practical life ; 
 
 (10) Some general knowledge of natural sciences with their 
 principal applications ; 
 
 (11) Agriculture (for the boys) ; domestic economy (for the 
 girls) ; horticulture ; 
 
 (12) Drawing; 
 
 (13) Singing; 
 
 (14) Gymnastics; 
 
 (15) Manual work (for the boys) ; needle work (for the 
 girls) ; 
 
 (16) Pedagogy. 
 
 The study of one or more modern languages, as well as of some 
 musical instrument may be authorized by the rector." 
 
 1 Decret, July 29, 1881, Gr. V, p. 269. 
 
 2 Decret, Jan. 9, 1883, Gr. V, p. 504. 
 ^Decret, Jan. 22, 1881, Gr. V, p. 248. 
 
1 66 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 The chief innovations as compared with the program of 
 1866 are: (i) the introduction o^f elementary algebra; (2) 
 manual work as such fo-r both boys and girls; and (3) the 
 study of a modern langiiag'e, which had disappeared nearly 
 fifty years before, is noiw made optional. 
 
 The program of the following Jtrly added military drill for 
 the boys, and facilitated the introduction of the modern lan- 
 guages. At t'he revision of 1883 the old relig'ious teaching 
 disappeared entirely, and its place was supplied by a broader 
 interpretation of moral and civic instruction. The spirit of 
 change seemed rampant, for the organic law of 1886 and the 
 amplification o'f this the foilloiwing January affected all the 
 primary schools of every grade. A discussion of these points, 
 however, will be reserved for a later chapter. 
 
 As early as 1878,^ M. Chalmet had proposed that an ecole 
 
 pedagogique be established at Paris to train women for service 
 
 in the departmental normal schools. Althoug'h 
 
 XT 'fc^u 1 futile at first, the effort was finally successful, 
 J^ormal bchools ■' 
 
 the decree oif July 13, 1880," formally pro- 
 vided for such an institution, and the school was opened at 
 Fontenay-aux-Roses, one of the suburbs of Paris, the follow- 
 ing November. Then for the first time in this one particular, 
 the education of girls in France seemed a little in advance of 
 tbat of boys. But this advantage was only transitory, for a 
 similar school for boys was provided for at Saint-Cloud, not 
 far outside the walls of Paris. ^ This school had already had 
 a nominal beginning in March, 1882, in consequence of the 
 regulation of the previous year,* which had established a kind 
 of nonnal course at Paris expressly to prepare for the ccrtificat 
 d'aptitiide for teaching in the normal schools. 
 
 These two institutions at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint- 
 Cloitd form the keystone, as it were, of the public primary 
 school system in France. They provide the natural means of 
 
 1 Proposition de loi, Jan. 29, 1878, Gr. IV, p. 771. 
 
 2 Decret, July 13, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 200-201. 
 
 3 Decret and arrete, Dec. 30, 1882, Gr. V, pp. 498-500. 
 * Arrete, Mar. 9, 1881 ; Bull. Adm., XXIV, p. 5i3- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 167 
 
 transition from pupil in the ordinary normal school to teacher 
 in the same institution. Many of the teachers in the largest 
 ecoles primaires superieures, especially in the science depart- 
 ments, also receive their training here. Althoug'h some of the 
 departmental normal schoo'ls prepare directly for these two 
 finishing schools, these latter also draw their pupils from 
 among young teachers that have spent a few years in active 
 service, and even from the ranks of secondary education. The 
 former of these t*wo latter classes undoubtedly become the most 
 successful normal teachers, for besides the necessary technical 
 knowledge and cultural attainments, they have had some first- 
 hand acquaintance with the difficulties that are likely to beset 
 their pupils in their later work. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Normal Schools (2) 
 
 organization pupils 
 
 In the earlier chapters we have followed rather carefully 
 the career of the pupil from the beginning of his school life 
 through the various steps that lead directly up to the normal 
 schools. There now remains to consider the organization of 
 the schools that provide the final preparation for the teaching 
 profession and to see exactly what that training is. 
 
 The normal schools in France to-day exist primarily because 
 
 of the law of 1879, tliajt required every department to* main-: 
 
 tain two schools of its own. While the Presi- 
 
 Number of ^^^^j. ^| j^^ Republic was given pcnwer to 
 
 authorize combinations of departments for this 
 purpose, yet local pride was an influential factor, and prac- 
 tically none took advantage oi this provision. The number of 
 normal schools increased steadily until the high-water mark 
 was reached in 1890, when there wxre boys' schools in all the 
 departments o^f France itself, and g'irls' schools in all but two 
 departments. 
 
 This was really a severe burden and a drawback in the case 
 of the smaller departments, and fhe results did not seem to jus- 
 tify the expense involved. For instance in 
 ^^h / ^ ^9*^3' ^" "^"^ ^^ *^he departments, one of the 
 normal schools numbered only twelve pupils.^ 
 It can readily be seen that after dividing these among three 
 classes, the training possible under those circumstances would 
 be really not much more than private coaching. That this is 
 
 ^ Statistigue, VII, 1901-1902. MS. copy. (I was indebted to M. Ballet- 
 Baz for permission to consult the MS. copy of the forthcoming volume. 
 F. E. F.) 
 168 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 169 
 
 not a very extreme case is shown by the following- fig-ures 
 from the last report : ^ 
 
 Number of schools having fewer than. ... 30 pupils. 40 pupils. 
 
 Boys' 21 46 
 
 Girls' 14 36 
 
 This does not mean that there were so many more pupils in 
 the girls' schools than in the boys', but simply that in the latter 
 the average variation was greater. At that time the eighty- 
 six boys' schools had 3,897 pupils, and the eighty-four girls' 
 schools 4,094. The simplest solution of the question seemed 
 to be to combine the pupils o'f at least two departments in a 
 single school. Tlhis is always a Httle difficult to do after a de- 
 partment has gone to- the trouble and expense O'f erecting build- 
 ings, and besides, the presence of a normal school in a small 
 town is a soitrce of no little income to the inhabitants. How- 
 ever, the authorities have insisted, and this fusion has already 
 taken place in six departments. So that in 1903, in the eighty- 
 seven departments (including the territory of Belfort) in 
 France there were eighty- four normal schools for boys and 
 eightj-two for |^irls."''*'*'"*TTie tliree departments of Algeria have 
 two O'f each among them. There is thus nO' lack of schools 
 for the training- of teachers, and comparatively few O'f them 
 are filled to their capacity. 
 
 The idea for the necessity of training primary teachers is 
 certainly well grounded in France — in fact much better than 
 it is with us, I regret to admit — ^but the chief 
 
 drawback is a lack of funds, or rather of funds ^^.,.^^ .° 
 
 Militarism 
 
 for educational purposes. It is this terrible 
 armed peace that is sapping the very life-blood O'f all the con- 
 tinental nations to-day. We in America have no adequate con- / 
 ception O'f what this means. Compare for a moment the mili- 
 tary and naval budget for 1902 with that of the educational 
 department: 1,022,281,106 francs as against 208,662,781 
 francs for the schools.^ With this France is maintaining an 
 
 1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, pp. 274-283. 
 
 2 These figures must be reduced again, for in 1904 the boys' schools in 
 Tarn and Haute-Garonne were consolidated. 
 
 ^ Almanach de Gotha, 1903, p. 789. 
 
 
 
lyo PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 army of more than 500,000 men, to say nothing of her navy. 
 Think what a drain this must be on a nation of about thirty- 
 eight milHons oif people! Is it any wonder that one hears 
 complaints on every side. " The State takes the best oi our 
 young men, the best of our horses, the best of our grain, in 
 fact, the best O'f everything." T\\q service dc deux ans, which 
 was voted by Parhament in 1903, may ameliorate these con- 
 ditions somewhat, but it will probably react on the boys' nor- 
 mal schools, for this new law is applicable to every able-bodied 
 man, whether preparing for proifessional life or not. , With 
 the three years of service it was possible for teachers and pro- 
 fessional men to escape with one year in the army. Accord- 
 ing to the French idea, this new reform arrangeinent indicates 
 a broader democratic spirit, inasmuch as all will be treated 
 alike, thougih there is no reduction oi service granted on ac- 
 count O'f unusual application, and the dullard completes his 
 time as quickly as his more assiduous fellow. 
 
 The present organization oi the normal schools is based 
 
 upon the organic law and its accompanying decrees of 1886- 
 
 1887. In fact, since then the educational 
 
 Organization .... ,, . , , 
 
 authorities have generally tried to make as 
 few changes as possible in the existing conditions, and then 
 only those absolutely necessary. Not that the system is by 
 any means believed to be perfect, but it was arranged at that 
 time with so much care and thoug'ht that few important 
 changes have since been found necessar)^ Under the present 
 conditions every department in France is served by two nor- 
 mal schools, one for boys and the other for girls, usually situ- 
 ated in the chief town oif the department. These are said to 
 fuinish about two thirds. of all the teachers for the public pri- 
 mary schools. Judging from my own inquiries at the eleven 
 normal schools visited, I should put the figure lower than this. 
 Strange to say, the proportion seems to vary inversely as the 
 size and importance of the department. 
 
 The normal schools are directly under the charge of the 
 reic!tor of the academy, though most of the inspection devolves 
 upon the aca dem y inspector of the department .in question. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 171 
 
 The gejaerai inspectors also visit the schools occasionally in the 
 course of their tours. Each school has its own head called a 
 director, or d irectress as the case imay be, and a committee of 
 the professors who meet at least once a month to consider the 
 general work and discipline of the school. The teaching force 
 in the boys' schools is always composed exclusively of men, 
 and in the girls' schools almost always of women. In the 
 smaller girls' schools, however, the drawing teachers are often 
 men. In this latter case the same proifessoi- usually has the 
 work at both normal schools and in whatever secondary schools 
 there may happen to be in the town. Each school has also an 
 ad ministrativ e board composed of the academy inspector as 
 president, four members appointed by the rector and two rep- 
 resentatives of the coiiscil general of the department who are 
 elected by their fellow councillors. This board receives the 
 report of the director, a pprov es J:he annual budget, and exer- 
 cises a general supervision over the non-pedagogical interests 
 of the school.^ 
 
 The expenses of these schools are divided between two par- 
 ties, the "Sfate "afid the departments. The department is re- 
 quired to provide the material installation, and 
 
 .^ . ^ . , Expenses 
 
 its maintenance, while the State pays all sala- 
 ries for instruction amd^the living expenses of the pupils while 
 at the school. Some of the wealthier departments often do 
 far more than they are actually compelled to do. For ex- 
 ample, the department of the Seine provides the boys at Auteuil 
 with all the clothing sufficient for their whole course. Be- 
 sides this, among other things are the annual excursions dur- 
 ing the summer. At this time twenty-four of the best pupils, 
 one half named by the teachers and one half by the pupils 
 themselves, accompanied by three or four teachers go off on 
 a several weeks' trip, all the expenses being paid by the de- 
 partment. During the last few years, excursions have been 
 made to England, Germany, Sardinia and southeast France, 
 and Spain. Each puipil is required to write an account of his 
 trip, Unfortunately most of the departments are not able to 
 '^ Dccrct, Mar. 29, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI. p. 241. 
 
172 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 undertake any such expense as this requires. The annual 
 budget of the State for normal schoo'l expenses was 7,957,972 
 francs for France proper in 1902/ On a basis of 7,842 pupils 
 that same year, this gives an average per pupil of a little more 
 than one thousand francs. About half of this is expended for 
 salaries and the other half for the living expenses oi the pupils. 
 
 The school buildings are universally sulbstantjal structures 
 of stone or brick, ahd^'H^n'Tn'me cities are surrounded by 
 spacious grounds, with plenty oif roo^m for flpw- 
 "r '"^\^" ers in front and usually for larg-e vegetable gar- 
 dens behind. These latter are often of no little 
 importance, for many of the country schoois not only raise 
 much of the 'fruit and vegetables, for. their own use but they 
 even have some to sell. In one school in the south, the di- 
 rector said that in 1902 they sold more than twO' hundred 
 francs' iworth of vegetables, besides a good deal o'f wine from 
 their vineyard. This question of space is really an important 
 consideration in the French normal schools, for the pupils sel- 
 dom leave the premises during term time except on Sundays 
 and occasionally on Thursdays. So most of their recreation 
 must be taken on the grounds themselves. The condition of 
 the buildings that I visited was generally good, that of the 
 boys' schools at Paris and Lyon, and the girls' school at Douai 
 being especially commendable. In the schools as a whole, 
 everything about the buildings was nea't and clean, thougli 
 from my own point of view rather cheerless. One reason for 
 tliis is that the pupil has no place that he can call his own, 
 no place where he can retire and shut himself away from 
 his fellows. 
 
 The boys' sleeping accommodations are either in large open 
 
 dormitories iwith thirty to fifty pupils in each, or in little 
 
 cubicles with plenty of open space above for 
 
 Dormitories ,., ,. ^ . •,, iirr 1 
 
 hght and air. in the girls schools, i round 
 
 this latter arrangement generally followed. In no case, how- 
 ever, are the pupils allowed to decorate their rooms as they 
 wish, but every'thing is subjected to a kind of militant sim- 
 
 1 Statistiqui?. VIT. 1901-1902, p. clxxx. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 173 
 
 plicity. The lavatories are ordinarily grouped at each end of 
 the dormitory. The facilities for a full bath were almost 
 everywhere very inadequate, as a rule the pupils getting- a hot 
 bath but once in three ^^'eeks and a foot bath at least once a 
 week. At the girls' school at Douai, about thirty of the girls 
 availed themselves of the opportunity to take a cold sho'wer 
 every morning. The pupils' clothes are usually kept in a 
 separate room in open lockers, and this is always well aired. 
 Everywhere I went, I found an infirmary which I was glad to 
 learn was comparatively seldom used. 
 
 Each class has its own study roomi with desks for the in- 
 dividual pupils. Here all the text-books are kept, and here 
 most of the studying is done. There are also 
 other class rooms and special rooms for physics, 
 chemistry, and drawing, as well as work-shops both for wood 
 and iron. Generally speaking, the facilities for individual ex- 
 periments in science — manipulation; the Erench call it — are 
 not very satisfactory. The dining rooms were invariably 
 large, well li'ghted and well aired, but the absence oi table- 
 cloths gave rather a chilling effect. The bare floors through- 
 out the buildings and the general lack of decoration are not 
 conducive to engendering any home feeling among the pupils. 
 
 The teaching force oif a normal school regularly consists 
 of the director and four professors, two of letters and twO' of 
 science, but if there are more than sixty pupils, 
 a third professor O'f science is added. In case, 
 however, the number O'f pupils falls below thirty-six, one of 
 the professorships may be suppressed and the work divided 
 among the other teachers.^ Besides these, tliere are ordinarily 
 special teachers for whatever modern language is taught in the 
 school, for drawing, music, gymnastics and agriculture. These 
 special teachers are often attached to the department of second- 
 ary education, but are delegated by the Minister to give certain 
 hours O'f instruction in the normal schools. In the smaller 
 sdiools, one of the professors is appointed econo^ne, a kind of 
 bursar-steward. He is the financial officer of the institution, 
 
 ' Lei dc Finances, May 30, 1899, Art. 35, Gr. VI, p. 882. 
 
174 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 buys all supplies, plans the meals, and has general charge of 
 everything pertaining to the buildings and grounds. In 
 schools where there are more than sixty pupils, the econome 
 may be relieved of all class v^^ork except penmanship and book- 
 keeping/ The director of the ecole annexe is usually included 
 in the same category with the processors in the normal schools. 
 We may also fairly consider the class teachers of the ecole 
 annexe as forming a part of the normal force, (though offi- 
 cially they are reckoned among the teachers in the ccoles 
 primmrcs elementaircs) for they are directly concerned in criti- 
 cizing the practice work. In the largest schools in addition 
 to all these instructors, there are also skilled workmen in the 
 workshops to assist the professor in charge of the manual 
 training. 
 
 The directors are required to be at least thirty years of ag^ 
 to hold the certificate^^ the inspection of elementary schools 
 ind direction of the normal schoo'ls. and the cer- 
 tificate for the professorat in the normal schools 
 or a degree from s^econdary or higher education that may be 
 substitilted for this latter.^ Inasmuch as the first of these 
 certificates may be gained at twenty-five years of age, whereas 
 the actual appointment to the directorship cannot be received 
 before thirty, it practically always happens that the men normal 
 school directors have passed at least five years in the inspector- 
 ate. Tliis is certainly most valuable training for them, for 
 thus they can appreciate 'far better the difficulties and needs 
 that will confront the young teachers they are tO' send out into 
 the world. On account of the comparatively small number 
 of Ayomen inspectors, few o'f the directresses of the normal 
 schools have had this field work. They have all, however, had 
 more or less practical experience as teachers. The directors as 
 well as all the other professors or special instructors are ap- 
 pointed directly by the Minister and consequently may be trans- 
 ferred or removed only by him. 
 
 The regular professors are divided into two classes, those 
 
 ^Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 21, Gr. VL p. 172. 
 
 ^ Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 62, no, Gr. V, pp. 733, 749- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 175 
 
 of letters and those of science, and are required to hold the 
 
 g-eneral certificate for teaching in the normal schools. Besides 
 
 this the teachers of modern languages, drawing, singing and 
 
 mtisic, gymnastics, manual training or agriculture, as the case 
 
 may 'be, must also possess special certificates for teaching these 
 
 subjects/ Tliese latter certificates are absolutely obligatory 
 
 for the extra teachers that may be delegated in case the supply 
 
 of candidates provided with the general normal certificate is 
 
 not sufficient. 
 
 Since the higher normal schools at Fontenay-aux-Roses 
 
 and Saint-C!()U(l were founded, a little more than twenty years 
 
 ago, they have prepared a good many teachers 
 
 for the ordinary normal schools, and to-day Criticism of the 
 'v-"-^-----^ '•>■' "■^ ■'■■ , ' , , . Preparation of 
 
 mey are the natural preparatory schools for ^1 %. , 
 ■' _ _ tr tr J i\^Q I eachers 
 
 these positions. From the point of view O'f 
 academic fitness, there is absolutely nothing tO' be said, but on 
 the practical side there is, however, a very serious objection 
 to the present system. It is perfectly possible for the gradu- 
 ates oif these two higher schools to finish their yyork withovit 
 ever having had any real experience in school work. Of 
 course they have had a certain amount of practice teaching, 
 but that is far from._^ufficient to fit them to become normal 
 school teachers. It is only fair to state that some of the 
 pupils, especially at Saint-Cloud, have already spent several 
 years in the elementary schools, but until from three to five 
 years' service in actual teaching is rigidly required of all pupils 
 at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud, either as a condition 
 of admission or as a requisite for graduation, it would seem 
 that these two great schools are failing in one of their chief 
 missions. If all that is required O'f the ordinary normal school 
 teachers is mere academic training, why not take them from 
 the ranks of secondary education? The extra time that this 
 new plan would require would certainly be well spent, and 
 twenty-eight or thirty years is none too old to begin to be a 
 teacher of teachers. 
 
 Tbe directors, who are always responsible for the work in 
 1 Decret. Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 65, Gr. V, p. 734. 
 
176 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 pedagogy and morale, have ordinarily six hours of class work 
 
 per week, while the other pro'fessors have from 
 
 Service and ^\^^^q^-^ to twenty. In the boys' schools, the 
 
 Salaries 
 
 director, the econoiiic, and the specially ap- 
 pointed surueillants are the only teachers that live in the build- 
 ings. In tlie girls' schools, ho'wever, none of the woinen reg- 
 ular teachers may live outside except with the consent o^f the 
 rector. These surveillants in the boys' schools are the only 
 members of the staff that receive their board at the expense 
 of the State. All the other teachers O'f whatever sort that live 
 at the schools have the sum of four hundred francs each de- 
 ducted from their regular salaries to pay for their living 
 expenses.^ 
 
 The directors and the professors of all the schools are 
 divided into five classes, and their promotion is based entirely 
 upon choice, after not less than three nor more than six years 
 in the class next below." The salaries O'f the various classes 
 are as follows : ^ 
 
 Men. Women. 
 
 Directors. Professors. Directresses. Professors. 
 
 5th class 3500 fr. 2500 fr. 3000 fr. 2200 fr. 
 
 4th class 4000 2700 3500 2400 
 
 3d class 4500 2900 4000 2600 
 
 2d class 5000 3100 4500 2800 
 
 1st class 5500 3400 Sooo 3000 
 
 Tlie teachers who are delegated by the Minister to give 
 instruction in the normal schools but who do not ho'ld the gen- 
 eral certificate for the professorat, all receive the same salary, 
 two thousand francs in the boys' schools and eighteen hundred 
 francs in the girls'." The regular professors that also have 
 certificates for special subjects receive in addition to their regu- 
 lar salaries an extra remuneration of from one hundred francs 
 per year for gymnastics to three hundred francs for manual 
 
 1 Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 18, Gr. VI, p. 505- 
 
 2 Ibid., Art. 25, Gr. VI, p. 506. 
 
 3 Loi, July 19, 1889, with amendments July 19, 1893, Arts. 17, 18, Gr. VI, 
 pp. 171, 505- 
 
 * Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 18, Gr. VI, p. 505- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 177 
 
 training and modern languages.^ Tlius although not abso- 
 lutely requiring all the professors in the normal schools to be 
 specialists, yet the government by such means as this encour- 
 ages them to devote themselves particularly to certain subjects. 
 Moreover, the teachers that hold these special diplomas are 
 paid at the rate of one hundred francs per year for each hour 
 per week that they are required to teach in excess of the regu- 
 lar numlber. There is, however, a maximum for this extra 
 remuneration in the various subjects, varying from the three 
 hundred francs for gymnastics to six hundred for modern 
 languages, drawing, and manual training.^ 
 
 Tlie director oi the ecole annexe, if he liolds the regular nor- 
 mal certificate, is subject to the same conditions O'f class, pro- 
 motion and salary as his fellow professors in 
 the school proper.^ In addition tO' possessing ^ , . 
 this certificate, he must have had at least three 
 years' teaching experience in the public primary school system.* 
 If he is not entitled to give instruction in the normal school, 
 he must hold the brevet superieur and have had at least ten 
 years' experience as a teacher in order to become director of 
 the practice school. ° It must be noted that the members of 
 this latter class have no legal right to the title directeur, but 
 are simply acting directors. They, as well as the other teach- 
 ers that there may be in the ecole annexe, are subject tO' the 
 same conditions of class, salary, lodging and residence in- 
 demnity as the teachers in the ordinary schools. Besides all 
 this, each teacher in the practice school has an extra stipend 
 of three hundred francs per year.® 
 
 In the girls' schools similar conditions prevail. There is, 
 however, a directress for the ecole maternelle attached to 
 many of the normal schools. In order to be 
 appointed to this position, the candidate must 
 be a titulaire with either (the certiUcat d'apti- 
 
 In Girls' 
 Schools 
 
 1 Loi, July 19, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 283. 
 
 ^ Decret, July 19, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 283. 
 
 3 Decret, Oct. 4, 1894, Art. 6, Gr. VI, p. 580. 
 
 * Ibid., Art. 4, Gr. VI, p. 580. « Ibid. 
 
 « Decret, Oct. 4, 1894, Arts. 7, 9, Gr. VI, p. 581. 
 
178 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 tilde pedagogique, or the old certificate for the direction of the 
 
 ecoles matcrnelles which was aboHshed in 1886. 
 
 Every year the Minister, after recommendations from the 
 
 rector and the conseil dcpartcmental, decides upon the number 
 
 of pupils to be admitted to the entering class of 
 
 The Normal each normal schooi. The ideal naturally is to 
 
 Schools and supply all the needs O'f the department, but ob- 
 
 _ ^ ^'', viously it is impossible to estimate these three 
 
 bources of . 
 
 Supply of years in advance, and, more important still, the 
 
 Teachers Minister has not unlimited means at his dis- 
 posal. The result is that to-day the normal 
 schools are providing from one 'half to two thirds oi the teach- 
 ers necessary for the primary schools. The question immedi- 
 ately arises, " Where do the other teachers come from?" A 
 few come in every year from the ranks of secondary educatiori 
 to take positions in the ecoles prinmircs siiperieiires; other 
 appointments are made from among the holders of the higher 
 diploma, the graduating certificate of the higher primary 
 schools, and finally, when all other soiirces are exhausted, 
 from those that hold the simple elementary diploma. 
 
 The hrevefTuperieur , until 1906, might fairly have been 
 termed the leaving examination of the normal schools, inas- 
 much as, though conducted entirely by the general authorities, 
 every member of the graduating class was required to pre- 
 sent himself for this examination. It is nevertheless open 
 to all holders of the brevet elementaire that are at least eig'ht- 
 een years oi age. Occasiionally we find a public school mak- 
 ing special preparation for this diploma: for example, the 
 fifth year of the course in the girls' ecolc priuiaire siiperieure 
 in Lille is devoted entirely to the preparation for this examin- 
 ation. The successful candidates thus save a year in enter- 
 ing the teaching profession, for their classmates that go to 
 the normal school spend three years in the higher primary 
 school and three years more in the normal school, and inas- 
 much as this latter is now providing for only about one half 
 the needs oi that department, the holders of the brevet sti- 
 pcrieur are as sure of teachers' appointments as are the nor- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS lyg 
 
 mal graduates that have spent six years in preparation for 
 their work. 
 
 Entrance to the normal schools is always by competitive 
 examinatiori,' and the keenness of the competition varies 
 greatly with the departments. In some, the 
 
 number of candidates is only slightlv in excess Recruitment 
 
 . of Pupils 
 
 of the number oi scholarships — for these nor- 
 mal school positions may fairly be considered in this light — 
 whereas in Paris we find more than three times as many can- 
 didates as there are vacancies in the boys' school, and more 
 tKaH" six times as many as in the girls'. In order to be 
 eligible for this examination, each candidate must : ( i ) be 
 between sixteen and eighteen years of age: (2) hold the 
 brevet elemcntaire; (3) agree tO' continue in the^pubjic. school 
 service for ten j^ears; ^ and (4) be in perfectly good physical 
 condition.* 
 
 The examination, which is administered by an examining 
 board appointed by the rector, and composed of the academy 
 
 inspector as president, with the director aO'd 
 
 , • '~ 7 V 1,1 • • Admission 
 
 teachers of the school and a prmiary mspector 
 
 necessarily fomiing a part of the commission, is divided into 
 
 two series. The first series is entirely written and serves as 
 
 1 As security he must give a bond signed by father, brother or guardian, 
 agreeing, in case this covenant is broken, to reimburse the State for the 
 expenses of food, laundry and books. This is equally applicable to those 
 that leave or are excluded from the school during their course. (Decret, 
 Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 78, Gr. V, p. 738). Until 1903 each boy furthermore 
 covenanted with the Minister of War to serve for ten years in educational 
 service. By this means, he was required to serve only one year in the army 
 instead of three. In case he broke this promise, he was bound to re-enter 
 the army and serve out the other two years. This leniency toward the 
 teaching profession had its disagreeable aspect, for if the teacher were 
 dissatisfied with the service or his progress after three or four years, he 
 was practically compelled to stay there, for at twenty-four or twenty-five 
 years of age few would care to spend two more years in the army, and 
 then start out in the world afresh. On this account, at least, the new law 
 requiring two years of service of all is welcomed b}' many. Some of the 
 teachers feel that this universal two years' service will make the teaching 
 profession less attractive to young men and that this will inevitably force 
 an increase in salaries. 
 
 2 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 70, Gr. V, p. 736. 
 
l8o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 a kind of preliminary trial, for only those that pass this suc- 
 cessfully are admitted to the second part of the examination, 
 v^hich always takes place at the nomial school. This second 
 series of tests lasts about a week, and during that time the 
 candidates live at the school, though at their own expense. 
 The teachers not only subject them to a severe technical ex- 
 amination, but they also take advantage of the opportunity to 
 study their prospective pupils from the point O'f view of their 
 general intellectual and moral qualifications. 
 
 The examination of the first series consists of an exercise 
 in dictation, a test of penmanship, a French composition, one 
 or two problems in arithmetic, and finally a composition in 
 drawing. The second series is almost entirely oral. Each 
 pupil is questioned for at least a half hour on each subject, and 
 the examiner has a good chance to find out rather accurately 
 what the candidate is capable of doing. The subjects cov- 
 ered here are: (i) French; (2) arithmetic and the metric sys- 
 tem; (3) French history; (4) geography; and (5) element- 
 ary physics, chemistry and natural history. Besides this, 
 the pupils are required to Avrite resunies of twO' lectures, 
 given by the professors at the school, one on a subject in the 
 department of letters and another in the department of science. 
 There are furthermore examinations in music, singing, and 
 gymnastics, together with military exercises for the boys 
 and sewing for the girls. From the result of these examin- 
 ations, the rector decides upon the admissibility af the 
 candidates. 
 
 Once in the school, the pupils are known as eleves-maltres,. 
 
 or pupil teachers, and for the next three years are practically 
 
 supported by the State. Up to 1880, it is said 
 Discipline ,,,..,. , 
 
 that the disciplme was more or less monastic, 
 
 and even to-day, although far freer than formerly, according 
 to our American ideas, it still savors too much of that ancient 
 regime. Although the actual surveillance varies with the 
 school and in general may be practically disregarded, yet the 
 pupils can never feel free to do as they choose. From morn- 
 ing till night, the disposition of their time is all provided for. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS l8i 
 
 and there is almost no opportunity for the exercise of their 
 
 own spirit of initiative. In the girls' schools, the rules and 
 
 regulations are often very numerous. For example, in going* 
 
 to church on Sunday, they are conducted by one or more 
 
 teachers and must always march through the streets of the 
 
 town in double file and in perfect silence. 
 
 It may be interesting to sketch the day of a boy in oiie of 
 
 the most important schools. Early rising is everywhere the 
 
 rule. The pupils here get up at five o'clock in 
 
 summer and at half past five in winter. Dress- ' f. °., 
 
 the Pupils 
 mg and the care of their rooms occupy them for 
 
 half an hour, and the rest of the time until eight o'clock is 
 spent in study. Fromi the moment they leave their rooms in 
 the morning, they do not return again until they go up to 
 bed at night. In fact, there is no occasion for doing sO' for 
 they could not study there if they chose. 
 
 Each class has its own study room with individual desks 
 and open lockers along the wall for books. In this room 
 they keep all their school supplies and here they are all to be 
 found gathered at every study period. Breakfast comes at 
 eight o'clock, and from the time that is over until nine o'clock 
 they are left free to do as they choose. So'me oi the boys 
 walk about the buildings or grounds, some spend the time in 
 study, and still others may be seen sweeping out class rooms 
 or corridors, for they are responsible for the entire care of 
 all parts of the buildings that they use. For this purpose 
 they are divided up into squads and put in charge of some of 
 the third year boys so that this does not fall very heavily upon 
 any one. Tlie teachers say that this system is not only econom- 
 ical, but at the same time it teaches the boys to 
 work and to control their equals. This is one Absence of 
 of the few instances in all France where I have Leadership 
 found any direct training for leadership. So 
 often I have asked, " How do you expect to produce teach- 
 ers capable of directing and leading their pupils when you 
 give them absolutely no opportunity to develop that power 
 in your school?" Invariably the teachers are willing to ad- 
 
1 82 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 mit the force of the question, but they immediately reply, 
 " We cannot begin in this school." 
 
 Just before nine o'clock, the boys gather in the study rooms, 
 and as they march from there to the class rooms, the fortu- 
 nate ones receive their mail. From nine until twelve there are 
 three hours of class work with only sufficient intermission to 
 pass from one room to another. Then comes the luncheon, 
 though perhaps the majority of schools have dinner at noon 
 and supper at night. By whatever name they are called these 
 are both hearty meals, the dinner usually consisting of three 
 courses and the luncheon or supper of two.^ From personal 
 experience I can certainly vouch for the excellence of the food 
 and the cooking at this particular school. Besides the dishes 
 on the menu, each pupil is allowed a half-bottle of wine or beer, 
 depending on the section O'f the country, and as much bread 
 as he wants. 
 
 From then until one o'clock, the boys are free to walk about 
 as they choose. I found a large group of them playing a 
 kind of football with a hard ball a little smaller 
 Lack of than our baseball. Strange tO' say the aver- 
 n eres in ^^.^ French boy seems to care very little for ath- 
 letic sports. At this same school, the boys had 
 just begun to play football a little, but it will probably never 
 become very popular, for as they have to go so' far to find a 
 suitable playground they cannot spare the time more than 
 once a week. At another normal school in the south, the 
 director regretted very much that his boys did not care more 
 for games. He said he had tried several times to interest 
 them in sports. As long as the novelty lasted, the game 
 would be popular, but the boys soon tired of it. They get 
 their pleasure in talking together or in taking long walks in 
 the country. 
 
 In fact, in all my experience, I have found but one 
 
 1 Some specimen menus will be found in Appendix I. These are ar- 
 ranged by the economc for a week in advance, and must also bear the 
 signature of the director and sometimes that of the visiting physician. 
 Thus the inspectors can see what the variety, at least, of the food has been. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 183 
 
 organization among the pupils in any normal school in France.^ 
 
 That solitary exception was the Anglo-Saxon 
 
 „ . . , 1 1 1 -n • T Student 
 
 bociety m the normal school at Fans, it was Orcranizations 
 
 started by M. Kuhn who had spent some time in 
 
 England and finally finished with a year at Harvard. This 
 
 organization meets one evening a week, and the boys seem 
 
 unusually bright and interested in the work of their club. 
 
 Tlie time from one o'clock until four is occupied with more 
 class work, and then comes the chief recreation period of the 
 day. From five o'clock until eight is devoted to classes, study 
 or question periods. At eight o'clock, dinner and then free- 
 dom until nine. This is the end of the day, and all retire for 
 the night. Two third class boys are left to walk up and down 
 in each dormitory for a few moiments until everything is quiet, 
 and theii lights are soon extinguished. A siii^ueillant has his 
 own room just outside each dormitory, but he practically never 
 has to exercise his authority. 
 
 Unfortunately one does not always find this leniency 
 everywhere, especially at the girls' schools. According to 
 
 Mr.' Brereton, "One directress told me she had 
 
 , 1 , -1 • 1 J. 11 • -J • Discipline in 
 
 never yet caught a smgle girl talkmg m dormi- , 
 
 tory, and it was not from lack of trying." ^ I 
 
 came across a case almost exactly parallel in the south of 
 
 France, the only difference being that the directress did not 
 
 emphasize the second part of the statement. 
 
 The girls are ever}^where ver)^ carefully looked after. xAt the 
 
 beginning of the school year, the directress asks the parents 
 
 of every pupil for a list of the persons with whom their 
 
 daughter is allowed to correspond. Every letter that leaves 
 
 the school must be addressed to one of these persons, and 
 
 every letter that comes must bear the name of the sender on 
 
 the outside of the envelope. In case any unknown name ap- 
 
 1 Mr. Brereton found a rather different situation in the schools he vis- 
 ited, for he speaks of finding football teams at three schools and bands at 
 two. This evident leaning toward sports may possibly be due to the prox- 
 imity of these schools to England. (Brereton, The Rural Schools of North- 
 west France, p. 171.) 
 
 2 Brereton, op. cit., p. 158. 
 
l84 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 pears, the directress sends the letter immediately to the girls' 
 parents. Fortunately the boys are not so closely confined. 
 The present life, however, is so much freer than that of 
 former times, and the French girls in general are confined 
 by so many restrictions that to them the discipline even now 
 does not seem unduly severe. In fact, the pupils everywhere 
 appear very contented and happy and are apparently working 
 with a sincerity and a purpose quite in harmony with the re- 
 sponsibilities of their future profession. 
 
 In every school, oiie finds good sized, well-stocked libra- 
 ries at the pupils' command. The only criticism one might 
 make is that they are too exclusively classical, 
 too much in line with the every day work O'f the 
 school, foi* when one is at work so' steadily as are most of the 
 pupils here, there is all the more need for a little reading of 
 a lighter sort by way of relaxation. In many of the schools, 
 I am afraid the libraries are not much used except for study. 
 At Auteuil, however, I was glad to find this part of the 
 pupils' reading well looked after. During the first two years 
 every boy has to read three books a month that are quite aside 
 from the regular required work. He is left practically free 
 to follow his own inclination, but he is naturally encouraged 
 to make a wise selection and to vary the subject matter. Fi- 
 nally, he writes an abstract of each book with a study of the 
 principal characters, if such treatment is possible, and his own 
 impressions of the work. On the opposite page of his note- 
 book there is room- for any striking quotations that he wishes 
 to note. Most of the other schoois complain that the regular 
 work is so exacting that they have no time for this kind of 
 reading, but at none of those that I visited was the ordinary 
 work any more exacting than at Auteuil. 
 
 One always finds in these school libraries the important edu- 
 cational magazines as well as the prominent French literary 
 and scientific reviews, most of these latter ap- 
 ewspape s p^g^j-jj^g weekly. The ordinary newspaper, 
 however, is strictly tabooed, for this is invariably too much of 
 a political journal to suit the ideas of the central authorities. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 85 
 
 For the news of the world, then, the pupils have to depend 
 upon the above-named reviews, but practically all the direct- 
 ors use the general assemblies to acquaint the pupils with any- 
 striking political events of current importance. This depriva- 
 tion of the newspapers is not at all comparable to a similar re- 
 striction in America, for as a rule the intelligent Frenchman 
 does not read his newspaper for the news he finds there, but 
 for the political or Hterary articles it contains. This seems 
 to be one of the striking differences between the mental tem- 
 peraments of the people of the two' great republics. 
 
 Another unique feature of the work at Auteuil is the Thurs- 
 day prouvcnadcs. At the normal schoo'ls there is seldom any 
 regular class work on Thursday mornings and 
 never in the afternoons. So every Thursday 
 afternoon, the boys at Auteuil are sent off by classes t o visit 
 the different points of interest in and around Paris. They 
 invariably go under the charge of one or more teachers, and 
 these latter are always ready to furnish whatever explanations 
 are necessary or desiraible. The excursions take place rain 
 or shine, so that in the course of the three years at the school 
 each boy will have made about one hundred and twenty of 
 these trips. They include all the principal points oi interest, 
 the Louvre, the Salon, and even an occasional matinee when 
 a classic play is being presented. The boys are under abso- 
 lutely no expense for any of these trips. They not only bring 
 the pupils into contact with a much broader culture, but they 
 also teach the boys that live in the surrounding towns to 
 know the city with the wealth of material which it possesses, 
 and thus they fit them for becoming more effective teachers 
 in the schools O'f the metropolis. Unfortunately, the other 
 departments cannot regularly afford such things, and their 
 pupils have to content themselves with an occasional promenade 
 of this sort and many quiet walks in the country. Some of 
 the teachers, however, use this time for geological or botani- 
 cal excursions. 
 
 The school vacations in France are neither numerous nor 
 long. Besides the regular holidays, the normal schools have 
 
l86 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ,r ■ 3, few days at New Years, about twelve days at 
 
 Vacations ■' 
 
 Easter and seven weeks in summer. It is diffi- 
 cult to make any more definite statements about Thursdays 
 than those already made. On Sunday, however, the pupils are 
 always free to do as they choose, at least for a part of the day, 
 thoug-h in some of the schools the directors take occasion on 
 Sunday morning to call the pupils together in general as- 
 sembly to talk o\^er the work of the school, to give good ad- 
 vice, and as it were, to preach a kind of lay sermon. There is 
 always opportunity for attending church. Although this cus- 
 tom naturally varies in different parts of the country, the num- 
 ber that attend regularly is so small as almost to be negli- 
 gible. If their homes are not far away, the pupils usually 
 find time on Sunday to visit their families. In Paris, all the 
 pupils that do not live in the city are required to have cor- 
 respondents there that shall stand in loco parentis, so that al- 
 most all the pupils there leave the school on Sunday afternoon. 
 Each one carries a small note-book with some report from 
 the principal to the family. This must be signed by the par- 
 ent or correspondent together with the time the boy leaves 
 home to return to the school. He is required to be back 
 again by nine o'clock. In many of the schools, however, 
 there is much more individual freedom in some of these 
 matters. 
 
 One of the critical moments of the normal school course 
 is the cxainoi dc passage, or annual examination. This is 
 
 held toward the close of the school year in Juh^ 
 
 Examinations .;..,, 
 
 and must be passed, in case of failure here, 
 the pupil is usually compelled to withdraw from the school, 
 but this happens comparatively seldom. Of course, allow- 
 ances may be made in cases of sickness. I was much sur- 
 prised to find one directress who' said that of late years none 
 of her pupils had been compelled to leave, for if a girl failed 
 in her examination that was all the more reason for her being 
 kept at the school, as she was almost sure to be taken into the 
 schools in any case. This is perfectly true, because, as has al- 
 ready been said, the supply of normal school graduates is not 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 187 
 
 equal to the demand, and when this is exhausted the next re- 
 source is the pupils that have spent some time at the schools. 
 Occasionally one finds weekly examinations, but this is not 
 general, for there is almost always a good deal of written 
 work from day to day. On the whole, one may fairly say 
 that the French pupils are not troubled by so many examin- 
 ations in the regular school course as are our American chil- 
 dren, but those that there are have far more serious conse- 
 quences. Note well the phrase, " in the regular school course," 
 for French life in general seems full of examinations; every 
 advance from one round of the educational ladder to another 
 is only possible upon passing an examination. All these ex- 
 aminations, even the simple ccrtifi,cat d' etudes primaires are all 
 given by the academic or the central authorities and nczrer by 
 the teachers that have had the pupils in charge. In fact from 
 the point of view of numbers, several teachers have not in- 
 aptly Hkened the present conditions to the examination sys- 
 tem in China. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Normal Schools (3) 
 the curriculum 
 The present ^ program in force in the normal schools is 
 
 1 Radical changes are now being made in the normal school course, tut 
 inasmuch as these will not become fully effective for two years, it does 
 not seem advisable to incorporate them here. Suffice it to say that the 
 modifications are a distinct advance, tending to professionalize the instruc- 
 tion in the third year. This sequestration of the work of the last year is 
 still further emphasized by putting the examination for the brevet superieur 
 at the end of the second year an-d demanding this as requisite for promo- 
 tion to the senior class. These innovations will not be so noticeable in a 
 school like that at Auteuil, for this on account of its situation in one of 
 the suburbs of Paris has always had unusual opportunities for giving a 
 higher class of instruction than was possible in the country normal schools. 
 
 The following extract from an official letter of instructions from the 
 Minister to the rectors with reference to the changes in the program will 
 indicate the general scope of the modifications : 
 
 " These documents constitute a reform that our most progressive teachers 
 have long been demanding. It has been our ambition and our aim to re- 
 duce the number of hours of class work and to increase the number of 
 those devoted to study and reflection ; to banish every method that does not 
 give play to the active faculties of the mind, to multiply the points of con- 
 tact with real life, especially in instruction in the sciences ; to eliminate 
 from the programs, by a necessary sacrifice, the non-essentials which en- 
 cumber them, and to make room for such subjects and such notions as 
 will best prepare our teachers for their mission. It has seemed to us that 
 the essential function of the normal schools consists less in preparing for 
 the higher diploma than in giving the students a particular sort of culture 
 in order to fit them for becoming the future teachers of the democracy. 
 After an experience, followed with success ior several years and gradually 
 extended to some twenty schools, it has been demonstrated that two years, 
 especially with the programs modified and cut down as they have been, are 
 enough to prepare for the brevet superieur, and that the third year, freed 
 from the constant worry over an examination that is bound to be of seri- 
 ous moment to the student, ought to be devoted exclusively, in the first 
 188 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 189 
 
 that decreed in 1887, althoug-h the differences between that 
 and the one of six years before have already been indicated. 
 It is important to note that this is absolutely the same for all 
 the schools oi France, whether they are providing almost 
 exclusively for the urban schools as in the larg- 
 est cities or chiefly for the country communities J^" ™ 
 
 Curriculum 
 
 as m most of the smaller schools. In some 
 places certain subjects are more emphasized than others, and 
 the quality of the work varies with the teachers and the pupils, 
 but the schools all follow the same program. The defence 
 for this extreme uniformity always is that the noiTnal schools 
 must prepare teachers both for the city and the country, and 
 it is impossible to foresee what the ultimate destination of any 
 particular individual may be. 
 
 place, to studies more general in their nature and more specifically social 
 in their significance, that shall not be subject to an examination; and in 
 the second place, to a deeper and more complete acquaintance with peda- 
 gogical processes and methods in conjunction with an enlargement and an 
 extension of the practical work. 
 
 " So the programs of the third year, besides providing for a rapid re- 
 view of the great facts of human progress and establishing the sequence 
 and the continuity of this progress, include for the boys: practical notions 
 of common law, cosmography, a serious and scientific study of hygiene, 
 and the principal applications of physics and ohemislry to the local agri- 
 cultural and industrial conditions; and for the girls: instruction in prac- 
 tical household economy, together with some notions of hygiene, the care 
 of children, and the use oif simple remedies. We believe that the schools 
 s'hould never lose sight of apprenticeship for life as their lodestar ; should 
 never forget that scientific progress, germinated in the laboratories of the 
 higher education, so slow in developing and penetrating to the lower strata 
 of the people, can have no more useful intermediaries, nor any more atten- 
 tive interpreters for the common good than these young men and women, 
 who have been leisurely trained in our normal schools under the plans and 
 according to the directions laid down by the most eminent teachers of 
 contemporary science." Bull. Adm., Oct. 14, 1905, LXXVIII, pp. 869-870. 
 
IQO 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 WEEKLY PROGRAM OF THE BOYS' NORMAL SCHOOLS.^ 
 
 Subjects of Instruction. Year. 
 
 Literary. I. II. IIL 
 
 Psychology, morale, pedagogy 2 2 2 
 
 French language and literature 5 4 4 
 
 History and civic instruction 3 3 3 
 
 Geography i i i 
 
 Writing 2 i 
 
 Modern languages 2 2 2* 
 
 Total 15 13 12 
 
 Scientific. 
 
 Mathematics 3 4 4 
 
 Physics and chemistry 2 2 3 
 
 Natural science and hygiene i i I 
 
 Drawing and modelling 4 4 4 
 
 Theory of agriculture i i 
 
 Total 10 12 13 
 
 Manual training and agriculture 5 5 5 
 
 Gymnastics and military drill 3 3 3 
 
 Singing and music 3 2 2 
 
 Total 10 10 10 
 
 Total number of hours per week 35 35 35 
 
 *The conseil sufiSrieur decided that besides these two hours of class work there ihould be, 
 another hour, taken either from the study periods or from the free time in each ye«r 
 devoted to practice in conversation. 
 
 Taking this as a basis, each director is free to make up his 
 daily schedule as he chooses. Here, however, as in all the 
 schools, the more difficult subjects are as far as possible as- 
 signed to the morning periods.^ 
 
 One of the first things that strikes the reader here is the 
 great number of different subjects, the consequently small num- 
 ber of times per week that each occurs and the total number of 
 hours per week scheduled. This gives an average per day of 
 
 1 Arrete, Jan. 10, 1889, Annexe A, Gr. VI, p. 135. 
 
 2 In order to give a more exact idea of this division cvf time, the daily 
 program of the boys' school at Auteuil (Paris) will be found in Appendix 
 C (3), p. 270. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 191 
 
 seven hours in class, without reckoning the time spent in study- 
 outside. Of course, all these are not prepared recitations, but 
 they all represent class work. It can readily be seen that the 
 position of the French normal school student is no sinecure, 
 and perhaps we may overlook his lack of interest in any regu- 
 lar form of athletics and the absence of real social life that 
 prevails almost everywhere. The programs are undoubtedly 
 much overcharged, and the remarkable thing about it all is 
 that the pupils seem to endure the strain of this exacting life. 
 One carmot help thinking that it might be economy to study 
 some of the subjects more intensively for a shorter period, and 
 then, if necessary, just before the final examinations to spend 
 a little time in review. The pupils could even divide the 
 examinations for the brevet superieur and take it in two suc- 
 cessive years. Unfortunately, however, the present systeim 
 of examinations in France requires every candidate practically 
 to prepare himself at each examination in every subject that 
 he has ever studied. 
 
 A comparison of the subjoined program with that just 
 above will show that in the girls' schools, the literary part of 
 
 the program is exactly the same as that pre- 
 
 .,,.,, T^i 1, r 1 Girls' Schools 
 
 scribed for the boys. 1 he allotment of hours 
 
 in the scientific subjects is materially changed in everything 
 except in drawing, and here the subject matter is distinctly 
 modified. The manual work naturally turns to subjects more 
 in accord with what vve commonly think of as woman's work 
 — dressmaking, sewing, and domestic economy. It also in- 
 cludes kitchen gardening, and a very little attention is devoted 
 to domestic science and home decoration. 
 
ig2 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 WEEKLY PROGRAM OF THE GIRLS' NORMAL SCHOOLS.^ 
 
 Subjects of Instruction. Year. 
 
 Literary. I. II. HI. 
 
 Psychology, morale, pedagogy 2 2 2 
 
 French language and literature 5 4 4 
 
 History and civic instruction 3 3 3 
 
 Geography i i i 
 
 Writing 2 I 
 
 Modern languages 2 2 2* 
 
 Total 15 13 12 
 
 Scietitific. 
 
 Mathematics 2 2 2 
 
 Physics I I 
 
 Chemistry i i 
 
 Natural science and hygiene i i i 
 
 Domestic economy i 
 
 Drawing 444 
 
 Total 7 9 10 
 
 Sewing and dressmaking 3 2 2 
 
 Housekeeping and gardening 2 2 2 
 
 Gymnastics 2 2 2 
 
 Singing and music 2 2 2 
 
 Total 988 
 
 Total number of hours per week 31 30 30 
 
 • The conseil suptrieur has decided that besides these two hours another hour shall be 
 devoted exclusively to conversation. 
 
 The instruction in all the normal schools that I saw is cul- 
 tural in its general method, but strictly professional in regard 
 to the subjects treated. Its chief object seems 
 Character ^^^ -^^ ^^ render the pupils well informed on the 
 Instruction topics that they are to teach rather than to give 
 them any specific instructions as to how these 
 should be taught. Of course the pupils get much valuable 
 experience and numerous suggestions from their work in the 
 practice school, but in the ordinary classes in the normal 
 school proper, one practically never hears any reference to 
 teaching younger pupils. In all the scores of classes that I 
 ^ Arrete, Jan. 10, 1889, Annexe B, Gr. VI, p. 136. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 193 
 
 visited, I found less than half a dozen exceptions to this state- 
 ment. One result of this is that the work takes the form of 
 lectures far oftener than that of recitations, thoug'h at the 
 beginning of almost every class there is a brief period devoted 
 to a review of the last lesson. Some subjects like mathematics 
 and geography obviously do not readily admit of this lecture 
 treatment. These demand recitation work, but even then 
 only a few pupils are called up at each recitation, and these are 
 questioned very exhaustively. I have heard classes of this 
 kind, and by no means infrequently, where three or four 
 pupils would occupy the whole period. The rest of the class 
 sat quietly in their seats either listening in a desultory fash- 
 ion, or studying as the case might be. It is comparatively 
 rare to find a teacher that makes any attempt to induce active, 
 lively attention on the part of every member of his class. 
 Nevertheless, the pupils all keep up their work, rather, however, 
 by virtue of their own individual effort than by anything they 
 learn in general recitation. It is worthy of note that even here 
 in the norm.al schools, absolutely no lesson is assigned or any 
 work given out without its being thoroughly explained be- 
 forehand by the teacher. 
 
 In all the courses, text-books are used very sparingly, the 
 teachers presenting the work to the pupils at one lesson, and 
 
 the pupils reproducing it the next time. This _ . , 
 , . , , , • 1 , • J • Text-books 
 
 lack of text-books certamly has its good pomts, 
 
 but when pushed to extremes it results in a great waste of 
 time. Granted that our schools in general rely too much on 
 the text-book, the French schools as a whole seem to have 
 run to the other extreme, and by the confession of some of 
 the teachers themselves this is partly due to financial reasons. 
 It is also very rare to find the pupils encouraged to go outside 
 the exact limits of the prescribed work and to do any inde- 
 pendent reading that may throw additional light on the sub- 
 ject in question. This is especially noticeable in the work in 
 history, which usually leaves much to be desired. 
 
 One general criticism may be passed upon all the work of 
 the normal schools as well as all the other schools of France, 
 
194 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 as far as my observation extends — the teachers do too much 
 talking. The pupils have little or no opportunity for any self- 
 expression, and the instructors in general make few efforts 
 to draw out their pupils. Indeed, the art of questioning 
 is not one of the French teachers' strong points. There is 
 one striking exception to this general lack of individuality, 
 and that is in the work in drawing. It is almost uniformly 
 excellent, and especially in the girls' schools is strongly in- 
 dividual and original. 
 
 Psychology, morale, and pedagogy, especially the second, 
 are considered the most important subjects of the curriculum, 
 
 and the director himself is required to teach 
 Psychology 
 
 all three. Each occupies two hours a week for 
 
 one year, in the order named, thus allowing the director to 
 come in personal contact with every pupil in the school through- 
 out the entire course. The psychology is chiefly what may be 
 called static psychology, the dynamic aspects of genetic or ex- 
 perimental psychology being entirely neglected. One of the 
 teachers whom I questioned on the subject did not consider 
 any student capable of beginning experimental psychology un- 
 til he was thoroughly familiar with the older aspects of the 
 subject. It had never occurred to him that any progressive 
 combination of the two was at all possible. However, each 
 pupil during his w^ork at the practice school, is required to 
 make a careful study of some particular child in the class 
 where he is teaching. This is the only thing that approaches 
 any child study during the normal course. It is moreover, 
 purely individual, and is not made the basis of any class work 
 or general discussion, being chiefly a matter between the nor- 
 mal pupil and the practice school teacher.^ 
 
 Morale here for the first time reaches what we may rea- 
 scwiably call ethics. Running all through this work we find 
 
 constant reference to the evils of intemperance. 
 Ethics 
 
 Indeed the crusade against alcoholism is one of 
 
 the unnamed subjects of instruction in the French schools, 
 
 ^ This question is considered more at length in the discussion on the 
 Practice Schools, ch. xi. 
 
TKE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 195 
 
 and the lessons in morale all through the school life furnish 
 a particularly favorable opportunity for these efforts. This 
 must not be understood, however, as an attempt to preach 
 total abstinence. In the girls' schools this ethical instruction 
 turns also toward the special responsibilities of woman as 
 teacher, wife and mother. All the work whether for boys or 
 for girls occupies a distinctly higher plane than morale in 
 the lower schools. 
 
 There is no subject of the curriculum that is any more diffi- 
 cult to describe readily than is the work in pedagogy, for al- 
 though all the schools follow the same pro- 
 
 • • , ■ -1 1 r 1 Pedagogy 
 
 gram, it is almost impossible to nnd any two 
 that agree. This is all due to the interpretation of the phrases : 
 " Principal pedagogues and their doctrines. Analysis of their 
 most important works." At best the work is all very hasty, 
 for the whole subject is allotted only two hours a week during 
 the third year of the course. Besides, the first trimester is 
 devoted to a review of the work in psychology and ethics of 
 the first and second years, and sometimes must also be re- 
 served for a few simple notions about political economy. The 
 result is that pedagogy proper receives but comparatively little 
 consideration. One finds directors, however, that, convinced 
 of the inadequacy of the program allowance for the subject, 
 manage somehow to gain a Httle more time for it. 
 
 In only one of the schools that I visited did I find any at- 
 tempT^to study ''ifiT'1nsloT^'"OT education at all consecutively, 
 and here the director naturally used Com- 
 payre's admirable book. The ordinary work ^\^^°^^. ° 
 
 . . . . ,, , Education 
 
 consists simply m selecting a few well known 
 pedagogical authors and considering them briefly. The pupils 
 generally make no study of the writer for themselves, but 
 take the appreciation of him given by the teacher. In fact, the 
 time at their disposal is sufficient for nothing more than an 
 eclectic method of procedure like this. The French educa- 
 tional writers, Rabelais, Montaigne, Rousseau and Fenelon, 
 especially the three latter, are found almost everywhere, and 
 Spencer holds his own with these. Comenius is touched 
 
IC|6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 upon, but Herbart and Froebel comparatively rarely. In one 
 boys' school in the south of France, I was much surprised to 
 find that Channing and Horace Mann, the former of course 
 in ethics, were two of the three writers that occupied the 
 greater part of the time in the director's classes. Some of the 
 teachers take the position that they can find all the great fun- 
 damental ideas of the past in the writers of the nineteenth 
 century and they prefer to seek these doctrines in their modern 
 aspects. 
 
 The instruction in French includes : ( i ) memory work and 
 lecture e.rpliquee. TlTis" latter consists in reading a certain 
 
 amount of text and then giving a kind of run- 
 French . ... , , . . ,. 
 
 nnig criticism and explanation oi peculiar or 
 
 unusual words, phrases or expressions. It is a method of lan- 
 guage study that is very common in France, and work of 
 this sort figures in all the examinations connected with the 
 public school system, from the simple elementary school certi- 
 ficate up to the examination for the direction of a normal 
 school and the primary inspectorship. (2) Technical gram- 
 mar, (3) compositions, and in the last year (4) literary his- 
 tory also make up the prograirn. Five hours per week in the 
 first year and four hours in each of the other two are assigned 
 for all these subjects. Tliere is no stated amount tO' be com- 
 mitted to memory, and this naturally varies widely with the 
 school, but it is all from the best of the national classics. On 
 the whole, the work in the native tongue is one of the best 
 and most practically taught of all the subjects of the normal 
 school curriculum. 
 
 Although in all their daily work the pupils are called up 
 before the class for their recitations, they have little oppor- 
 tunity for really addressing an audience. At 
 
 Lvon, however, there is a noteworthy excep- 
 Lectures ' ' ' , . , , . , , 
 
 tion to this. Every boy m the third year has 
 
 to prepare two lectures, which may be illustrated if he chooses, 
 one in the field of letters ajid the other in science.^ These 
 1 At Valence, each pupil of the third year class is required to give one 
 public lecture. These lectures take place at the school, and the townsfolk 
 are invited. Oftentimes they have audiences of one hundred and fifty 
 people. 
 
 Student 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 197 
 
 are delivered before all the pupils of the school and are criti- 
 cized by the teachers. M. Mironneau, the director, began this 
 practice some years before at Privas, a small place of some 
 six thousand inhabitants and the chief town of a department. 
 He took the members of his third year class out to some of 
 the neighboring communes, the village people forming the 
 audiences. The second attempt showed such notable im- 
 provement, that afterwards some O'f the lectures were given in 
 Privas itself. In following this method, at the end of the 
 year each pupil will have two lectures, and these may be in- 
 creased many fold by ohangiing with his fellows. An impor- 
 tant consideration, however, is that they should all be in ver^^ 
 simple language and adapted to the comprehension of the 
 popular mind. The whole scheme is most valuable, for these 
 same teachers are likely to go out into small places where the 
 best social life is very limited, and lectures of this kind will 
 serve to create a lively interest in the schools themselves and 
 ultimately tend to raise the standard of the intellectual life of 
 the community. The Musee Pedagogique in Paris, by means 
 of the lantern slides which it sends gratuitously to teachers all 
 over France, encourages still further the extension of this 
 efficient means of stimulating popular culture. 
 
 The history in the normal course follows a distinctly chron- 
 ological order, and well it may, for the pupils have by this 
 time been studying the history of their own 
 
 -. 1 , -r • History 
 
 country tor upwards 01 ten years, it occupies 
 three hours per week throughout the entire course. The first 
 trimester is devoted to ancient history and Greece, the second 
 to Rome, and the third to the Middle Ages up to the Hundred 
 Years' War. The work of the next two years (the first up 
 t© the French Revolution and the second until the present) 
 treats France almost exclusively and seldom digresses except 
 to consider events that are more or less closely connected with 
 the national history. The history of no other modern nation 
 is studied consecutively, the justification of course being that 
 it IS hot" concerned with the elementary school subjects which 
 the pupils will be required to teach. The last trimester of the 
 course treats briefly the civil organization of France. 
 
1^8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 At the end of the program for the first year's work we find 
 
 these words : " The historical notions about the Orient, Greece 
 
 ^ , . ,, and Rome shall put less emphasis oil the facts, 
 
 Subject Matter , , / . / , ,. , 
 
 the wars, the dynasties, the establishment or 
 
 the dismemberment of empires, than on the customs, the ideas^ 
 
 the monuments, the great works of the people of antiquity, 
 
 and on the part which they have played in the development of 
 
 civilization." So' far as I am able to judge from the various 
 
 lessons in this subject I have seen not only in the normal' 
 
 schools, but also in the schoo'ls of other grades, the suggestions 
 
 given here are by no means followed. Unfortunately, the 
 
 work generally savours too much of what John Fiske calls 
 
 the " drum and trumpet history." I never heard more than 
 
 one or twO' recitations where the teacher seemed to have an 
 
 adequate idea of the true meaning of history and historical 
 
 study. This statement may seem rather strong in view of 
 
 the numerous names of really great French historians not only 
 
 of the past, but also of contemporary life that immediately rush 
 
 into one's mind, but it must be remembered that these men 
 
 are the products of secondary and not of primary education. 
 
 The teachers themselves complain that their pupils are not 
 strong in history, but they certainly encourage this weakness 
 by dictating so many summaries of lectures or important move- 
 ments instead of requiring the pupils to organize and arrange 
 their own material. One of the teachers claimed that this 
 weakness was due to a national characteristic. " The French 
 people," he said, " are not a reflecting nation. They have a 
 certain animation and vivacity, but they do not spend very 
 much time in calm reflection; hence they find history so' diffi- 
 cult." On the contrary, it must be acknowledged that when 
 the pupils leave the normal schools, they certainly know the 
 facts of their country's history with an exactness that is 
 certainly noteworthy. 
 
 Geography is assigned one hour a week throughout the en- 
 tire course. The first year, the wofk includes a study of 
 geographical phenomena in general, and treats 
 eograp y specifically all the world except Europe; the 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS ion 
 
 second year all Europe except France; and the third year, 
 France and her colonies. This whole plan is almost univer- 
 sally criticized and is certainly very poorly balanced, for the 
 first year's work is very much overcrowded. About half this 
 is devoted to general physical geography, and this leaves only 
 a few more than twenty lessons for the western hemisphere, 
 Asia, Africa and Oceanica. In some schools, the two Ameri- 
 cas are finished in four lessons, the same time that is devoted 
 to Africa. Tliese are divided thus : one lesson on the physical 
 and one on the political and commercial geography o'f North 
 America; one lesson each on South America, and on Mexico 
 and Central America together. Oftentimes the situation is not 
 so bad as this, but surely the commercial and industrial im- 
 portance of the United States would seem to micrit rather more 
 than two lessons in a normal school course that occupies up- 
 wards of one hundred and twenty hours' work and extends 
 over a period of three years. 
 
 The prime consideration that is never neglected is that the 
 geography should treat France first and last, even though at 
 times this is reduced to a mere ^jrcatalogue of departments, 
 cities, population, rivers, mountains, or statistics in general. 
 The pupils know the name at least of every nook and corner 
 of their own country. Fortunately most of the work is better 
 than one recitation I happened to see on North America. Here 
 on the map drawn on the board by a pupil and corrected by 
 the teacher, the Hudson and the Connecticut rivers both ran 
 east, and Long Island extended north and south, while New 
 York, Baltimore and Philadelphia were situated in that order. 
 Indeed, except for the presence O'f these cities the map might 
 readily have been mistaken for the drawing of some sixteenth 
 century navigator. However, in general, map 
 
 A • • n P.l ,\ ■^■ A M^P Drawing 
 
 drawmg is really one or the most stnknig and 
 
 the strongest features of all the geography work. The ac- 
 curacy and rapidity with which the pupils dash off a map of 
 France or Europe, marking carefully all the configurations of 
 the coast and indicating numerous cities, bays and capes is 
 really remarkable. 
 
200 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 One of the most interesting and novel lessons in geography 
 
 that it was my good fortune to see was at Auteuil. Here a 
 
 boy in the entering class had been very much 
 An Unusual • ^^ , i • ,. , ^ -v/ 
 
 Lesson interested m readmg the account of Nansen s 
 
 voyages. Encouraged by the professor, he 
 prepared the work with great care, had one of his classmates 
 draw a map illustrating the trip of the Swedish explorer and 
 his companions, and then lectured to his class on the subject. 
 The boy sat at the teacher's desk, was perfectly self-possessed, 
 told his story simply and directly and illustrated it from time 
 to time with well chosen extracts from the book itself. The 
 whole affair was really most creditable, and it is too bad that 
 such things could not be encouraged more, at least outside the 
 regular class work. 
 
 The term modern language usually means English or Ger- 
 man, though sometimes it includes Italian and Spanish, and in 
 
 the normal schools of Algeria even Arabic and 
 
 , Kabyle. The preponderance of the Enerlish, 
 
 Languages •' . . 
 
 however, will readily be seen from the follow- 
 ing table compiled from the Year-^book of PubHc Instruction : ^ 
 
 No. of Schools' 
 
 Modern Language 
 
 English 
 
 German 
 
 Spanish 
 
 Italian 
 
 84 
 82 
 
 Normal Schools 
 Boys 
 Girls 
 
 44 
 61 
 
 29 
 15 
 
 44 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 3 
 
 166 
 
 Total 
 
 105 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 (The apparent discrepancy in figures here is due to the fact 
 that in two of the boys' schools and in one of the girls' both 
 English and Spanish are taught, and the two schools in Paris 
 offer the pupils a choice between EngHsh and German.) 
 
 The program arranges for two hours' instruction per week 
 throughout the course and requires that a third hour be taken 
 
 1 Delalain, Annuaire de I'Instruction puhlique, 1903. 
 
 2 The four schools in Algeria do not appear in this table. They all teach 
 Arabic. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 20I 
 
 from the study periods and spent in conversa- 
 
 -r . , . 1 , . ,,.,., English Tutors 
 
 tion. in some of the girls schools this third 
 
 hour is in charge of an English repetitrice, a kind of tutor, 
 usually a former training college pupil that has gone to France 
 to perfect herself in the French language with a view to teach- 
 ing it in her own country. It is expressly understood that 
 this young woman shall speak nothing but English to the girls 
 in the noiTnal school. In return the teachers speak French to 
 her. The employment of these repctitrkes is an endeavor to 
 give the normal school pupils as much of an English environ- 
 ment as possible, and this is particularly advisable because the 
 modern language teachers are all native born French. At one 
 time, foreigners were frequently employed ior this language 
 work, but they were apparently unable tO' tmderstand the 
 French temperament, and the discipline was very unsatisfac- 
 tory. Since 1886, at least, the law has restricted this in- 
 struction to French people. 
 
 Under the existing regulations, then, the present composi- 
 tion of the modern language teaching force leaves little to 
 be desired. Some of these ■teachers come froni 
 the ranks of secondary education, others, es- , ^!^'^ ^\ ° 
 
 the Teachers 
 
 pecially teachers of English, are descendants 
 of the people whose language they teach, still others have come 
 up through a regular line of schools, but almost invariably 
 they have spent at least one year abroad. The last is not so 
 generally true of the teachers of German, but many of these 
 are recruited from the lost provinces or from those parts of the 
 country where the two languages are used almost indiscrim- 
 inately. In any case the great majority by yearly trips to 
 England or Germany seek to keep the languages of these 
 countries fresh in mind. Indeed the teachers that I had the 
 good fortune to meet spoke with a readiness and a purity of 
 accent that was really striking. Except in one or two re- 
 markable instances they were naturally handicapped slightly 
 by a lack of vocabulary and, what is much more important still, 
 by the inability to appreciate the English point of view. Na- 
 tional life and racial characteristics are so strong, however, 
 
202 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 that comparatively few individuals ever become able fully to 
 understand another people than their own, and success in this 
 respect is won only after long years of study and residence 
 abroad. Many teachers in France to-day fully appreciate 
 these facts, but in view^ of the early experiences, recognize that 
 the present conditions must continue, and so try to make 
 them yield the best possible results. 
 
 Within the last few years, the new direct method has made 
 considerable progress. This is primarily a conversational 
 
 method, as a former Minister of Public In- 
 Direct Method . , r 1 1 , • r ■ 
 
 struction denned the chief aim of modern lan- 
 guage teaching as " to learn to speak and to write." ^ Al- 
 though this refers specifically to secondary education, it never- 
 theless represents the aim of all modern language work to-day. 
 The secondary school teachers that also' had classes in the nor- 
 mal and higher primary departments naturally carried this 
 new idea over into these latter schools, and some of the more 
 progressive of the primary teachers were glad to get away 
 from former conditions and found the transition acceptable to 
 their inspectors. The result has been that in spite of the fact 
 that the official program remains unchanged (although two re- 
 visor}^ commissions appointed in November and December, 
 1900 " have not yet reported), modern language instruction 
 in the best of the primary schools may fairly be said to be 
 dominated by the direct method idea. Instead of having the 
 pupils learn certain arbitrary lists of words and making these 
 the basis of written work, the teacher uses a picture as a text 
 and talks about the various objects presented there, or con- 
 verses with the pupils on the co'mmon things of every day life. 
 The object is to conduct the class entirely in the foreign lan- 
 guage without employing French even for explanations. In 
 fact, I found one enthusiastic teacher who during the entire 
 
 1 Leygues, Circ, Nov. 15, 1901 ; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 896. 
 
 2 Commission appointed to revise the scientific programs in the ecoles 
 normalcs primaircs. Arrete, Nov. 24, 1900; Bull. Adm., LXVIII, p. 918. 
 
 Ihid. for literary programs. Arrete, Dec. 6, 1900; Bull. Adm.. LXVIII, 
 p. 1 107. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 203 
 
 first year not only did not speak a single word of French nor 
 use any English text-book, but she did not even allow the 
 pupils to keep note-books. The new system strives tO' make 
 language study more alive and to avoid much of the merely 
 formal work that is certainly very stupefying. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, it is only the movement of the pendulum and in seeking 
 to avoid one evil it has swung to the other extreme, for all 
 this conversational work consumes an undue amount of time. 
 After all this stress is put upon conversation, comparatively 
 little time is left for reading, and aside from some extremely 
 
 simple collections of Mother Goose calibre, this 
 
 1 • n -1 -1 Text-books 
 
 is chiefly restricted to the special text-book re- 
 quired for the brevet superieur, a compilation of easy prose 
 and verse. Tlie English requirements include selections from 
 Aiken and Barbauld's Evenings at Home, Miss Corner's 
 Every Child's History of England, Wordsworth's Michael, 
 and a few of Longfellow's better known short poems, the 
 whole book being about one hundred and seventy-five pages. 
 Tlie German text-book is somewhat smaller, but in respect 
 to the poetry, at least, contains a much better selection of rep- 
 resentative classic literature. The prose is entirely taken from 
 Hoffmann, and the poems from Goethe, Schiller and Heine. 
 
 This same method is being carried down into the higher 
 primary schools, with the idea of rendering the pupils there 
 better fitted for taking places as interpreters or 
 foreign correspondence clerks in the great busi- ^" ^^e Higher 
 ness houses. In the absence of definite statis- Schools 
 tics, it is difficult to state exactly how many 
 pupils this affects, but of the 61,686 children that went out 
 from these schools during the years 1 889-1 898, only 14,033 
 entered commercial life and another 3,^243 entered the teach- 
 ing profession.^ Of course the majority of these never had 
 occasion to use their modern language after leaving- school, 
 and ten per cent of the whole number of graduates is a suffi- 
 ciently liberal estimate to cover them all beyond the peradven- 
 
 1 Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, chart to face p. 
 408. 
 
204 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 ture of a dou'bt. These ten per cent, then, fix the aim of the 
 
 modern language instruction and the method to be followed for 
 
 all the other ninety per cent. Surely not a very good record 
 
 for the democratic ideas of France. 
 
 The sponsors of this direct method, whether in the higher 
 
 primary or the normal schools, believe that their pupils will be 
 
 . . much better fitted to make their way in a for- 
 
 Cnticism 
 
 eign country; but even if these expectations 
 
 were well founded, the number so benefited would be very- 
 small. After visiting many classes and talking not only with 
 teachers but with pupils as well, it is perfectly evident that 
 after three years' work of this nature the pupils will not be 
 able to carry on an ordinary conversation. In fact, I saw one 
 class that had studied English for five years, two years under 
 the old method and three under the new, and at the end of all 
 that time not only was the pronunciation of the pupils very 
 poor, but they could not understand the very simple English ex- 
 pressions that I used in addressing them. It is still practically 
 necessary for these modern language pupils to go to a foreign 
 country if they wish to attain any facility in the language. 
 Tlie opportunities for real conversation are too transitory and 
 infrequent to produce any satisfactory results. Meanwhile, 
 much time has been sacrificed that might otherwise have been 
 devoted to reading, and after all it is only wide reading that 
 gives the large vocabulary so absolutely indispensable to 
 thorough knowledge oi a language. During the first few 
 weeks in the foreign country, the bright pupil that has fol- 
 lowed this new method carefully will undoubtedly have an 
 immense advantage over the one that has read widely, has a 
 reasonable acquaintance with the grammatical principles, and 
 has become a little accustomed tO' the sound of the language in 
 the class room, but at the end of six months or a year, there 
 is not much doubt as to which one would be the more advanced. 
 Tills is by no means an argument against the direct method on 
 general principles, for under certain conditions it is the only 
 method to be employed; but in a school where the foreign 
 language has only three hours a week, and where all the rest 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 205 
 
 of the time is spent in an environment entirely at variance with 
 this newr language, the mother tongue should not be banished 
 from the class room with impunity nor the direct method 
 used fanatically. 
 
 Formerly the modern languages were taught exactly as the 
 Latin or Greek, and it is safe to say that the present methods 
 are an improvement over the old, but a compromise between 
 the two would probably produce still better results. I should 
 be very sorry if this adverse criticism, which, be it distinctly 
 understood, is entirely one of method and concerns neither the 
 teaching force nor the place of modern languages in the pro- 
 gram, should ever furnish an argument for minimizing the im- 
 portance of this instruction in the normal schools. The mod- 
 ern languages stand to-day as almost the only purely cultural 
 subject of the curriculum, and the intellectual horizon of the 
 future primary school teachers could ill afford to^ undergo' any 
 contraction in this respect. As soon as the French primary 
 schools rise above the industrial and commercial influence that 
 is dominating them to-day, the aim of modern language in- 
 struction will no longer be confined to the present utilitarian 
 limits, but these subjects will appear in their truer and nobler 
 aspects, as a means of entering to a certain extent intO' the 
 life and ideals of contemporary peoples and so of furnishing 
 their pupils with a larger perspective, a broader culture and a 
 more sympathetic and tolerant spirit. 
 
 The mathematical subjects include arithmetic and the metric 
 
 system, algebra, book-keeping, geometry and trigonometry. 
 
 Arithmetic is allotted two hours per week dur- 
 
 , - , , . , , Mathematics 
 
 ing the first year and one durmg the second. 
 
 Algebra has one ho'ur a week during this same year, and, ex- 
 cept for a little time it has to divide with book-keeping, two 
 hours in the third. The time allotted for arithmetic naturally 
 permits the teacher to devote more attention to theory than to 
 the actual operations. Algebra, on the other hand, treats the 
 theoretical part as hastily as possible and lays much stress upon 
 the practical applications, the progressions, and interest and 
 annuities. Geometry is allowed one hour a week the first 
 
2o6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 year and two hours for each of the other two years. It in- 
 cludes both plane and solid geometry, trigonometry, and par- 
 ticular attention is paid to surveying and topography. The 
 instruction in mathematics, especially in geometry is almost 
 universally of a very high order. Utility may fairly be said 
 to characterize the work as a whole. In trigonometry, for 
 example, gouiometry as such is practically ignored, and all 
 the attention is devoted to the solution of triangles. In fact, 
 trigonometry is merely a tool to be used in surveying. This 
 latter is all of the practical sort, for the teacher often takes 
 advantage of the free period on Tliursday to lead his pupils out 
 into the fields and give them real problems to solve. 
 
 In the girls' schools, the mathematics is of considerably less 
 
 importance. It receives only two hours per week throughout 
 
 the course, and is confined almost exclusively 
 
 In Girls' .,.,., , . 
 
 Schools ^^ Simple arithmetic, the work in geometry m 
 
 the third year being little more than mere men- 
 suration. Although the program provides for no instruction 
 in algebra. I found a little very elementary work in that sub- 
 ject at Batignolles. the girls' normal school in Paris. Here, 
 too, the work in mathematics receives an extra hour in both 
 the second and third years. Although they may never de- 
 scend below the requirements of the official regulations, the 
 Paris schools are often allowed to- augment their work in some 
 minor details like this. 
 
 The instruction in science is certainly ver^'J^xoad, but it has 
 the virtue of at least introducing the pupils to the more im- 
 portant subjects and of giving them the funda- 
 
 Science 
 
 mental notions on which each is based. Here 
 again the practical idea is everywhere predominant, for it is 
 not only acquaintance with general scientific facts that is de- 
 sired, but also the bearing of these facts on everyday life. It 
 is the fauna and the flora of the immediate neighborhood that 
 are of particular importance; knowledge of how these, for 
 example, can be of service in the work in agriculture in gen- 
 eral, and to the farmers of the district in particular. Two 
 hours for each of the first two years, and three hours for the 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 20/ 
 
 third, are abooit equally divided between physics and chemis- 
 try; botany has one hour a week the first year; zoology the 
 same amount the second year; while geology^ and hygiene 
 divide one hour a week throughout the third year. Unfor- 
 tunately the ideas about ventilation and the necessity of fresh 
 air taught in the hygiene class are not generally put in prac- 
 tice, at least during the winter months, for the air of the or- 
 dinary French class room of whatever grade is almost invari- 
 ably bad. 
 
 The course in hygiene lays much stress on the dangers from 
 alcoholism. In consequence of the report of the commission 
 to investigate the subject in 1895/ not only the 
 program of the normal schools, but also the Campaign 
 curricula of all the schools of primary and Alcoholism 
 secondary instruction as well were modified ^ 
 so as to provide for more determined efforts to strengthen the 
 crusade against this evil. Although the subject is extensively 
 treated in the course on hygiene, it also appears in ethics un- 
 der the guise of temperance in general, and domestic and so- 
 cial duties; in zoology, under the anatomy and physiology of 
 man; in chemistry under the alcohods; and in political economy 
 under the production, the circulation and the uses of wealth. 
 In fact, in order to encourage the consumption of beer and or- 
 dinary wine at the expense of alcohol itself, these former are 
 among the few food products that pay no octroi at the gates 
 of Paris. 
 
 Although -the subject matter oi the science courses is so- gen- 
 erally practical, experimental work on the pupils' part has made 
 little headway. The second and third year 
 classes are required to spend some time in ^^^u"^^ 
 manipulation, but this is chiefly confined to the 
 strictly literal interpretation of the word and is restricted to 
 familiarizing the pupils with the construction and use of the 
 simple apparatus that may be adapted to the work in the lower 
 schools. Indeed with one or two exceptions, notably in the 
 boys' school at Lyon, the laboratory facilities are not such as 
 
 1 Gr. VI, pp. 646-652. 2 Bull. Adm.. 1897. LXI, p. 392- 
 
2o8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 to encourage anything much more extensive than this. At 
 Auteuil, there is an extra hour per week throughout the entire 
 course especially given to this laboratory work. Half the 
 class is taken each time, the first half year being devoted to 
 chemistry and the last half to physics. 
 
 The subjects in the course in physics are: gravity, hydro- 
 statics and acoustics; heat and lig"ht; electricity and mechanics. 
 Chemistry treats the metalloids, the metals, and in the third 
 year devotes itself exclusively to organic chemistry. All the 
 experiments are carefully performed by the teacher before the 
 class, who can see the phenomena for themselves, but the ex- 
 perimental work practically stops there. On the whole, the 
 work in science is carried on with no other text-book than the 
 lecture notes which the pupils take themselves from the lips 
 of the teacher. 
 
 In practically every school, one finds adequate and well 
 
 selected collectious for the teaching of natural history and 
 
 geology. The only criticism that might be 
 
 ^^.^"'^^ made upon these is that they are usually hidden 
 
 bcience 
 
 away in the professor's private laboratory or 
 in some remote and dusty corner of the building where they are 
 almost inaccessible to the pupils. Thus the majority of them 
 see only the few specimens that the teacher brings into the 
 class room. 
 
 The schools that I saw almost invariably had fine botankal^ 
 gardens in connection with their vegetable gardens, and they 
 were all marvels of neatness and thrift. In 
 ^ ^"^ most of the departments, the departmental pro- 
 fessor of agriculture gives the agricultural instruction at the 
 normal school. Tlie theoretical work occupies forty lessons 
 during the second and third years, and treats not only plant 
 life, but also the farm animals and rural economy. 
 
 Special attention is devoted to the agricultural interests of 
 
 that particular section of the uouhlfy. ~" The 
 
 Influence practical part of preparing the soil, sowing, 
 
 ^ ^" ^ '•. ijrafting and pruning is all given in the school 
 
 Community fc & i' & o 
 
 garden. There is no idea, however, of turning 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 209 
 
 out skilled farmers, but rather of providing the necessary train- 
 ing for teaching the work in agriculture required by the ele- 
 mentary school program. Often, however, these students can 
 carry their knowledge intO' the rural communities and thus be- 
 come effective missionaries for disseminating the latest ideas 
 on scientific farming, such, for example, as the more intelli- 
 gent use of fertilizers and the rotation of crops. This work has 
 all assumed a new aspect during the last six or eight years, 
 for it is hoped that sufficient interest in agricultural pursuits 
 may be aroused tO' check the urban movement of the population 
 that France in common with most O'f the other great coun- 
 tries has lately been viewing with increasing uneasiness. 
 
 In the girls' schools, the science instruction is considerably 
 reduced. Instead of the seven hours of the boys' course, we 
 now find only four, equally divided between the 
 second and third years. The physics program f^ ^^^ 
 of the second year is rather varied, forming a 
 kind of general introduction to the subjects of the third year 
 — heat, light, electricity and magnetism. The chemistry 
 course follows the same plan, the second year forming a gen- 
 eral introduction and attempting tO' cover very hurriedly the 
 more important metalloids and metals. The third year's work 
 treats organic chemistry very superficially. The manipidation 
 is taken even less seriously than in the boys' schools, and in 
 the school where I found a satisfactory laboratory equipment 
 the directress said that little work of that sort was done. The 
 geology program of the boys' schools is cut down very slightly, 
 botany and zoology remaining unchanged. 
 
 There is, however, one hour a week in the third year devoted 
 to domestic economy. This by no means attempts the work 
 O'f our domestic science courses, but merely in- 
 troduces the girls in a very general way to the ^omestic 
 work of the household, care oi the home, wash- 
 ing, ironing, and the preparation of food. In fact the cuisine 
 everywhere in France is so very superior, and the mothers 
 take such pains to teach their daughters, that ordinary instruc- 
 tion in cooking has no reason to exist. In some of the schools. 
 
2IO PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 the washing is all done outside the building, and the girls are 
 required to do their own ironing. In another school, the 
 pupils of the third year class, in groups of ten or a dozen, one 
 group being chosen each week, take entire charge of making 
 ready their own dinner. This includes the preparation of the 
 food, as well as setting the table, but it can be readily seen that 
 one hour a week for a year will not allow a very elaborate 
 treatment of the subject of domestic economy. 
 
 Exipegt the French language and literature, no subject in the 
 whole . curriculum, recen^es Ifiofe' aTf ehtion than drawing, "for 
 it occupies lour Tiours per week throughout the 
 entire course and includes both the free hand 
 and the mechanical aspect. This latter is almost invariably 
 taught by one of the science professors, while the former is 
 often in charge of a special teacher. The free hand work is 
 developed very logically from point to line, from line to angle, 
 and from angle to figure, each of these different bases form- 
 ing the inotif, and the pupils being left free to develop the 
 particular design according to their individual tastes. The 
 union of the mechanical drawing and the manual training un- 
 der a single teacher gives almost unlimited opportunity for 
 correlation, and it is generally taken advantage of. for all the 
 constructions in wood or iron are worked out from carefully 
 prepared sketches, while absolute accuracy both in sketch and 
 in execution is rigidly required. In the girls' schools, me- 
 chanical drawing as such is almost entirely neglected, the pupils 
 merely learning the use of the simpler drawing instruments. 
 The work there is practically all freehand and is accompanied 
 by considerable purely decoretive work. In the higher pri- 
 mary schools, this aspect is deveiloped even more extensively, 
 and often reaches to practical designing for the textile in- 
 dustry prominent in that particular section of the country. It 
 is always closely allied to the sewing and the needle work. 
 The teachers of this free hand drawing both at the boys' and 
 girls' schools are often real artists and not mere drawing teach- 
 ers. In fact, it is by no means uncommon to find former pupils 
 of the Ecolc des Beaux- Arts at Paris engaged in this work. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS oil 
 
 The results everywhere justify the effort that is expended 
 upon the drawing, for of all the subjects of the French pro- 
 g-ram, this work is not only the best taught, but the skill of 
 the pupils as a whole is remarkable. The teachers, however, 
 agree that thUs great progress dates from the Exposition of 
 1889 and is mainly due to the increased interest in manufactur- 
 ing and commercial affairs since that time. 
 
 Manual training and farm^ work together are assigned five 
 hours^'per week eacli"^"year. The mree devoted to manual 
 training proper are divided among paper fold- 
 ing and card-board work, both finished in the ^^""^^ 
 first year, wood work, iron work and m.odeling. 
 Although this last subject receives a good deal of space in the 
 official program, in few oi the schools did I find the actual 
 work of corresponding importance. In fact, in some it is 
 neglected almost entirely. With rare exceptions, all the 
 manual work is decidedly formal, no attempt being made to 
 construct useful objects. From' this point of view, it lays 
 itself open to severe criticism. The wood work aims to ac- 
 custom the pupils to the use of the simpler tools used in join- 
 ing and turning. The iron work devotes a little time the first 
 year tO' bent iron work, and during the other two years in- 
 cludes welding, joining, turning and brazing. The forging 
 varies greatly in different places, but under the most favorable 
 conditions it requires so much time that the schools can hardly 
 be censured for slighting it. 
 
 The lack of motive power for the turning both in wood and 
 
 iron is a serious handicap, and what is still more surprising, 
 
 the teachers do' not seem tO' feel any serious in- 
 Motive Power 
 convenience on that account. When cjues- 
 
 tioned on the subject, they invariably reply, '' The pupils will 
 
 not find any motive power in the schools where they are going 
 
 and so why introduce it here?" Yet it is quite common in 
 
 turning, especially in iron, tO' find one boy providing the motive 
 
 power for the lathe while another is busy with the actual vvork. 
 
 In none of the six boys' normal schools that I visited was there 
 
 any power, and in fact I have seen only two schools in France 
 
212 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 where there was any to be found, the ecolc normale primaire 
 supcricnre at Saint-Cloud and the ecole primaire superieure 
 Frankhn at Lille. In spite of these difficulties, the shop work 
 is all well executed, and the pupils become very skilful in the 
 use of their tools. Reference has already been made to the 
 advantage of having the drawing and the manual training 
 taught by the same person. This union is productive of ex- 
 cellent results, and the relationship between these two sub- 
 jects is one of the few instances of direct correlation in the 
 whole program. This is even more strikingly apparent in the 
 girls' schools. 
 
 The manual work in the girls' schools is entirely devoted to 
 sewing. This includes preliminary work in weaving and 
 
 ■ . braiding, knitting, crocheting, plain and fancy 
 Sewing . . , _ . , 
 
 stitches, pattern work, cuttmg out and nnish- 
 ing women's and children's undergarments and outside 
 clothes. One of the most important things is the reparation 
 of their own clothes by the pupils. During the last two years, 
 they have some opportunity to use a sewing machine. In the 
 third year the sewing assumes a more decorative character, and 
 the pupils are required to work out patterns they have de- 
 signed in the drawing class. In one higher primary school, 
 the girls were making some beautiful underclothing, all trim- 
 ming, insertion and edging having been previously designed 
 in this way. All had the same motif, a flower, a spray of 
 leaves or some conventional form, and each pupil had worked 
 out the particular pattern according to her individual taste. 
 For cutting patterns and for much of the dressmaking work 
 in general, a kind of canvas is much used on account of its 
 cheapness. Some teachers, however, very properly object to 
 work of this kind on account of its formal nature. 
 
 The instruction in music demands two hours per week 
 
 throughout the course. It consists sometimes of both vocal 
 
 and instrumental work, though the latter is by 
 
 no means general. At Lyon, we find each 
 
 pupil required to devote an hour and a half per week to the 
 
 violin. He may spend more, but at all events he is respon- 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 213 
 
 sible for the results. The teacher there comes in from out- 
 side, as is generally the case with all instrumental music. 
 Singing, however, is almost invariably taught by one of the 
 regular teachers, for it is very rare not to find in each school 
 one of the staff that holds a certificate for teaching music. 
 This adds two hundred francs a year to the salary the teacher 
 would ordinarily receive. Besides a considerable amount of 
 chorus work, the pupils are still further trained in sight read- 
 ing and musical dictation. On leaving the school they are all 
 able to read readily any simple music of the sort that they are 
 likely to- encounter in their school work. The most proficient 
 of them usually carry on their studies still further until they 
 obtain the special certificate referred to above. 
 
 The program for gymnastics, three hours a week, includes 
 military drill and target practice, besides the ordinary gymnas- 
 tic work. Apparently none of the normal 
 
 ,1,1-.., , . p 1 Gymnastics 
 
 scnools that i visited took any notice 01 the two 
 former, and I found but one school — an ccole primaire su- 
 perieure in Paris — where there was any practice in shooting.^ 
 Here it is more in the nature of recreation, for in the shooting 
 range in the basement each boy fires six shots three times each 
 year. The weapon used is a smallbore target rifle with the 
 breech mechanism of an old army rifle now long since dis- 
 carded. At another higher primary school where there was 
 some pretence at militaiy drill, it recjuired the services of a 
 workman three or four hours a day tO' keep the guns in good 
 condition, and as the director said, they were so very differ- 
 ent from the arms in use in the army to-day, that the time 
 spent in teaching the boys to handle them was wasted. 
 
 At one school where the gymnastic work represents a typical 
 organization of the better sort, the exercises were divided into 
 
 four g-roups : ordinary calisthenics ; something 
 
 ^,.. , ., ,11 ., Subject Matter 
 
 approaching single stick work, though without 
 
 opponents ; boxing ; and gymnasium work proper with both 
 light and heavy apparatus. The " single stick " consists in 
 a combination of thrusts and blows at an imaginary opponent 
 1 They expect soon to have a shooting range at Auteuil. 
 
214 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 performed in concert at the word of command, the value of the 
 exercise being still further enhanced by varying the position of 
 the body as well as the direction of the stroke. The instru- 
 ments were very simple and were evidently rods that the boys 
 had cut for themselves on some excursions to the woods. In 
 boxing they naturally follow the French system which brings 
 into play the feet as well as the fists. It was entirely an ex- 
 ercise, however, and not a sport, for the work was all done 
 in class and no one was pitted against another. On account 
 of the foot work employed here, and the change of position, 
 the movements admit of great variation, and they bring into 
 action a large number of the muscles of the body. It is an 
 easy matter for the boys tO' prepare for their gymnastic lesson, 
 for they simply remove coat, waistcoat and suspenders, fasten 
 a belt about the waist, and everything is ready. When the 
 weather permits, the class is conducted in the open air, other- 
 wise in the gymnasium. 
 
 The French gymnasium^ is entirely different from anything 
 we have in America. Sometimes it occupies a separate build- 
 ing of its own, but it is often a part of the main 
 Gymnasium , ., ,. . ' . , , . 1,1 
 
 buildmg with one side open to the air and looks 
 
 very much like the carriage shed attached to some New Eng- 
 land farm-house. In every case, inside it is a large barn-like 
 structure, perhaps thirty by sixty feet, with cement walls and 
 a floor of soft, mealy loam. This latter does away with any 
 necessity for mats. The apparatus is not abundant, a pair of 
 parallel bars, a horizontal bar, parallel flying rings, vertical 
 parallel bars, a rope ladder, a smooth and a knotted rope for 
 climbing, a dorsal ladder, ordinary ladders in various posi- 
 tions, and sometimes a few Indian clubs, dumb-bells and wands 
 along the walls. The light apparatus, the horizontal and the 
 parallel bars, hovv^ever, are the most frequently used. The 
 dress is the same as for the light gymnastics in the open air. 
 The apparatus is all of very simple construction, the dumb- 
 bells being always O'f iron and often very heavy, varying from 
 three tO' twenty pounds in weight. 
 
 Tbe gymnasiums in the girls' schools, while theoretically 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 215 
 
 boasting a somewhat similar equipment, almost invariably 
 wear the dusty g-arb of neglect. This apparent condition is 
 verified by the statements oi the directresses, for walking and 
 dancing are the chief forms of exercise in these schools/ 
 Reference has already been made to- the inadequacy of the bath- 
 ing arrangements. In no case did I find them in connection 
 with the gymnasium ; in fact, there seems tO' be noi idea of the 
 relation existing between these two. The exercise in France 
 does not partake of the violent character that one finds in 
 America, for the pupils go through the various evolutions as 
 calmly and deliberately as they follow the work in mathematics 
 and ostensibly without any healthy, spontaneous interest in 
 the exercise for its own sake. The idea of individual effort 
 solely with a view to becoming stronger and healthier and 
 better is a rare incentive for the normal school pupil; he is 
 never found in the gymnasium except at the prescribed hours, 
 nor, in fact, could he gO' there if he chose, for the door is 
 ordinarily kept locked, and the key rests in the pocket of the 
 gymnasium instructor. 
 
 The instruction in gymnastics, however, in the boys' schools 
 is very practical from the point of view of the future teacher, 
 for each pupil has frequent opportunity for conducting the 
 class. At the end of the second year, the pupils usually present 
 themselves for the special certificate for teaching gymnastics. 
 This examination consists of twO' parts, an oral examination 
 on the sciences closely connected with gymnastic work, and a 
 practical test wherein the candidate has tO' demonstrate his abil- 
 ity tc perform the movements required by the official manual. 
 This examination is not over difficult, for the candidates are 
 generally successful. 
 
 Before taking the regular entrance examinations for the nor- 
 mal schools, each candidate has to submit to a physical ex- 
 amination conducted independently by two 
 
 physicians, who' afterwards meet and compare _ '^.^^^^. 
 ^ -' ' ^ Examinations 
 
 notes. This is required in order that the State 
 
 1 At the girls' school at Batignolles, Paris, the official program is fol- 
 lowed carefully and with apparently good results. The girls of the second 
 year class here wore regular gj-mnasium suits, the only ones I saw. 
 
2i6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 may make sure that the candidate is at least physically able to 
 render adequate return for the expense of his education. Al- 
 though the use of eyeglasses is not necessarily fatal, any seri- 
 ous optical defect would naturally cause rejection. Once 
 safely throug'h this examination, the pupils are seldom troubled 
 again. At Auteuil, however, they have recently introduced the 
 practice of testing the boys physically every three months. 
 This examination is very superficial, for it measures merely 
 lung capacity, strength of the right grip and standing height. 
 If the first of these shows any marked deterioration, the boy 
 is immediately turned over to the regular physician for further 
 examination. 
 
 This question of physical condition is coniiiig^mgre, .ajid 
 more into prominence in France through the Minister Qi^Wax. 
 In some departments, it is found difficult to- recruit young men 
 that satisfy the army standards, and the military and the edu- 
 cational departments are actively striving tO' discover the 
 real causes for this and the corrective measures to be applied. 
 
 The subject matter of the normal schools thus briefly 
 treated, lays the foundation, at least, for a liberal culture. 
 It is perhaps too extensive tO' be very intensive. 
 General ■\^^^\_ ^he pupils have been introduced to the fun- 
 spec s o damental facts and experiences of the various 
 the Course _ ^ 
 
 studies, and these ideas have been thoroughly 
 
 instilled into their minds. If too little emphasis has been laid 
 upon the how a particular subject should be taught in the ele- 
 mentary school, the pupil has reviewed carefully what he 
 must teach and has gone enough farther to give him a thorough 
 understanding of much of the underlying theory. With the 
 exception of the modern language, he has spent his time on 
 nothing that he cannot apply directly tO' his future work in the 
 class room. The course is particularly strong in the literary, 
 scientific and aesthetic aspects of human interest, but weak in 
 developing those characteristics that make for individuality, 
 leadership and social efficiency. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Normal Schools (4) 
 
 the practice schools and the teaching certificates 
 
 The practice schools in connection with the normal schools 
 are of two general types : ecole annexe, when the school is 
 
 under the immediate control of the director of 
 
 -,:..).•::».-.'.•-■.■•■:. 3. Types 
 
 the normal school and forms an integral part oi 
 the institution itself; ecole d' application, when an^ ordinary 
 school in the community, js specially designated by the Minister 
 as a practice scnool. Of all the practice schools in France, less 
 than a score of them to-day are found in this second category, 
 although each form has its supporters. The ecole annexe be- 
 ing more directly under the supervision of the director of the 
 normal school, and the head of the practice school being con- 
 sidered as one of the teaching staff of the training school, this 
 condition permits a closer alliance between the two, and enables 
 the normal pupils tO' keep in closer touch with their practice 
 field. 
 
 The criticism that the ecole annexe is toO' small to give the 
 future teachers any real practice does not in itself seem well- 
 founded, for in the smaller classes the young teacher can de- 
 vote his attention chiefly to the subject matter of the recitation 
 and need spend comparatively little effort on maintaining dis- 
 cipline, but for this little he himself is alone responsible. As 
 for the ecoles d' application, they are ordinarily typical enough 
 as far as numbers are concerned, but the continual presence 
 of the regular teacher in the class room renders the position 
 of the raw recruit somewhat artificial, for the disciplinary 
 problem practically does not present itself under these condi- 
 tions. The ecole d' application has one peculiar advantage in 
 
 217 
 
2i8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 that the pupil teacher is always working under direct super- 
 vision, whereas in the ordinary ecolc annexe this is not the 
 case, for it reproduces the actual conditions of the country 
 school only too vividly, and the single teacher often to be 
 found there has tO' apportion his time among the three coiirs 
 divided between two' rooms. The tw'O' ecoles annexes at Paris 
 are the only ones that I found where each room had its own 
 permanent teacher. Althoiigh the regulations ^ have long 
 required each girls' normal school to- have an ecolc matcrnelle 
 in addition to its ordinary practice schoo'l, at the present time 
 less than three fifths have complied with this demand.^ but in 
 a few others the want is partially supplied by classes enfantines. 
 All these practice schools are organized to represent as far 
 as possible the conditions actually existing in the lower schools. 
 For this reason, in Paris the two schools are 
 
 Organization , ,, i • i . 
 
 accurate but naturally somewhat ideal repro- 
 ductions of the average city school, with each of the three 
 coiirs divided intO' two classes. In the country normal 
 schools, on the other hand, the norm for the ecole annexe has 
 but a single teacher, though this number is often increased to 
 two in the more important towns ; but in any case the work 
 will invariably be arranged sO' that in at least one room there 
 will be more than one conrs. In all the practice schools I 
 visited outside the metropolis, the number of children there 
 corresponded very closely with the number of pupils in the 
 normal school. O'f course it need not be said that the instruc- 
 tors here are generally oif the best, for they are almost normal 
 teachers themselves and are certainly in a position to be of 
 immense practical assistance to the young teachers. 
 
 Although the director of each school follows his own ideas 
 
 1 Decret, July 31, 1900, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 288. 
 ^ Annuaire de I' Instruction Publique, 1903. 
 
 The actual figures were : 
 
 Number schools with ecole matcrnelle, annexe, or d' application 47 
 
 Number schools without ecole materncllc, annexe, or d'application 32 
 
 Number schools with classe enfantinc 5 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 219 
 
 as tO' the minor details of this practice work, the total amount 
 is a fairly constant quantity — in all about thirty 
 days. At Batignolles, Paris, for example, ^^'^'^^^ 
 where the observation and the practice work are 
 not quite so extensive, each pupil has nine tours or stages in 
 the ccolc annexe. This practice school is very large, contain- 
 ing nearly five hundred children and includes 
 
 . , , , „ . , At Batignolles 
 
 a well organized ecole niaternelle of three 
 
 classes. The first year pupils never spend more than half a 
 day at a time at the practice schoo'l, whereas in the second and 
 third years, one whole day each tour is entirely devoted to the 
 ecole annexe. During the greater part of the time that the 
 normal pupil is in the class room, she merely watches the gen- 
 eral conduct of the lessons, assisting the regular teacher from 
 time to time in the distribution O'f material as occasion arises. 
 Thus observation work pure and simple occupies a much more 
 importanrplace 'as far as time is concerned than the actual 
 teaching. The number of lessons given by the normal girls 
 and the department of the ecole annexe where these take place 
 will appear in the following table : 
 
 Year i I. I II. I HI. 
 
 Lessons) ist tour. i E. P. E. 12 Ec. Mat. 2 E. P. E. 
 
 per !-2d tour. ! 2 E. P. E. 2 E. P. E. 2 Ec. Mat. 
 
 dav. j 3d tour. ! 2 E. P. E. Entire session, I Entire session, 
 
 I Ec. Mat. i Ec. Mat. 
 
 E. P. E. elemeniary school. 
 Ec. Mat. ^co//: waternelle. 
 
 From this it will be seen that five of the tours are in the 
 primary school proper and four are in the ecole matcrnelle . 
 The general tendency also is to begin well up in the primary 
 grades and to work down toward the youngest children. The 
 pupil is never entirely freed from the work in the normal 
 school, and whatever she misses, except manual work, draw- 
 ing and outside written work, she is regularly responsible for. 
 
 At Auteuil, Paris, however, quite a different system is em- 
 
220 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 At Auteuil 
 
 ployed. Here instead oi the practice teaching continuing 
 practically throughout the course, it is all com- 
 pleted between Easter of the first year and 
 Easter of the third. This has the great advantage of allowing 
 the new pupils to become somewhat acclimated to the normal 
 school life and discipline, and furthermore the pupils oi the 
 third year are relieved from the responsibility of the practice 
 work during the last few months oi their course when they are 
 working under the shadow of the approaching examinations. 
 Each pupil teacher is assigned to the ecole annexe for one week 
 at a time, but he spends there only half of each day, either 
 morning or afternoon. The work is so arranged that each 
 of the six classes of the practice school always has a normal 
 pupil, either as observer or as teacher. There is this further 
 difference between Auteuil and Batignolles, that at the former 
 each pupil teaches only one lesson each half day in the class 
 where he happens tO' be. Here again, then, observation work 
 plays a predominant part. 
 
 The actual division of the work will be readily apparent 
 from the sub j oined diagram : ^ 
 
 
 
 
 Before Easter 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 After Easter 
 
 Cours superietir. 
 Cours tnoyen. 
 Cours iUnuntaire. 
 
 ist division . 
 2d division . 
 1st division . 
 2d division 
 1st division . 
 2d division . 
 
 { 
 
 2 pupils of III yr. 
 2 " of III " 
 2 " of II " 
 2 " of II " 
 
 2 " of II " 
 2 " of III " 
 
 pupils of II yr. 
 " of II " 
 " of I " 
 " of I " 
 " of I " 
 " of II " 
 
 Totals . . . 
 
 6 pupils of III yr. 
 6 " of II " 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 pupils of II yr. 
 " of I " 
 
 Under this arrangement, each pupil spends a week in the 
 practice school about once in six weeks, so that this gives a 
 total of sixty half days and sixty lessons actually taught by 
 each one. These are so divided that every subject of the ele- 
 mentary school curriculum receives its proportionate attention. 
 
 On being assigned to a certain class in the practice school, 
 
 ^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 456. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 221 
 
 the pupil is directly responsible for interviewing the class 
 
 teacher and finding out exactly what the class 
 
 is doing in order that he may take up the new Relations with 
 
 work with the least possible disturbance tO' the ^^ P "^ 
 
 1 eacher 
 
 pupils. As has been said before, he is ex- 
 pected to teach one lesson each half day. Before doing this 
 he prepares a written plan of the lesson which he submits to the 
 class teacher and talks over with him the day before. What- 
 ever modifications the latter may suggest are naturally incor- 
 porated in the lesson on the morrow. AH this is written in 
 a special note-book so' that at the end o^f the ptipil's course 
 there is a permanent record of all his lesson plans together 
 with the modifications of the critic teachers, who are of course 
 the regular teachers in the practice school. After the day's 
 work is over, the critic teacher meets the pupil teacher in order 
 to discuss the lesson of the day, as well as to look over and 
 criticize the new jDlan for the following day. The pupil 
 teacher is constantly under the supervision of the class teacher 
 in all his work, even during the recreation periods, for at 
 these times he mingles with the children on the playground and 
 endeavors to help in or tO' modify their games. 
 
 The sum total of the critic's appreciation of the normal 
 pupil's work for the week is made the subject of a special re- 
 port. Here, then, is a second permanent record of each pupil's 
 ability. Besides his regular observation and practice work, 
 the student is assigned a boy by the class teacher whom he is 
 expected to study psychologically both in class and out, in 
 recitation time or on the playground. The result of this 
 study is embodied in a written paper which is submitted di- 
 rectly to the class teacher, appreciated by him and filed away 
 for future reference. The pupil's note^book of lesson plans 
 and criticisms forms quite a valuable document at the end of 
 the course, for he can read his successes and his failures and 
 profit by his past experiences when he goes out into a school 
 of his own. 
 
 At Lyon, a new method was first put into practice in 1903, 
 embodying certain peculiar advantages for the ordinary rural 
 
222 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 normal school which has to prepare teachers for 
 Graduated tj^jg country schools. Under this arrangement, 
 Teaching ^^^ pupil is introduced to the work in the prac- 
 tice school by regular stages. In this ecole 
 annexe, there is a regular cours clementaire, which includes a 
 classe prcparatoire, and a cours moyen of a single division. 
 The third year pupil has entire charge of the former cours, 
 but he has a pupil of the first year to help him with the classe 
 preparatoirc in an adjoining room. This latter, however, sim- 
 ply plays the part of monitor and follows the direction of his 
 older comrade. The pupil of the second year is in charge of 
 the cours moyen with its single division. This forms, then, a 
 graduated apprenticeship : first, monitor, then teacher with a 
 single class, and finally the responsibility not only of teaching 
 one class, but also of planning the work for another. 
 
 In this school also, each pupil teacher receives a carefully 
 prepared outline which he is to keep in mind while making 
 the psychological study of the child assigned to him. Another 
 unique feature employed here is a rapport personnel, a kind of 
 introspective statement made by the student at the end of each 
 tour wherein he notes the particular difficulties of one sort or 
 another that he encountered in any phase of his work and the 
 means he employed in solving them. These records like all 
 the others are preserved in the special note-book used in the 
 practice school, and here too the pupil copies each report on 
 his work that the teachers present to the director of the normal 
 school. Thus this note-book contains not only the lesson 
 plans, duly criticized and corrected, the remarks of the critic 
 teachers and the directors, but also a kind of diary kept by the 
 pupil himself. Even this last is made a subject of comment 
 by the director.^ 
 
 One of the most important features of the training school 
 course is the so-called model lesson. This is not quite a model 
 lesson in our sense of the word, but rather a peculiar form of 
 
 ^ Cf. Appendix J for sample pages taken from a student's note-book 
 showing form of criticism followed by critic teacher, outline for psycholog- 
 ical study, and plan for this rapport personnel. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 223 
 
 practice teaching, for it is almost invariably 
 
 given by one of the pupils. In one school I Model 
 
 ...... ,, , , , ,, , Lessons 
 
 visited this is actually taught about half the 
 
 time by the director of the normal school and so becomes a 
 model lesson de facto, but this practice here was due toi some- 
 what unusual conditions. In this school, as sometimes hap- 
 pens in the smaller normal schools, the model lesson was 
 taught before all three classes, but at the larger institutions 
 this is manifestly impracticable and it is limited to the mem- 
 bers of the third year class. The pupils are invariably one 
 of the classes oi the practice school, and the work presented 
 is merely a part of their regular lessons. 
 
 At Auteuil, for example, there are twenty tO' twenty-five 
 lessons each year taught to the six classes of the ccolc annexe 
 in succession. Thursday mornings, when both 
 the practice school and the normal school are 
 free from ordinary duties, are chosen for this work. On a 
 given week the pupils from one of the classes in the practice 
 school are required to come tO' school at the usual time on 
 Thursday. Two of the normal boys have previously been 
 assigned to prepare a lesson in a given subject to teach tO' that 
 particular class. Naturally they must have conferred with 
 the class teacher in order to ascertain exactly what the chil- 
 dren have been doing recently, so that the course of their 
 regular lessons may be disturbed as little as possible. Be- 
 sides, too, these two pupils have previously submitted their 
 lesson plans to the class teacher for his criticism and sugges- 
 tions. On the appointed day, the pupils of the practice school 
 occupy their usual places while around the room are grouped 
 the third year class of the normal school. In addition to the 
 regular critic teacher, the directors of the normal school and 
 the practice school, and the professor in charge of that subject 
 at the normal school are also present. Just before the lesson 
 is to begin the two pupils that have prepared the lesson draw 
 lots. One O'f them actually teaches the lesson, while the other 
 acts as chief critic. 
 
 At the conclusion of the lesson that I had the pleasure of 
 
224 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 hearing, the pupils of the ecole annexe were dismissed, and 
 
 the chief critic began his criticism, with the 
 Student ■,• , r . 111 . ,. 
 
 Critics aii'ector ot the normal school as presidmg offi- 
 
 cer. This pupil was naturally in a much better 
 position to judge the work than his other classmates, for he 
 had already prepared the same lesson with the idea of teach- 
 ing it. The unfortunate teacher was given every opportunity 
 to defend himself and his method, and occasionally had the 
 satisfaction of turning the tables on his critic. The criticism 
 became general, and each normal pupil was invited and en- 
 couraged to take part in the discussion. 
 
 After the pupils had exhausted their stock of ideas on the 
 subject, the professor at the normal school took up the dis- 
 cussion and improved the opportunity to give 
 ^^^. many good sugg-estions on the special method 
 
 in geography, for that was the subject of the 
 lesson. The directors of the two schools as well as the class 
 teacher expressed their opinions on the teaching as a whole, 
 and on the attitude of the pupil teacher. All the criticisms 
 were remarkably intelligent and well-pointed. In fact the 
 Vvhole exercise could not fail to be of the greatest value 
 not only to the pupils chosen tO' prepare the lesson, but also 
 to the other members oi the normal class, for the criticisms 
 all came from men of large pedagogical knowledge and wide 
 experience. At the end, the teachers held a brief session to 
 discuss privately certain characteristics of the pupil teacher and 
 the lesson that could not be done before the pupils. 
 
 Some similarly arranged model lessons, though necessarily 
 with local modifications are to be found at nearly all the nor- 
 mal schoO'ls, in spite of the fact that the direc- 
 At BatignoUes 1111 1 1 1 • , 
 
 tress 01 one school told me she had given them 
 
 up some time ago because she did not feel that the effort was 
 productive of good results. At BatignoUes, for instance, four 
 pupils are appointed to prepare each lesson. Just before the 
 recitation, these draw lots; one is chosen to teach the class, 
 and the other three to watch particular points about the work, 
 such as the general disposition of the class, the discipline and 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 225 
 
 the method of the recitation. The idea of having several 
 pupils prepare the model lesson is partly due to the fact that 
 in the large schools there is not time for each pupil to give one 
 of these lessons, but by this arrangement every one goes 
 through all the preliminary work, at least. It goes without 
 saying, that the real value of these exercises is in a large meas- 
 ure dependent on the character of the critics. -v; 
 At present, all the older normal school teachers have had 
 considerable practical experience lin the eilementary schools, but 
 during the last twenty years since the estab- 
 lishment of the higher normal schools at Fon- Future 
 
 . Danger 
 
 tenay-aux-Ro'ses and Saint-Cloud, these two 
 
 schools have been sending out io fill the vacancies in the ordi- 
 nary normal schools fromi ithirty-five to forty teachers every 
 year, and the greater part of these, especially the women, with 
 little or no experience in actual teaching. Tliese two great 
 schools are doing much valuable work in providing the cul- 
 tural food oi the future normal school teachers, but they are 
 doing almost nothing 011 the practical side. Fontenay-aux- 
 Roses demands of each pupil about two weeks of practice 
 teaching, but no amount of work of this nature will take the 
 place of a few years' service in actual struggle with the real 
 problems of school teaching and administration. 
 
 No one but a teacher is fitted to become a teacher of teach- 
 ers. The worth of these two higher schools would be con- 
 siderably increased if five years in elementary school work 
 were demanded of all their pupils either before entering the 
 school or immediately after graduation. As a matter of 
 fact, the majority of the candidates for Saint-Cloud have al- 
 ready been primary school teachers, but the authorities make 
 no special effort to increase the number. Even under the 
 present conditions these young and inexperienced normal pro- 
 fessors might improve their practical value by using the ecole 
 annexe as a laboratory for experimental work on their ovvn 
 account. Indeed, it is not a bad idea for an old normal teacher 
 to get back into active work occasionally. It is a good anti- 
 dote for professional fossilization. 
 
226 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 The chief difficulty with the practice teaching in all the nor- 
 mal schools in France as almost everywhere else, is to find 
 time for enough of this work. M. Bayet, the former Director 
 of Primary Education thus sig-malizes this want : " In our 
 normal schools, we should . . . strengthen still more the profes- 
 sional apprenticeship; in a word, we should strive first of all to 
 produce educators." ^ When one contends that the amount 
 of practical work is insufficient, he is immediately confronted 
 with the statement that after all, the normal schools do not 
 pretend to send out experienced teachers but merely to give 
 their students a broad intellectual foundation upon which they 
 may build. It is further pointed out that they cannot become 
 full fledged teachers until, after two years' experience, they 
 gain the certiUcat d'aptitiide pedagogique. While this is the 
 natural method of procedure, and each candidate must be at 
 least twenty years of age,- inasmuch as boys may count all 
 the time spent at the normal school after eighteen and girls 
 after seventeen as a part of their stage, it sometimes happens 
 that the normal pupils gain this certificate immediately after 
 leaving the normal school. In fact, some of the heads of the 
 schools are in favor of spending the first two years of the 
 course in direct preparation for the brevet superieur ^ and de- 
 voting the last year almost exclusively to work leading to the 
 certiiicat. In some respects this would be rather unfortunate, 
 for the latter would then be, for the normal students at least 
 and so for about two thirds of the teaching force, a mere 
 academic diploma rather than a certificate of professional 
 ability. 
 
 The two brevets are very closely related to the work of the 
 
 teacher and the normal school, for the brevet elementaire is 
 
 absolutely required of every teacher in the ele- 
 
 ^^ mentary schools and is a sine qua non for all 
 
 candidates presenting themselves for the entrance examinations 
 
 1 Bayet, Rapport a M. le Ministre de I'Instruction Publiquc, 1900, p. xiv. 
 ^ Decret, June 3, 1902; Bull. Adm., LXXI, p. 865. 
 
 3 This is one of the provisions of the reform in the normal school course 
 of August 4, 1905. Cf. infra; also supra, p. 188, note. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 227 
 
 to the normal schools, while the brevet siiperieur, until 1906 
 practically the final examination for the normal course, will 
 henceforth be taken at the end of the second year in the 
 school and be based upon the work of the first two- years of 
 the normal school. The candidates for these two brevets 
 must be respectively sixteen and eighteen years old on October 
 first of the year in which they present themselves,^ although 
 the age requirement for the first may be waived in the case 
 of all holders of the higher primary certificate. Furthermore 
 the possession of the elementary is demanded of all candi- 
 dates for the higher diploma. These examinations are held 
 twice each year before commissions of at least seven members 
 who are appointed by the rector, and presided over by the 
 academy inspector. 
 
 The commission " for the elementary diploma must include 
 two primary inspectors, a present or past teacher in private 
 schools, a regular teacher in a normal or a higher primary 
 school, and two teachers in the public primary schools. For 
 the higher diploma, the commission must include a primary 
 inspector, the director or the directress of the normal school, 
 two regular teachers in a normal or a higher primary school 
 (one representing the arts and one the sciences) and a public 
 school teacher who holds the higher diploma. The other 
 members are chosen from the present or past representatives 
 of the public educational service, primary, secondary or higher. 
 
 The examination questions for the brevet elementaire are 
 divided into three series : ^ 
 
 I. (i) About a page of dictation. Several 
 questions tending to show whether or not the Elementary 
 pupil has grasped the idea in this extract;* (one ip oma 
 
 half hour allowed for rereading and for answering questions) ; 
 
 1 Decret, Jan. 15, 1894, Art. 107, Gr. VI, p. 541. 
 
 ^ Decret, Aug. 4, 1905; Bull. Adm., LXXVIII, pp. 515-516. To take 
 effect in 1906. 
 
 ^ Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 145-149, as subsequently modified by the 
 arretes of Jan. 20. 1897, and Dec. 9, 1901, Gr. V, pp. 801-802; VI, pp. 747- 
 748; Bull. Adm., LXX, pp. 997-998- 
 
 * These questions are an important modification introduced about four 
 years ago. Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901 ; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 997. 
 
228 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 (2) French composition (two hours) ; 
 
 (3) An arithmetical question on the metric system and a prob- 
 lem to be solved and analyzed (two hours). 
 
 II. (i) Writing examination, including three different styles 
 of letters, corresponding roughly to our Spencerian, vertical, and 
 the so-called natural form. The first of these appears in three 
 different sizes of letters (three quarters of an hour) ; 
 
 (2) Free hand drawing from some simple object in common 
 use — ^plan, cross section, and elevation for the boys, and outline 
 for the girls (one and one half hours in the former case and 
 one hour in the latter) ; 
 
 (3) Elementary gymnastics from the lower school program 
 for the boys (ten minutes), and needle work for the girls (one 
 hour). 
 
 III. Oral examinations (not more than ten minutes on each 
 of the following groups) : 
 
 ( I ) ' Reading and explanation of text ; 
 
 (2) Questions in arithmetic and the metric system ; 
 
 (3) Questions on the elements of national history and civics, 
 also on the geography of France with blackboard map drawing; 
 
 (4) Questions and elementary exercises in solfeggio; 
 
 (5) Questions on the most elementary notions of physics, 
 chemistry, natural science, and for the boys, on the principles of 
 agricultural instruction. 
 
 Each of these groups of examinations is marked on a scale 
 of twenty, except the gymnastics of the second series and the 
 music of the third, where ten is the maximum. The candi- 
 date must receive at least half the maximum mark in each 
 series in order to be admitted to the next, 'but zero in any 
 subject means exclusion. In practice the examination ex- 
 tends over a period of three days. Even then this entails an 
 enormous amount of work on the examiners, for each paper 
 must be passed on by at least two readers. The work is much 
 facilitated by the small number of questions in each subject. 
 This is possible 'because the applicants have all followed the 
 same program and there are not, as with us, a number of 
 different standards to satisfy. The number of failures in the 
 second and third series is comparatively small, being under 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 229 
 
 ten per cent of the total number of candidates, or less than one 
 fifth of all those rejected. In these examinations of the last 
 few years, the girls have succeeded rather better than the boys. 
 The following table shows the results of the two examinations 
 held each year for the years 1899-1904.^ 
 
 Elementary Diploma. — Per cent of Successful Candidates . 
 
 1899. 1900. 1901. 1903. 1903. 1904. 
 
 
 ISt. 
 
 SI 
 60 
 
 2d. 
 
 49 
 48 
 
 1st. 
 
 54 
 55 
 
 2d. 
 
 46 
 53 
 
 ISt. 
 
 56 
 59 
 
 2d. 
 
 50 
 
 54 
 
 ISt. 
 
 54 
 58 
 
 2d. ISt. 
 
 50 54 
 48 S3 
 
 2d. 
 
 43 
 42 
 
 52 
 S3 
 
 3d. 
 
 Boys 
 
 Girls 
 
 41 
 
 47 
 
 The questions for all the subjects of the first and second 
 series are chosen by the academy inspector, sent by him under 
 seal to the chairman of the examination board 
 and opened by the latter in the presence of the Marking 
 candidates, but the character of the oral ex- 
 amination naturally depends upon the individuality of the 
 examiners. The board sitting in committee of the whole de- 
 termines the scale of marking in the various subjects, and de- 
 cides upon what shall constitute " an error." Tliis is a wise 
 provision for it enables the committee to 'apply some corredt- 
 ive measures if, as sometimes hap'pens, the academy inspect- 
 or's quesitions are found to be over severe. In spite of oc- 
 casional assertions to the contrary, these examinations are 
 absolutely fairly administered, for in the 
 written part the pupil writes his name on one Examination 
 
 corner of the paper, folds it over and seals it. . , .^\^ f , 
 ^ ••• ' _ Administered 
 
 This seal is in no' case broken until after the 
 paper has been read and marked. For the oral questions, the 
 examination board breaks up into commissions of twO' or more 
 members each and these divide the various subjects among 
 them. This not only relieves the strain on the examiner but 
 also tends to minimize the personal equation, for every mark 
 is thus made up from the combined judgment of at least two 
 members. 
 
 ^Bull. Adm., LXVIII, p. 1093; LXXII, p. 1164; LXXVI, p. 1004. 
 
230 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Despite the fact that roughly speaking only about one half 
 the candidates are successful, the examination does not seem 
 very severe, especially when one remembers 
 Importance ^i^^iX the possession of the brevet elcmcntairc is 
 Diploma ^^^^ minimum qualification demanded by the 
 State for entering the teaching profession. It 
 is only fair to add, however, that many of t^he departments are 
 in a position to demand much more than this, but after read- 
 ing some of the questions asked at these examinations one is 
 satisfied that the statement that to-day practically every teacher 
 in France holds this elementary diploma is not of so much im- 
 portance after all/ It should be a much prouder boast that 
 between sixty and seventy per cent of the teachers entering the 
 teaching profession each year have had a normal school 
 training. 
 
 The examination for the brevet superieur, until now prac- 
 tically the leaving examination of the normal schools, will after 
 1905 come at the end of the second year and be 
 T^.'f ^^ based upon the work of the first twO' years of 
 
 Diploma '■ ■' ^ 
 
 the school course. Students will be required 
 to pass this examination as a basis of promotion tO' the third 
 class. It should be noted, however, that the normal teachers 
 have nothing whatever to do' with setting tlie papers. These 
 as well as those in all the other examinations of the primary 
 school system are under the direct control of the central au- 
 thorities as represented by the academy inspector. Each can- 
 didate for the higher diploma must be at least eighteen years 
 of age, and must already hold the elementary diploma." These 
 examinations are held twice yearly, the first near the close of 
 the academic year, and the second not long after the re-entry in 
 the fall, before commissions chosen under exactly the same 
 conditions as those for the elementary diploma. A slight 
 modification in favor of the candidates has only recently been 
 introduced. By this each one may submit at the time of the 
 examination his reports for the previous year signed by the 
 
 1 For sample examination questions, see Appendix E. 
 
 2 Decret, Jan. 15, 1894, Art. 107, Gr. VI, p. 541. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 23 1 
 
 head of the school in which he received his preparation. In 
 case the pupil is shghtly below the minimum standard in either 
 part of the examination, a very good record here may help 
 him through/ 
 
 The examination - consists of two series, the first written 
 and the second oral : ^ 
 
 I. (i) A paper composed of two questions: the first on arith- 
 metic (including for the boys only, geometry in its practical 
 applications) ; the second on physics and natural science, with 
 their common applications to hygiene, industry, agriculture and 
 horticulture (four hours for the two parts) ; 
 
 (2) French composition on a sulbject from literature or ethics 
 (three hours) ; 
 
 1 Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901, Art. 141 ; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 996. 
 
 2 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 150-153, as modified by the arretes of Jan. 
 24, 1896, July 31, 1897, Dec. 9, 1901, and May 10, 1904, Gr. V, pp. 802-804; 
 VI, pp. 677, 781-782; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 996; LXXV, pp. 669-671. 
 
 3 The new requirements for the examination, which may be followed or 
 not at the candidate's option during 1906 and 1907, but become obligatory 
 in igo8, modify the existing program somewhat. The drawing is trans- 
 ferred from the first part to the second. The mathematics for the boys in 
 the first part consists of a practical problem in arithmetic or geometry and 
 one theoretical question; for the girls, a problem and a question on arith- 
 metical theory. The changes in the second part of the examination are so 
 general that it seems best to give them in full : 
 
 I. Oral questions on 
 
 (a) Psychologic ethics and their applications to education. 
 
 (b) The essential facts of French history, and its relations with 
 
 general history since 1492. 
 
 (c) Geography of France, with map drawing on the blackboard, to- 
 
 gether with the facts of general geography. 
 
 (d) Arithmetic, oral and written, with algebra and geometry for the 
 
 boys, 
 (r) Physics, chemistry, and natural history, with their applications. 
 
 II. Reading and explanation of a selection in French taken from a list of 
 authors drawn up every three years by the Minister. Fifteen minutes are 
 allowed for preparation. Grammatical questions. 
 
 III. Reading aloud and rapid translation, after a quarter of an hour for 
 preparation, of an easy selection from a modern language. Simple conver- 
 sation in the foreign language on the text read. 
 
 IV. Drawing from a model in relief (three hours). 
 
 V. Examination in music: musical dictation, followed by simple theoret- 
 ical questions on the text dictated.. 
 
 Arrete, Aug. 4, 1905; Bull. Adm., LXXVIII, pp. 518-519. 
 
232 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 (3) Drawing from a model in relief (three hours) ; 
 
 (4) Modern languages ^ (English, German, Spanish, Italian 
 or Arabic) ; written questions based upon the modem language 
 programs of the normal schools; written replies also in the for- 
 eign language; use of the dictionary allowed (two 'hours) ; 
 
 II. The oral examinations of this series are divided into seven 
 groups : 
 
 ( 1 ) Morale and education ; 
 
 (2) French, including the reading and explanation of some 
 text taken from a list of authors decreed by the Minister every 
 three years, ^ and questions on literary history of the authors of 
 the last four centuries; 
 
 (3) The most important characters and the essential facts of 
 general history and the history of France, with special refer- 
 ence to modern times : that is, since 1453 ; 
 
 (4) The geography of France including map drawing, to- 
 gether with general geographical principles ; 
 
 (5) Arithmetic in its practical applications, book-keeping (and 
 for the boys only, elementary principles of algebra, geometry, 
 surveying and leveling) ; 
 
 (6) Principles of physics, chemistry and natural history (and 
 for boys only, agriculture and horticulture) ; 
 
 (7) a. Reading aloud with rapid translation, after a quarter 
 of an hour for preparation, of an easy selection from the 
 language chosen by the candidate (English, German, Italian, 
 Spanish or Arabic). The first part of the examination, devoted 
 chiefly to the pronunciation, accent, and readiness in reading, is 
 marked on a scale of ten ; 
 
 h. Simple conversation in the foreign language on the text 
 read. The candidate is invited to summarize or to reproduce the 
 substance of the passage. Grammar questions, together with 
 
 1 This makes an advance over the regulations of January, 1887, for at 
 thait time the examination included only a short translation into French 
 with the aid of a dictionary, and was allowed only half as much time. 
 {Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 151, Gr. V, p. 803). At that date modern lan- 
 guage study had only just been made obligatory in the normal schools. 
 The conversation in the foreign language of both the first and the second 
 part were added in 1904. Arrete, May 10, 1904; Bull. Adm., LXXV., pp. 
 670-671. To take effect in 1905. 
 
 2 The similarity between this method of procedure and that of our col- 
 lege entrance examinations in English will readily be noticed. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 This 
 
 the interpretation of words and phrases found therein 
 second part is Hkewise marked on a scale of ten. 
 
 Each of these oral examinations is limited to fifteen minutes. 
 
 The same general conditions as to marking-, failure and 
 admissibility to the second series prevaiil here ajs in the examina- 
 tion for the elementary diploma, but by a recent regulation,^ 
 a candidate that fails on the oral examination may try this part 
 again at the next session without being obliged to repeat the 
 first series. The whole examination continues at least three 
 days, for the French and the science of the first series cannot 
 both come the same day. 
 
 The following table shows the results of the two examina- 
 tions held each year for the years 1899- 1904: 
 
 Higher Diploma. — Per cent of Successful Candidates } 
 
 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 
 
 
 ISt. 
 
 68 
 60 
 
 2d. 
 
 42 
 43 
 
 ISt. 
 
 68 
 62 
 
 2d. 
 
 44 
 46 
 
 ISt. 
 
 62 
 
 2d. 
 
 38 
 42 
 
 ISt. 
 
 74 
 59 
 
 2d. 
 
 42 
 53 
 
 ISt. 
 
 69 
 60 
 
 2d. jist. 
 
 43 \ 69 
 46 1 61 
 
 2d. 
 
 Boys 
 
 Girls 
 
 49 
 50 
 
 The girls no longer maintain the general superiority that 
 they showed in the examination for the elementary diploma. 
 The figures for the first session each year are considerably 
 higher than the corresponding ones of the second session. 
 This shows conclusively what one might naturally expect — the 
 superiority of the normal school pupils over the other candi- 
 dates, for inasmuch as these former are obliged to present 
 themselves for this examination, they are all found at the first 
 session which comes toward the end of the school year. 
 
 In its legal importance, the brevet superiew does not com- 
 pare with either the elementary diploma which precedes or 
 the certiiicat d'aptitude pedagogique which 
 follows, these two being the minimum quali- 
 fications for appointment, the former as 
 stagiaire and the latter as titulaire. The only 
 
 ^ Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901, Art. 150; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 996. 
 ^'Bull. Adm., LXVIII, p. 1093; LXXII, p. 1164; LXXVI, p. 1005. 
 
 Importance of 
 
 the Higher 
 
 Diploma 
 
234 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 positions where the higher diploma is actually demanded ^ are 
 as a minimum requirement for the principal of a primary school 
 which has a cours complementaire attached, as well as for the 
 ordinary teachers in this latter school and in the higher pri- 
 mary ischools.^ Neverthdess in actual practice in most of the 
 departments, it is possible for the academy inspector to insist 
 on a higher standard for his primary school teachers than the 
 elementary diploma, for he will naturally make his appoint- 
 ments from the holders of the higher diploma if there are 
 such. It would be a great step forward if this practical con- 
 dition in many of the departments could only be made the ac- 
 tual condition in all, and this higher diploma be made the 
 minimum requirement for entering the teaching profession. A 
 mere casual glance at ,the subject matter of the two examina- 
 tions will sho'W what t'his would mean, foT, ^while the 'Stand- 
 ard of the elementary examination is disappointingly low, the 
 range of the higher betokens an introduction at least to a 
 liberal education. 
 
 The examination for the ccrtificat d'aptitudc pedagogique, 
 though less comprehensive than for the elementary and higher 
 
 diplomas, is naturally far more important, for 
 
 CcrhUcat j-j-^jg definitely determines whether or not the 
 
 d/t sta^iaire can become a full-fledged teacher. 
 
 All candidates must be at least twenty years of 
 age, must hold the elementary diploma and must have had at 
 least two years of practical teaching experience. Normal 
 school pupils, however, may count for this last requirement the 
 time spent at the normal schools after eighteen years of age.^ 
 The examination commission, appointed by the rector and 
 presided over by the academy inspector, consists of at least 
 ten members. These are chosen from among the primary in- 
 spectors, the directors and professors of the normal and higher 
 
 1 Cf. the new regulation requiring this as the basis of promotion to the 
 third class of the normal school. Decret, Aug. 4, 1905, Art. 2; Bull. Adm., 
 LXXVIII, p. 520. 
 
 - Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 31-32, Gr. V, p. 727. 
 
 ^Decret, June 3, 1902; Bull. Adm., LXXI, p. 865. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 235 
 
 primary schools, and the regular teachers of the department. 
 The commission holds only one session a year, at a date, for 
 the written examination, fixed by the academy inspector some- 
 time in February. This takes place in the chef-lieu of each 
 arrondissement under the direction of the primary inspector. 
 The practical examination must take place some time before 
 December first of the same year. 
 
 The examination consists of three series : written, prac- 
 tical, and oral.^ The written is an elementai'y discussion of 
 some question pertaining to instruction or education (three 
 hours). In the practical test the candidate teaches a class, 
 preferably his own, for at least three hours. In the case of 
 women teachers, this takes place in ^either an ecole maternelle 
 or an ordinary girls' school, but this certificate obviously carries 
 the title of titulaire only in the grade of school where the exam- 
 ination is passed. The examining board in this case is a sub- 
 commission designated by the academy inspector, and consist- 
 ing O'f a primary inspector and two other members. The oral 
 examination for the candidates that have passed successfully 
 the other two series takes place before the whole commission. 
 There are two parts to this : first, in valuing the regular 
 monthly note-ibooks ; and second, in questions bearing directly 
 on the work of the second part of the test or on practical peda- 
 gogy (not more than twenty minutes for this whole third 
 series). 
 
 Each of these series is marked on a scale of twenty, and the 
 candidate must receive at least ten in each, in order to be 
 eligible for the following series. In case O'f failure in the 
 second or third series, success in the first will be held over 
 until the following session. On passing this triple ordeal 
 (and it is by no- means a simple matter, for one reads of can- 
 didates that have presented themselves eight times before suc- 
 ceeding)^ the teacher is "admitted'' but is not definitely placed 
 on the list of titulaires unless there is a vacancy. 
 
 1 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 154-164. as modified by thtarretes of July 
 24, 1888, July 27, 1893, and Dec. 9, 1901, Gr. V, pp. 804-806; VI, pp. no, 
 517-518; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 995. 
 
 ~ Brereton, Rural Schools of Northwest France, p. 46. 
 
236 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 The following table shows the results of the examination 
 for the years 1899- 1904: 
 
 Certificat d' Aptitude Pidagogique . — Per cent of Successful Candidates. ^ 
 
 Men . . 
 Women 
 
 1899. 
 
 1900. 
 
 1901. 
 
 1902. 
 
 1903. 
 
 45 
 48 
 
 43 
 47 
 
 45 
 49 
 
 57 
 58 
 
 54 
 52 
 
 1904. 
 
 47 
 48 
 
 Such are the professional examinations that confront the 
 ordinary teacher of the French primary schools — a remark- 
 ably well-organized and well-administered sys- 
 Lrenera ^^.^ ^£ ^g,g|-g_ 'p^g prevailing division into 
 
 Characteristics . . . 
 
 written and oral examinations is an arrange- 
 ment that to us in America is comparatively unknown. It 
 certainly gives the examiners an opportunity to study the 
 working of the candidate's ?nind in a way that a written 
 test never allows, but in the case of unskilful questioners, 
 it is most trying for the nervous unfortunaltes. In the 
 case of the pro'fessionail examlinatioos and the entrance 
 examinations to the various schools, the isystem would 
 seem to have an immense advantage over our exclu- 
 sively written tests, but in the leaving examination of the 
 very elementary schools, it appears as rather a -waste of time 
 and energy, especially since it provides no opportunity for 
 helping out a pupil that may have been unfortunate in the 
 written test. Another point that has undoubtedly attracted at- 
 tention is the small number of questions asked in each sub- 
 ject at the written examination, one or at most two. This 
 forms a str'iking contrast to many of our (examination 
 papers. This is one thing that makes possible the rapid 
 correction of papers, for almost invariably these examinations 
 are corrected the same day on which they are written, and the 
 candidates usually know in the evening the result of the day's 
 trial. 
 
 The number of candidates that have received the brevets 
 
 ^ Bull. Adm., LXVII], p. 1094; LXXII. p. 1168; LXXVI. p. 1005. 
 
THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 237 
 
 de capacite and the certificat d' aptitude pedagogique from 
 1893 to 1904 are as follows : ^ 
 
 Years. 
 
 Brevet 
 Elhnentaire . 
 
 Brevet 
 SupSrieur. 
 
 Certificat d' Aptitude 
 Pedagogiqiie. 
 
 1893.- 
 1894.- 
 1895. • 
 
 1896. . 
 
 1897. . 
 1898. . 
 1899.- 
 1900. . 
 1901. 
 
 1902. . 
 
 1903. • 
 
 1904. • 
 
 
 
 
 14,771 
 14,990 
 
 15,433 
 16,463 
 
 16,159 
 17,025 
 16,686 
 17,010 
 18,509 
 19,208 
 
 20,399 
 20,850 
 
 3,440 
 3,436 
 3,586 
 
 3,787 
 3,686 
 
 3,659 
 3,713 
 3,620 
 
 3,83s 
 4,329 
 4,50s 
 4,989 
 
 3,731 
 3,229 
 
 3,057 
 3,054 
 3,254 
 3.321 
 3,279 
 3,156 
 3,500 
 8,904 
 3,863 
 4,689 
 
 1 For the years 1893-1897, cf. Organisation et Situation de I'Enseigne- 
 ment Primaire, p. 262. Since 1897, cf. the numbers of the Bulletin Ad- 
 ministratif. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 The Primary Higher Normal Schools 
 
 In 1879,^ a new law was passed requiring every department 
 to provide for the training of its women as well as its men 
 teachers either in schools oi its own or in those 
 Purpose in supported in common by two departments. 
 Four years were allowed for complying with 
 this demand. When a similar law " was proposed the year 
 before, only nineteen of the departments had girls' normal 
 schools, though the great majority of the others partly com- 
 pensated for this want by the so-called normal courses. The 
 conditions as regards the boys' schools were practically re- 
 versed, for these were to be found in nearly all the depart- 
 ments, but even thus compliance with the new law meant 
 founding more than eighty new normal schools and supplying 
 them with teachers. The first of these needs was merely a 
 question of finance, but furnishing the teaching force was quite 
 a different matter. The establishment of the primary higher 
 normal school at Fontenay-aux-Roses was a partial attempt to 
 solve the difficulty. Saint-Cloud followed soon after, and thus 
 the State had completed its primary system. These two 
 schools still remain unique in the annals of educational history. 
 They have done a great work but their need and usefulness are 
 not yet over, for they have to provide for the constant re- 
 newal of the teaching force in the departmental normal schools. 
 
 The school at Fontenay-aux-Roses was established July 13, 
 1880.^ The first lessons of the initial term were held in the 
 
 1 Loi, Aug. 9, 1879, Gr. V, pp. 72-74. 
 
 - Proposition presentee par M. Bert, Apr. I, 1878, also accompanying 
 statistical tables. Gr. IV, pp. 780, 864-876. 
 ^ Decret, Gr. V, p. 201. 
 238 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 239 
 
 departmental normal school at Paris, and it was not until the 
 
 following- November that the new enterprise 
 
 was finally installed in its present home. The i'ontenay- 
 
 11-, 1 • 1 • 1 • aux-Roses 
 
 school IS pieasantly situated ni a charmmg 
 
 valley about five or six miles 'from Paris, and the installation of 
 
 buildings and equipment is unquestionably the finest I found 
 
 anywhere in France. The Minister has always been very 
 
 generous in gifts to the school, for on every hand one sees 
 
 beautiful casts and costly pictures. 
 
 For the first time, the pupils are treated like young women 
 
 and not like school girls. They are left free to plan their time 
 
 outside the class room as they see fit and are 
 
 merely held responsible for accomplishing their , ^^ ^^ , 
 
 . ^ . ^ ^ ^ - the School 
 
 work. Durnig the noon hour and the after- 
 noon recreation period, they are even allowed to leave the 
 grounds and walk about the town ot country, the cwily require- 
 ment being that they sign the porter's book and enter the time 
 of leaving and returning. Eaich student has her own room 
 where she anay do' as she pleases, decorate as suits her fancy 
 and spend as mu<^h time as she likes. This would hardly 
 be worthy of note were it not so entirely at variance with the 
 rules and regulations that prevail in the lower normal schools. 
 Not only are the pupils here under no- expense while they are 
 at the school, but each one receives two hundred francs per 
 year from the State. In return they have to contract to serve 
 at least ten years in the service of public instruction or in case 
 of failure so to do, to reimburse the State for the expense of 
 their living at the school. The school has at its disposal every 
 other Sunday, a loge at the Come die Frangaise, one of the thea- 
 ters subsidized by the government, and, except for the times 
 when questionable (plays are being pirodu'ced, this is regularly 
 occupied by pupils ot teachers. 
 
 The hour after dinner every evening the girls spend to- 
 gether in dancing or general social intercourse. They cer- 
 tainly ought to enjoy their sojourn at the school, for all the en- 
 vironment is favorable. There are, however, no social organi- 
 zations among the pupils themselves. The teachers mingle 
 
240 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 with them somewhat, but even here apparently never let down 
 the 'barriers that distinguish them from the student body. 
 There are three general study rooms, one for the first and 
 second classes in letters, one for the same two classes in science, 
 and the third for all the last year pupils. Here they do most 
 of their studying, but one finds the young women scattered 
 about the 'halls in winter or the gardens in summer busily 
 poring over their books. The whole atmosphere of the place 
 is quiet and restful, and one fails to notice any feeling of re- 
 straint in the air. This general freedom and the early suc- 
 cess of the .work were due to ,Felix Pecaut, the practical found- 
 er aiid first head off tilie institution. There has always been 
 a directress over the school, but until the year after M. Pecaut 
 retired in 1896, she had no responsibility for the direction of 
 studies. M. Pecaut's deep philosophical insight into pedagogi- 
 cal problems and his broad sympathy dominated the institution 
 for so long that it has been very difficult to fill the gap caused 
 by his retirement. 
 
 Admisision to the school is entirely by competitive examinia- 
 tiion, the number of vacancies being determined each year by 
 
 the Minister. To be eligible for this examina- 
 
 Admission . , ., , . . , , 
 
 tion, ithe pupil must be between nineteen and 
 
 twenty-five years of age ; must hodd the brevet superieur, one of 
 the haccalaureats or the secondary diploma granted by girls' 
 schools, and have enJtered upon the ten years' service agree- 
 ment.'- Like the other examinations in Franc«, this consists 
 of two parts, a written and an oral, with some practical work 
 in sewing, the first of these taking place in the chefs-lieux of 
 the various departments, and the second at the normal school 
 itself. Oirdinarily twice as many candidates are summoned 
 to Paris as there lare vacancies to fill, so the examination board 
 has an opportunity to consider something more than mere 
 knowledge in choosing the new pupils. In 1903, twenty out 
 of the eighty-seven originall candidates in letters were asked to 
 oome up foir the oral examination. 
 
 At present, these pupils seem to be coming in large num- 
 
 ^ Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 114, Gr. V, p. 794. 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 241 
 
 bers from the secondary schools, whereas when Fontenay was 
 first started the majority was made up of normal school teach- 
 ers, who found this an easy road to a directorship, or of young 
 women already teaching* in the elementary 
 schools. At that time, while there were three Character 
 
 classes at the school, the third was primarily a r- jj . 
 
 ^ ■' Candidates 
 
 training for normal school directresses, and by 
 far the great majority of the heads of the girls' normal schools 
 in France to-day are former pupils of that class. At the pres- 
 ent time, there is still a third year, but since 1896 it has formed 
 an integral part O'f the regular course. 
 
 The whole series of entrance examinations is based upon 
 the subject matter of the lower normal schools and covers 
 practically the same ground as that for the brevet superieur. 
 There is this difference, however, that the pupils have now 
 begun to specialize and their work is entirely devoted to let- 
 ters or to science. Both in the entrance examinations and 
 in the work of the school, the classes in peda- 
 erooT, ethics and modern languasres are com- ^ Written 
 
 ^ '=-^' ... . Examination 
 
 mon to- the two divisions. The written ex- 
 aminations for the candidates in letters include : ( i ) literature 
 or grammar; (2) pedagogy or ethics; (3) history and geog-- 
 raphy; and (4) a modern language: for the candidates in 
 science: (i) mathematics; (2) physics, chemistry and natural 
 sciences; (3) mechanical and free hand drawing; (4) a mod- 
 ern language; ^ and (5) pedagogy or ethics.^ The modern 
 language paper, prepared with the help of the dictionary, is 
 allowed twO' hours and each of the others four. 
 
 These papers are then all sent on to Paris to be judged by 
 the special commission appointed by the Minister for that 
 purpose, and consisting chiefly of the professors at the school. 
 
 1 The regulation of Jan., 1887, which gave the pupil a choice between 
 English and German has since been modified to include as well Italian, 
 Spanish and Arabic. Arrete, Jan. 9, 1S95, Art. 118, Gr. VI, p. 590. Slightly 
 modified by Arrete, May 10, 1904. Bull. Adm., LXXV, p. 668. 
 
 - The scope of these examinations will readily be found by referring to 
 the examinations for the brevet superieur, Appendix F. 
 
242 
 
 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 The best of the writers are invited to Fontenay for the final 
 test. The 'candidates come from all over France and even 
 from Algeria, but they have to bear their entire traveling ex- 
 penses. During the three or four days of the examinations, 
 they live at the school, but still at their own expense — a 
 merely nominal sum, however, about three francs per day. 
 This jfinancial arrangement may seem a little severe, for half of 
 those called to Paris are sure to be disappointed. The prize 
 is worth striving for, nevertheless, for the successful young 
 women are practically sure of lucrative and honorable posi- 
 tions all tlieir lives with retirement pensions at fifty-five years 
 of age. At all events, there is no dearth of candidates. 
 
 The oral examination is less comprehensive though fully 
 
 as important. For the candidates in letters it consists in : 
 
 ( I ) presentation of a topic in grammar, liter- 
 
 . ature, history or geography; (2) reading and 
 Examination . \ & t. 1 ./ ' v / t. 
 
 explanation of a text chosen trom the list oi 
 authors for the brevet superieur; and (3) a. reading and 
 rapid translation of a selection (English, German, Italian, 
 Spanish or Arabic) taken from one O'f the books on the list 
 drawn up every three years by the Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion; h. a conversation in the foreign language; the candi- 
 date is invited to summarize or to reproduce the substance of 
 the assigned text.^ 
 
 For the science candidates, this examination includes : 
 (i) mathematics; (2) physics, chemistry or natural sciences; 
 and (3) a modern language. These questions are made 
 out by the commission and are assigned to the pupils by 
 lot, an hour being given them (except for the modern 
 language) to sit down quietly and think over not only the 
 substance but also the form of the response. During this 
 time, they may make any notes or drafts they choose which 
 they are perfectly free to use in their answers. Indeed, this 
 part of the examination takes the form of an impromptu lec- 
 ture with the examining board as audience. The other pupils 
 
 ^Arrets, May 10, 1904. Bull. Adm., LXXV, p. 669. (To take effect in 
 1505-) 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 243 
 
 often file in quietly to listen to their less fortunate companions. 
 After the candidate has finished, the committee usually ask a 
 few questions either on the subject under consideration or some 
 allied branch. In the second part of the science examination 
 above, the examiners have an opportunity to touch lightly 
 upon the other subjects than the one specifically treated, the 
 student's answer often suggesting lines of questioning- to be 
 pursued. 
 
 There is furthermore a practical test in sewing which is 
 also common to the two- sections. 
 
 The forty-eight pupils ^ at Fontenay in 1903 were divided 
 evenly between letters and science. The accompanying daily 
 programs will show that in their work at the 
 
 111 r 11 1 11- -I- 1 Instruction 
 
 school they follow the general hues mdicated 
 by their entrance examinations, for within these larger limits 
 the graduates are all specialists. The number of subjects here 
 is as small as that in the departmental normal schools is cor- 
 respondingly large. The courses are carried on in rather a 
 peculiar way, for each subject is in charge of a professor, who 
 comes out from Paris about once a week, while 
 
 there is a resident assistant or tutor to conduct ^, „ . 
 
 the leachers 
 
 the work during the other meetings of the class. 
 These professors, who by the way are nearly all men, together 
 with their fellows at Saint-Cloud are among "ffie'best men to 
 be found in their subjects in the field of secondary and hig-her 
 education. The assistants^, invar^a:bljwoi^ are chosen from 
 the ablest teachers of tHe departmental normal schools, though 
 without any other special training. These regular pro'fessors 
 are all specialists of the very first rank and are in a position 
 to give the pupils an orientation and a breadth of real culture 
 that is possible in no other school oi the primary system save 
 at Saint-Cloud. 
 
 1 The budget of 1903 provided for an increase of ten in the number 
 of these students in order to furnish the additional teachers required by 
 the departmental normal schools in consequence of the law of laicization 
 of 1902. {Budget du Ministere de I'Instruction Puhlique, 1903, p. z^-) 
 
DAILY PROGRAM OF THE PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL, 
 
 Year. 
 
 Monday. 
 II. 
 
 FONTENA Y-AUX-ROSES. ' 
 
 III. 
 
 Letters. 
 
 g^i to II 
 
 Lecture on ethical or pedagogical questions. 
 
 Letters and science. 
 
 1% to 3% 
 Modern 
 history. 
 
 3% to 4% 
 
 Modern and 
 
 contemporary 
 
 history. 
 
 1% to 2^ 
 Elocution. 
 
 Tuesday. 
 II. 
 
 ,9H to ii/< 
 Literature and 
 French Com- 
 position. 
 
 2^ to 3% 
 Elocution. 
 
 3H to sH 
 
 Geography. 
 
 Two classes together. 
 
 III. 
 
 5% to 63/ 
 Geography. 
 
 g% to II 
 
 Lecture on ethical or pedagogical questions. 
 
 Letters and science. 
 
 9% 
 
 Mathematics. 
 
 (Each class on alternate weeks.) 
 
 1% 
 Geology. 
 
 4% , 
 Cosmography. 
 
 3J^ 
 Zoology. 
 
 Geology. 
 Mathematics. 
 
 Elocution. 
 
 Year.... I. 
 
 Wednesday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 Thursday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 8 to 9 
 
 Modern 
 
 languages. 
 
 II to iiji^ 
 Gymnastics. 
 
 iK to 3M 
 
 Grammar 
 
 (every two 
 
 weeks). 
 
 3?< to sH 
 Psychology. 
 
 iH to 334 
 
 Grammar 
 
 (every two weeksK 
 
 Two classes together. 
 
 9 to IQ 
 
 Modern 
 
 languages. 
 
 loj^ to II 
 Gymnastics. 
 
 ~i?4 to 334.^ 
 
 10 to II 
 
 Modern 
 languages. 
 
 Cutting and fitting (every two weeks). 
 Elective. Three classes together. 
 
 Music. 
 
 5>2 to 7 
 Three classes together. 
 
 Science. 
 
 Zoology. Laboratory 
 (every two weeks). 
 
 83/ 
 
 Modern 
 
 languages. 
 
 II 
 Gymnastics. 
 
 Gymnastics. 
 
 i?4 
 
 Physics. 
 
 Two classes together. 
 
 Psychology. 1 
 
 1% 
 
 Cutting and fitting (every two weeks). 
 Three classes together. 
 
 Music. Three classes together. 
 
 Year.... I. 
 
 gH to II '/ 
 
 Literature 
 
 and French 
 
 composition. 
 
 Friday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 Saturday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 9j<toii^ 
 
 Literature 
 
 and t rench 
 
 composition. 
 
 3% to sM 
 
 Ethics. 
 
 Two classes together. 
 
 P 6 to 73^ 
 
 R Ancient and 
 L mediaeval 
 I history. 
 
 Science. 
 
 9}4 
 
 Botany. 
 
 Two classes together. 
 
 Literature and French composi- 
 tion. Two classes together. 
 
 Chemistry. 
 Alternately for each of the three classes. 
 
 iK 
 
 Drawing. 
 Three classes together. 
 
 Ethics. 
 Two classes together. 
 
 ' Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignemcnt Primaire, pp. 472-473. 
 
 244 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 245 
 
 The classes ordinarily last for an hour and a half, the first 
 thirty or forty minutes being occupied by one of the pupils in 
 presenting a given subject previously assigned 
 for her study, subsequently criticized by her 
 classmates and then by the professor, the remainder of the 
 time being occupied with the lecture proper. This is certainly 
 most admirable practice work, for, be it remembered, these are 
 the very students that are to become the professors of the 
 lower normal schools. The classes in the school are so small, 
 only eight or ten pupils, that each one has several opportunities 
 in the course of the year to lecture just as she will have to 
 do later before pupils of her own. The other meetings of the 
 class, in charge of the tutors, are less formal and give more 
 opportunity for personal help. This combination is said to give 
 very satisfactory results, for the resident teachers can come 
 into close touch with the individual pupils and can thus min- 
 ister to their several wants. 
 
 A very important feature of the work at Fontenay is the 
 general assembly on Monday mornings. At this time the stu- 
 dents are addressed by some of the most prominent educa- 
 tional and literary people of all France. It was through these 
 talks that M. Pecaut was able to exert such a profound and 
 lasting influence upon the minds of his teachers and his stu- 
 dents. These Monday morning lectures are chiefly confined 
 to discussions of large ethical or pedagogical questions of cur- 
 rent interest and form a part of the required work of all the 
 students. 
 
 A part of the time allotted to psychology is devoted to 
 a systematic study of the history O'f education, the subject be- 
 ing carefully developed from tftetimFa'f'''XBflfS'^^^ 
 phon down to the present day, treated, how- ^'f °'^\. ° 
 
 ^ / . •" . Education 
 
 ever, from the point oi view of educational 
 theory rather than of educational practice. It is decidedly un- 
 fortunate that so much of the historv^ of education to-day is 
 built upon that foundation. 
 
 Tlie term cultural may fairly denominate the work at 
 Fontenay, and the criticisms of subject matter or method of 
 
246 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 presentatioai of the student's reports are eiTtirely friom the ideal 
 
 rather than the practical standard. In spite of the fact that 
 
 the future pupils of these students will be normal school young 
 
 women, yet it is somewhat difficult to understand how they can 
 
 train others to be effective teachers unless they themselves are 
 
 practical teachers. This becomes all the more striking when 
 
 one considers that the greater part of these students come from 
 
 secondary schools and yet are destined to become the teachers 
 
 of the primary normal schools. 
 
 For about two weeks, the second year pupils are sent to do 
 
 regular practice teaching either in a communal school^^at 
 
 Fontenay or in one of the Paris schools. The 
 
 ^ , . student is given over to the charsre of the di- 
 
 1 caching ^ _ _ => 
 
 rectress and is required to spend all her time 
 at the school. She may be kept in one class throughout the 
 period or sent around to various classes, but at all events she 
 is supposed to become thoroughly conversant with all the work 
 oi the school in its various aspects. The assistants at the 
 normal school as well as the primary inspector attend as many 
 of her classes as they can and help her in every possible way. 
 As has already been pointed out, however, this is entirely iQQ^ 
 supei;^cial;,.a way for the future normal school teachers of 
 France ito get their practical knowledge of the primary schools ; 
 and here is one condition that will militate seriously against the 
 future usefulness of the school, for these two weeks may be 
 the only time that many of these teachers will ever spend in 
 a primary school. 
 
 At the close of the three years' course, the pupils come up 
 for the examination for th:ti certiflcat d'aptitude au professorat 
 
 des Scales normalef^ov special certificate for 
 
 Normal teaching in the normal schools. Comparatively 
 
 C tifi ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ pupils at Fontenay or Saint-Cloud 
 
 fail in these examinations, and the few that are 
 so unfortunate usually receive provisional appointments to nor- 
 mal school positions which are made permanent as soon as this 
 condition, so to speak, is passed off. Fontenay is still the 
 training school for the directresses of the normal schools, 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 247 
 
 though Saint-Cloud does not now and never has played exactly 
 the same role for the boys' schools. 
 
 As has just been pointed out, Saint-Cloud has had a some- 
 what different mission to perform than has Fontenay, despite 
 the fact that both were started about the same 
 time and under the influence of the same gen- 
 eral spirit. The normal school at Saint-Cloud was formally 
 organized December 30, 1882,^ although previous to that time 
 there had been two normal courses. The first, for a few 
 months at the end of the school year 1880-1881,^ was estab- 
 lished to fit the young adjunct teachers then 
 
 Its Precursors 
 in the normal schools for the certificate for the 
 
 professorship. This had succeeded so well that the following 
 school year another course was organized to continue through- 
 out the year. The students here were recruited by competitive 
 examination, whereas on the former occasion they had been 
 selected by the rectors. During the second semester, the 
 school, which up to that time had been located at Sevres, was 
 moved to its present quarters in a building connected with the 
 old palace at Saint-Cloud. Here the school occupies a com- 
 manding site on a hillside rising abruptly from the Seine, with 
 Paris lying across the plain which stretches away toward the 
 east. In the following December, the decree above referred 
 to was promulgated, and the present school formally began its 
 existence under practically the same regime as to-day." M. 
 Jacoulet, then a general inspector, was the first head of the 
 school, and he was succeeded only about six years agO' by the 
 present director, M. Pierre, who- is also' a general inspector. 
 
 The course here is only two years as against three years at 
 Fontenay. The students are about evenly divided between the 
 sections in letters and science, having numbered twenty and 
 
 1 De.cret, Dec. 30, 1882, Gr. V, p. 498. 
 
 2 Organized by arrcte of Mar. 9, 1881. Bull. Adm., XXIV, p. 513. 
 
 3 The special normal school created by the decree of Jan. i, 1884 for the 
 preparation of manual training teachers was amalgamated in the follow- 
 ing September with the school at Saint-'Cloud. Since that date, then, the 
 students with particular tendencies toward manual work have been enrolled 
 among the pupils of the science department. 
 
248 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 eigiiteen respectively for the year 1902- 1903. As at Fon- 
 
 Contrast with ^^"^^' "°^ °"^^ ^^ "^^^ SchooJ^jbsolu|^J|:^, 
 
 " / ^' but the State pays each student twc hundred 
 
 Fontenay ,_„ -^ -^ 
 
 and forty francs per year. The conditions for 
 entrance are very similar to those of the sister school, the char- 
 acter of the candidates, however, being quite different. While ■ 
 at Fontenay, the majority of the students come from second- 
 ary schools, at Saint-Cloud a very large per cent come from 
 primary schools. The proportion O'f secondary school students 
 is increasing slightly. These latter are admittedly the better 
 prepared to take the entrance examinations, but they are not 
 so well fitted for their future work. In contrast to Fontenay, 
 Saint-Cloud does not now and never has attempted primarily 
 to train its students to be heads of normal schools. To-day, 
 even more than ever, the directors oi the boys' normal schools 
 are recruited from among the primary inspectors, and it is 
 practically obligatory to pass at least five years in the inspector- 
 ate in order tO' becomie eligible for the directorship. There is 
 no similar source of supply available in the case of the girls' 
 schools, far at this moment there lare only three women pri- 
 mary inspectors in all France, and two* of these are in the de- 
 paritment of the Seine. So' Fontenay is iikely to continue to be 
 the training school for the heads oi the girls' normal schools. 
 As tO' the previous life of the students at Saint-Cloud — some 
 come directly from secondary schools, some have been teach- 
 ers in active service and have been hard at work preparing 
 themselves for the entrance examinations, and still others have 
 come from departmental normal schools that have added a 
 fourth year to their course expressly to prepare young men 
 for Saintt-Cloud. This extra year is found at Beauvais, Gre- 
 noble, Lyon and Nancy. 
 
 What has already been said about the admission to the 
 school at Fontenay-aux-Roses applies equall)^ well to Saint- 
 Cloud, the chief difference being in the manual 
 Admission , ^ . • 1 , , ,1 i- 1 i^ • 
 
 work, in the practical test, the candidates m 
 
 the science department are required tO' make a model in plaster, 
 wood or iron instead oi the sewing required of the girls. 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 249 
 
 The course at Saint-Cloud is s^ecializatjon^o£_a. very_ de- 
 cided type, the students in letters being restricted to purely 
 literary subjects, and those in science to purely 
 scientific subjects. French, modern languages, 
 ethics and psychology, and school administration, however, are 
 common to both sections. The fact that one finds here both 
 English and German — and in some years, Italian, Spanish and 
 even Arabic — does not indicate that more than one modern 
 language is prescribed for any one pupil. Each student pur- 
 sues here the particular language that he presented for admis- 
 sion. Inasmuch as the students come from all over France — 
 and in fact, even foreigners are received here under some con- 
 ditions — one is likely to find any O'f the modern languages 
 taught in the French schools. There are regular classes in 
 English and German, but in case any of the other three is de- 
 sired, the Ministry provides a teacher for that language, and 
 the student is enabled to- continue his study. At the end O'f 
 the course, there are three or four foreign scholarships, 
 awarded after examination, available for further study in Eng- 
 land or Germany. Each of these grants a year's residence 
 abnoad, and at ithe end o'f tihat time the holder is able to return 
 to France with a magnificent preparation for modern language 
 teaching. 
 
 The course in manual work is very well organized, and is 
 probably obtaining better results than any other school in 
 
 France except the special technical schools, 
 
 ... . 1 . . . ,. . r 1 TVT- Manual Work 
 
 which are outside the jurisdiction or the Min- 
 istry of Public Instruction. There is a complete installation 
 of steam power here — ^being one of the two^ instances that I 
 found in the public primary school system. The manual 
 work includes five branches : forging, joinery, wood turning, 
 iron turning and carpentry. The subjects are all interrelated, 
 and the correlation with physics and chemistry is constantly 
 emphasized. Two periods of an hour and a half each are 
 devoted tO' the shop work. Much importance is attached to 
 synthetic construction, and every class works together in mak- 
 ing some elaborate piece either in wood or iron. 
 
DAILY PROGRAM OF THE PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL, SAINT-CLOUD.' 
 
 Year 
 
 Monday. 
 
 XL 
 
 Modern history. 
 
 Tuesday. 
 
 Letters. 
 
 II. 
 
 History of French literature. 
 
 Free-hand drawing. ^ 
 
 3 to 6 
 Singing.' 
 
 Science. 
 
 Literature and French composition. 
 
 Free-hand drawing.'' 
 Question period. = 
 
 Chemistry.' 
 
 Physics.^ 
 
 A'A 
 Question period. 
 
 Year 
 
 Wednesday. 
 
 Thursday. 
 
 Pohtical economy. 
 
 Contemporary history. 
 
 Grammar. 
 Modern history. 
 
 8'^ 
 Geography. 
 
 Ancient literature or reading and recitation. - 
 
 5 
 School administration. - 
 
 Ancient history. 
 
 8% 
 Physics.' 
 
 Political economy. 
 
 Manual work. 
 
 Mathematics. 
 
 Mathematics. 
 
 School administration.- 
 
 8J^ 
 Chemistry." 
 
 Mechanical drawing. 
 
 12^ 
 
 Manual work. 
 Mechanical drawmg. 
 
 Year 
 
 Friday. 
 
 io3^ 
 French composition. 
 
 ^A 
 
 Ethics and psychology. 
 
 4K 
 Modern languages. 
 
 II. 
 
 Letters. 
 
 French composition. 
 
 Saturday. 
 
 Modern languages. 
 
 ^A 
 
 Geography. 
 
 Ethics and psychology. 
 
 Science. 
 
 8^ 
 Natural history.^ 
 
 12% 
 
 Modeling and 
 stereo tomy. 
 
 4>^ 
 Modern languages. 
 
 Manual work. 
 
 ^A 
 
 Modern languages. 
 
 ZA 
 Natural history. 
 
 io>^ 
 Ethics and psychology. 
 
 Manual work. 
 
 I2>^ 
 
 Modeling and 
 stereotomy. 
 
 2^ 
 
 Topography. 
 
 .aA . 
 
 Question period." 
 
 Each lesson lasts ij^ hours. 
 ' Organisation et Situation de V Enseignetnent Primaire, pp. 474-475. 
 * Common to both classes. 
 250 
 
PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 
 
 251 
 
 No course is outlined for the school. The Minister has 
 gathered here a group of the best teachers he can find, each 
 one a master in his own subject, and he leaves 
 them to plan their own work. These men are 
 all from secondary or higher institutions. One does not find 
 the complete system of tutors here that prevails at Fontenay, 
 although there are three regular interrogateurs for some of 
 the scientific subjects. On account of the method of admin- 
 istration, the faculty is very large in proportion tO' the number 
 of students, numbering (in 1903) twenty, aside from the 
 above-mentioned interrogateurs. These are all non-residents. 
 At the school there are only the director, the surveillant- 
 general or house master, and a bursar-steward. 
 
 The students enjoy almost complete freedom and are even 
 
 less restricted than the pupils at Fontenay. Their quarters 
 
 are not nearly so attractive, however, for the 
 
 , . ^ , , , , -, , . , Student Life 
 
 large spacious rooms of the old chateau which 
 
 the school occupies are rather cold and cheerless. The sole 
 
 means of recreation is apparently confined to walking through 
 
 the grounds of the neighboring national park. 
 
 Since its foundation in 1882, the school has received nearly 
 
 five hundred pupils, aside from the foreigners that have been 
 
 in attendance. The constancy of their purpose 
 
 is attested by the fact that up to 1899— the last destination of 
 
 \ . i/ yj ^jjg Pupils 
 
 year for which statistics are available — only 
 
 one had left the field of education.^ On leaving Saint-Cloud 
 the pupils come up for the examination for the certificate which 
 allows them tO' teach in the normal schools, and practically 
 every one passes this. Then they are sent tO' the various nor- 
 mal schools where vacancies exist. In case there are not 
 enough positions for all the members of the leaving class, they 
 may be assigned to an ecole primaire superieure. This is es- 
 pecially true of the science section, and one finds quite a num- 
 ber of former Saint-Cloud pupils at the various higher pri- 
 mary schools all over the country. Formerly some of the 
 
 1 Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 477- 
 
252 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 graduates received appointments as directors of normal schools 
 
 immediately on leaving the school, but oi late years it has been 
 
 customary to draw upon the primary inspectors to fill these 
 
 positions. An appreciable number of the students enter the 
 
 primary inspectorate, and a small number find their way into 
 
 secondary education, though almost invariably as modern 
 
 language teachers. 
 
 The twO' schools at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud 
 
 are the only institutions of the primary system that are sup- 
 
 ^ ported exclusively by the State. In the lower 
 
 ExDcnscs 
 
 and higher primary schools, the government is 
 
 responsible only for the salaries, the maintenance of the build- 
 ings falling upon the communities. In the case of the normal 
 schools, the departments erect and maintain the buildings, 
 while the State pays the teachers' salaries and the living ex- 
 penses of the pupils. At these two higher primary normal 
 schools, however, the entire burden falls on the general gov- 
 ernment. The budget for 1905 amounted to upwards of 
 300,000 francs and was apportioned as follows : ^ 
 
 FoNTENAY-Aux-RosES. Fratics. 
 
 Salaries of teaching force 83,000 
 
 Food, maintenance of buildings, supplies, etc 89,000 
 
 172,000 
 
 Saint-Cloud. 
 
 Salaries of teaching force 89,000 
 
 Food, maintenance of buildings, supplies, etc 58,500 
 
 143,000 
 
 315,500 
 ^Budget, 1905. Loi, Apr. 22, 1905. Bull. Adm., LXXVII, p. 543. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 Conclusion. Measures of Efficiency 
 
 In the preceding pages we have traced rather carefully the 
 ramifications of the French primary school system. We have 
 followed its vicissitudes from its inception; we have seen it 
 steadily advancing, naturally not without its temporary retro- 
 gressions, until it stands to-day more effective than ever be- 
 fore, the type of a highly centralized system of education. 
 We may not agree with all that it is, nor even perhaps all that 
 it stands for, but this much we must gdjcIlitTT^ts efficiency for 
 the people of France, and in the long run this national efficiency 
 is the criterion by which we must measure the worth of an 
 educational institution. In these present days of sentimental- 
 ism, we are perhaps too prone tO' avoid the terms utility and 
 utilitarian, but in the last analysis this in its broadest and best 
 sense is what counts; whatever is useful persists, and what- 
 ever is not of positive service passes away. So' in appreciat- 
 ing the worth of the French system of schools, we must con- 
 sider this one question : Does it work ? And really the French 
 primary school system does seem to work uncommonly well. 
 On the whole there is real harmony everywhere, not that the 
 teachers are all satisfied and are not continually hoping for bet- 
 ter salaries, for example, but in spite of material considerations 
 of this nature which are bound tO' arise as long as human na- 
 ture remains as it is, the whole public school machinery is run- 
 ning extremely smoothly. 
 
 What, then, are the criteria by which we judge the effective- 
 ness of a given school system ? Perhaps the best and the sur- 
 est way is to watch the young people that are coming forth 
 from these schools for a long period of time to see if they are 
 taking up the burdens that their fathers are laying down, yes 
 
 253 
 
254 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 and are carrying these even more successfully than did the 
 previous generation. Such an attempt as this has never been 
 seriously undertaken and probably never will be, for the diffi- 
 culties in the way are manifest. Let us look, however, at 
 some of the more patent evidences of an efficient school. 
 
 In this country there are certain standards of construction 
 
 to which the best buildings conform more or less closely. In 
 
 the evolution of educational thought, the assur- 
 
 „ ysica 2inQ.Q of social and political progress has de- 
 
 Environment ^ i o 
 
 manded a compulsory attendance law. Inas- 
 much as this requirement is theoretically, at least, imposed 
 upon all children within certain age limits, the conclusion is 
 inevitable that the buildings wherein this attendance is en- 
 forced must be not only not harmful from, the hygienic point 
 of view, but should even be of some positive help in the de- 
 velopment of the child physically and morally as well as in- 
 tellectually. For centuries this intellectual aspect of education 
 was so prominent as to monopolize the attention, in some cases 
 even to the neglect of the other two. At the present moment, 
 no country is doing more than our own to change this point 
 of view and to improve the physical conditions surrounding 
 children during their school hours. Much advance has al- 
 ready been made, so that in the most progressive towns and 
 cities almost ideal conditions may be said to prevail, but there 
 is yet need for the boards of education in the smaller communi- 
 ties to advance tO' a just appreciation of the importance of such 
 questions as lighting, heating, ventilating, and seating the 
 schoolrooms. 
 
 There is another and a higher reason why much skill and 
 money need to be expended upon the mere physical environ- 
 ment of the school children, and that is that the 
 ^ s e ic school is responsible for the esthetic develop- 
 
 linvironment . . 
 
 ment of its pupils. We Americans need to 
 make a conscious efitort in this direction, for we have as yet 
 confined ourselves so exclusively tO' material advancement as 
 to leave almost no time for artistic progress, at least as far as 
 concerns the public consciousness. Reference has been made 
 
MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 255 
 
 in the preceding pages to- the comparative absence^of^anY 
 such direct efforts in the French schools, but there the neces- 
 sity for this is not so imperative as it is here, for across the 
 Atlantic poor indeed is the community that does not provide 
 some opportunity for satisfying, at least in a measure, the 
 artistic craving of the popular taste. The great g^alleries of 
 the Louvre, the Vatican and Dresden, to cite only a few, are 
 regularly thronged with thousands of the populace, men, wo- 
 men and children alike, eager to feast their eyes on the price- 
 less treasures of ancient and modern art. Since society here 
 will not OT cannot do' this on any large scale, it ought to- do it 
 in a small way in the schools. All those responsible for the 
 administration of school affairs should feel themselves bound 
 to provide their schools with reproductions in photograph or 
 plaster of the finest treasures of the world of art, as a basis 
 for inculcating a discriminating appreciation of the good and 
 the beautiful in form and color as well as in literature. This 
 remissness in the past, not only in the schools but throughout 
 the whole social world, has been probably the strongest reason 
 why we as a nation have produced very few really great men in 
 any field of the fine arts. The few that we can boast have de- 
 veloped in spite of their environment rather than on account 
 of it. We need to surround the mothers of our future chil- 
 dren with examples of the good and the beautiful, we need 
 to bring up these children in an artistic atmosphere, and thus 
 some of the conditions are present for developing master 
 minds. But artistic feelings and artistic temperaments refuse 
 to be transported bodily from one country to another. They 
 are a development, an evolution if you please, that demands a 
 sympathetic environment for its full maturity. 
 
 In the actual conduct of the school, we find striking differ- 
 ences between the French ideas and our own. On the con- 
 tinent, the attitude of the teacher toward the 
 pupils is regiiTarly'that of officerjioward sub- r^ a'^ t 
 ordinate, a situation undoubtedly due in no 
 small measure tO' the long-continued existence of the monarchi- 
 cal and military regime. France, although a Republic in 
 
256 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 name, with all the apparent evidences of such a form of gov- 
 ernment, still retains many of the ideas and ideals of the royal 
 period, and it would be surprising- if she did not. We in this 
 country with our century and a quarter of democracy find it 
 far easier to change our point of view, though even here modi- 
 fications of established custom are difficult enough to effect. 
 In our best schools the martinet or the commander nO' longer 
 finds a place, and the relations between teacher and pupils are 
 of the most friendly nature, for in the long run these are the 
 most helpful. Our aim is not the fashioning of unthinking 
 hewers of wood and drawers of water, nor on the other hand 
 of those that cast law, custom and conventionality to the 
 winds, but rather to develop vigorous, keen-minded boys and 
 girls, imbued with such a regard for law and order as comes 
 from a consciousness oi participation in foirmulating social reg- 
 ulations, young people oi that strength and independence of 
 thought that arise from a confidence in their own ability to 
 think and act for themselves. 
 
 Too much of the school work has been given with the idea 
 
 that it would function somewhere in the distant future. Our 
 
 chief concern is with the affairs of to-day. We 
 
 ^'^^, need to look upon the child from the subjec- 
 
 Curriculum . ... , .... 
 
 tive pomt of view and tO' recognize that he is 
 living just as complete an existence, so far as he is concerned, 
 as are we grown people. The transition from childhood to 
 mature life is so gradual that no one can distinguish exactly 
 when it takes place, yet all the characteristics of this earlier 
 stage are found in the later, only larger, fuller, deeper, more 
 significant. Why, then, should not our educational practice 
 take cognizance of this fact and not treat the whole educational 
 process as a preparation for life? It is life. Our children 
 need to acquire general notions that will be of service to them 
 now, not those that may be found useful years hence. It is an 
 old doctrine that we "learn by doing," and so do we learn to be 
 by being. We become good citizens by being good citizens 
 in our school society, not by accumulating a mass of ideas that 
 we store away in some remote part of our consciousness and 
 
MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 
 
 257 
 
 expect to draw forth and use at some subsequent time. In the 
 same way we teach the use of good EngHsh, not that the in- 
 dividual may use correct speech when he reaches mature hfe, 
 but that he may use it now. We try to cultivate an apprecia- 
 tion of and a taste for good literature, not that this may begin 
 to function twelve or fifteen years hence, but that it may make 
 our children's young years more livable, more enjoyable and 
 more helpful. Why not apply these same standards tO' arith- 
 metic and the various other subjects of our school curriculum 
 and eliminate a great mass of material that has come in 
 through false or remains through antiquated principles of 
 what is really valuable, or perhaps attempts to justify its pres- 
 ence on the deferred payment basis? The attitude with re- 
 spect to these ideas that we find in a school must materially 
 influence our appreciation of that school. 
 
 The relative proportion of form and content studies is only 
 another aspect of the same question, form in this sense being 
 used to denote tool subjects, and content those 
 possessing some intrinsic value 011 account of Form and 
 
 their relation tO' the social whole. The first of r^, ,■ 
 
 Studies 
 
 these categories would include such subjects as 
 beginning reading, writing, spelling, the first years of arith- 
 metic, and unfortunately much of the later work that should 
 be found in the second group. Subjects like literature, geog- 
 raphy, history and civics that are closely bound up with the 
 very essence of social life compose the other list. The formal 
 studies should always be subordinate to the content studies, 
 for the former are merely the frame-work, the skeleton, with- 
 out whose careful integration the body of live tissue could 
 rot be supported. The introduction of real stories and real 
 literature even in the lowest grades of the elementary school 
 is a welcome indication that a change of feeling is coming 
 about. Keeping in mind our social ideal will give us a cri- 
 terion for ruling out of the important places those subjects or 
 parts of subjects that do not measure up to these standards. 
 Not that these formal studies can ever be dropped out, but they 
 must be relegated tO' positions quite in harmony with their 
 relative values. 
 
258 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 Again, to what extent does the curricukim give oppor- 
 tunity for developing the creative instinct of the child? 
 One of the very earliest of tendencies and probably the out- 
 growth of the infant's wild gesticulations, this instinct of 
 which much might be made is usually effectively stunted by 
 the restrictions of the school. It is only comparatively re- 
 cently that definite efforts have been made in the schools to en- 
 courage this desire for self-expression, and yet after all is not 
 this the source of individuality, of real power? Our strength 
 along this line in the past has been in spite of the school rather 
 than on account of it. A national ideal that aims tO' produce 
 mere passive 'followers rather than to develop leaders never 
 need give heed to this question. But under the influence of 
 democracy we are not satisfied to submit tO' the restrictions of 
 such an ideal, and therein form a noticeable contrast to the 
 European countries. This is the lesson the kindergarten has 
 been able to teach the elementary schools, but as yet the les- 
 son has not been fully grasped. Within the last two decades 
 many additions have been made to the curriculum in response 
 to this idea, such subjects for example as sewing, cooking, 
 manual training; object lessons have become nature study, 
 music and drawing have taken on new life, and many branches 
 especially on the science side have been vitalized by the intro- 
 duction of laboratory methods. This change is of sufficient 
 significance to consider it a third step in the evolution of 
 method which was begun by Comenius when he turned from 
 stories about things to pictures of things, and carried on an- 
 other stage by Pestalozzi in replacing those pictures by the 
 realities themselves, but withal of a very simple sort. In our 
 third stage, we find the subject matter more closely related to 
 the real life of the world in which the child lives, but the im- 
 portant fact here is that the material is handled by the pupils 
 themselves, learning with the emphasis upon the doing as op- 
 posed to learning w^here observation is the dominant factor. 
 The relative importance of this dynamic, this creative side in 
 the school activity serves as an indication of the probable 
 worth of the school system. 
 
MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 259 
 
 Another important consideration is the position of the school 
 in the Hfe of the community. Where does it stand with refer- 
 ence to the other educational institutions? 
 Does it seem to assume that it is the sole or- Coordination 
 
 s:anization concerned in educating- the youth, „^' ^ 
 . . . o y 7 Lommunity 
 
 and so is it attempting tO' carry on this work 
 alone, or, recognizing the educational responsibilities of other 
 great institutions like the family, the vocation, the State, the 
 church, to what extent does it attempt to affiliate itself with 
 one or more of these powerful forces? It may fairly be said 
 that at the present moment one can trace two distinct ten- 
 dencies moving toward the attainment of this purpose, the one 
 on the continent striving ever to cement more firmlv the in- 
 terest s__of_t he school and the State, the other in this countiy, 
 much less definitely and effectively organized, endea^;Qi:ing to 
 '^^i"^ ^liSJchool^anjd^Jhe^^faml^^^^^^ 
 
 pathetTc relations. In France this former tendency appears in 
 trie"'very organization of the schoo'l system, having at its head 
 a cabinet member, the Minister of Public Instruction and Fine 
 Arts. From the timeofjhe JReyO'lution, tihej^nterdegendra^ 
 of the national safety and popular education has become more 
 and more recognized. The establishment of the higher pri- 
 mary schools in the early thirties carried this idea forward an- 
 other step, for they were specifically organized to provide for 
 the further education O'f the under-leaders of the industrial 
 army, while to-day their express purpose is to advance the 
 agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests of the nation. 
 This community of interest was even more firmly established 
 in 1889 when the State assumed entire responsibility for the 
 teacher's salary and he became as distinctly a. state oQicial as 
 the post-office clerk. The paternal care of the State is evi- 
 denced again in the opportunity extended by the Musee Feda- 
 gogique for sending boxes of lantern 'slides to aay-.&chiooi, .jjo. 
 t'1ie""€Oimtry tHat takes the trouble to ask for them. These 
 slm^'are used not only in conjunction with the regular, woiik., 
 of the school, but also' in lectures of a public character. The 
 idea of a kind of paternalism is seemingly being more and 
 
26o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 more fostered in French educational circles. There nearly 
 everything is imposed from above, while comparatively few 
 things spring up from below. 
 
 In the United States, as was stated above, the tendency to- 
 ward a coordination of educational factors seems to be taking 
 the form of a closer alliance between the school and the family, 
 the two institutions that have practically the sole charge of the 
 young during the period of infancy. Each one of these needs 
 the help of the other. The previous absence of cooperation 
 was in a large measure due to a lack of acquaintance between 
 them, but through the increased interest taken by the teach- 
 ers in the home environment of their pupils and the growing 
 sympathy toward the schools fostered by mothers' clubs, par- 
 ents' associations and similar organizations, these twO' great 
 factors bid fair tO' cooperate with each other much more ef- 
 fectively for the future. Our school authorities need yet 
 more to foster all efforts to bring- about a better understanding 
 between the school and the home. The parents really possess 
 much latent interest in the schools, which requires only a 
 little encouragement on the part of the educational leaders to 
 become effective, for there are few parents that are not vitally 
 concerned in the welfare of their children. The responsibilty 
 for this falls largely upon the school principal, and if he be a 
 man of tact and force, and one that is alive to his opportuni- 
 ties he will have little difficulty in arousing a real and per- 
 manent community interest in schools and school affairs. The 
 extent to which this interest manifests itself in works is a test 
 of its real worth ; in the pressure brought to bear upon members 
 of the board of education, for example, to provide the best 
 school houses, the most efficient teachers ; in the efforts ex- 
 pended in decorating the school rooms and making them more 
 suitable for developing the finer characteristics of the child na- 
 ture. The school and the home each has its own particular 
 field of work, its own problems to solve, but these responsi- 
 bilities can be far more effectively discharged if each has the 
 sympathy and support of the other. 
 
APPENDIX A 
 Outline of the School Authorities 
 
 Authorities. 
 
 Source of 
 Appointment. 
 
 Powers 
 AND Duties. 
 
 Central Authorities. 
 
 
 
 
 Minister. 
 
 President. 
 
 
 
 Comite du Contentieux 
 (17).* 
 
 Minister. 
 
 
 Personal advisory board 
 — legal questions. 
 
 Superior Council 
 (57)-* 
 
 Chiefly elected. 
 
 
 Advisory, administrative, 
 judicial and discipli- 
 nary powers over the 
 whole system — higher, 
 secondary and primary. 
 
 Permanent section of 
 this Council (15).* 
 
 The nine members ap- 
 pointed by the Presi- 
 dent, together with six 
 chosen by the Minister. 
 
 Active body of the Coun- 
 cil. Frequent meet- 
 ings. Questions usu- 
 ally considered here 
 before being presented 
 to the full Council. 
 
 Comite Consultatif. 
 (Three sections, one 
 for each degree of 
 education.) Primary 
 section (25).* 
 
 Ex-ofificio. 
 
 
 Advisory board — peda- 
 gogical questions. 
 
 General Inspectors 
 (II).* 
 
 President. 
 
 
 All primary schools. 
 
 Local Authorities. 
 
 
 
 
 Rectors (17).* (One 
 for each academy.) 
 
 President. 
 
 
 Head of higher, second- 
 ary and primary school 
 system in each acad- 
 emy. 
 
 Academy Inspectors 
 (99).* (In general 
 one for each depart- 
 ment.) 
 
 Minister. 
 
 
 Chiefly confined to pri- 
 mary education. 
 
 * Number of members. 
 
 261 
 
26:. 
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 Authorities. 
 
 Prefect. (One for each 
 department.) 
 
 Departmental Council 
 (14).* 
 
 Primary Inspectors 
 (451).* 
 
 Cantonal Delegates. 
 (One for each can- 
 ton.) 
 
 Maire (of the com- 
 mune.) 
 
 Commission Scolaire 
 (of the commune). 
 
 Source or 
 Appointment. 
 
 Civil officer — Department 
 of the Interior. 
 
 Chiefly elected. 
 
 Competitive examina- 
 tion. 
 
 Departmental Council. 
 
 Civil officer — Communal 
 Council. 
 
 Academy Inspector- 
 Communal Council. 
 
 Powers 
 AND Duties. 
 
 President of the Depart- 
 mental Council — Coor- 
 dinate with the Acad- 
 emy Inspector in some 
 respects, chiefly in ref- 
 erence to the appoint- 
 ment of teachers. 
 
 Practically the depart- 
 mental school board. 
 
 All primary schools. 
 
 Each assigned to a par- 
 ticular school to visit. 
 Concerned only with 
 material welfare. 
 
 President of the Com- 
 mission Scolaire. Re- 
 sponsible for enforcing 
 the compulsory attend- 
 ance law. 
 
 A kind of local school 
 board. Concerned with 
 the attendance problem 
 and helping needy chil- 
 dren. 
 
 * Number of members. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 Examination for the Certificat d'£tudes Primaires 
 £lementaires 
 
 The following extracts from the pages of my note book de- 
 scribing the examination of iboys for the primary 
 certificate at Lille in 1903 will give some idea of Examination 
 the working of the French examination system. 
 
 The examination began at eight o'clock in the morning with 
 one hundred and fifty-seven candidates, each of w*hom had pre- 
 viously filed with the academy inspector a paper filled out by his 
 teacher and certified by the maire of the community where he 
 lived, containing his full name, the date and place of his birth, the 
 residence of his family, and his own signature. 
 
 The work began with the following exercise in dictation : 
 
 Examen du 19 Juin, 1903. Gargons. 
 
 I. Dictee. L'automne. 
 
 Connaissez-vous l'automne? L'automne en pleins champs, avec ses bour- 
 rasques, ses longs soupirs, ses feuilles jaunies qui tourbillonnent au loin, ses 
 sentiers detrempes, ses beaux couchers de soleil, pales comme le sourire 
 d'un malade, ses flaques d'eau dans les chemins. . . . Connaissez-vous tout 
 cela? Je suis au nombre de ceux qui aiment ces choses, et je donnerais 
 deux etes pour un automne. J'adore les grandes flambees ; j'aime a me 
 refugier dans le fond de la cheminee, ayant mon chien entre nies guetres 
 humides. On entend le vent siffler dans la grange, la grande porte craquer, 
 le chien tirer sur sa chaine en hurlant, et, malgre le bruit de la foret qui, 
 tout pres de la, rugit en courbant le dos, on distingue les croassements 
 lugubres d'une bande de corbeaux luttant contre la tempete. La pluie bat 
 les petites vitres : on songe a ceux qui sont dehors, en allongeant ses jambes 
 vers le feu. 
 
 There were three complete readings of the extract ; the first to 
 orient the pupils ; the second, a few words at a time for copying ; 
 and the third in order that any errors might be noted and cor- 
 rected. Finally, a few minutes were allowed for quiet revision. 
 Ten faults give zero on the test, but there is usually a special 
 
 263 
 
264 APPENDIX B 
 
 standard for a fault. In this case the examiners were very len- 
 ient, for the selection was unusually difficult for elementary school 
 children. 
 
 II. This same paper served as a test for 'handwriting. 
 
 III. One hour was allowed for a composition on the subject: 
 " The country policeman. ( i ) How may he be recognized ? 
 (2) What are his duties? (3) Some love him, others fear him. 
 Why? Conclusion." 
 
 On the whole, rather an easy subject, but somewhat compli- 
 cated by the term garde champetre, an expression with which the 
 city boy is not very familiar. The questions which follow sug- 
 gest the general line of thoug'ht to be developed. 
 
 IV. The two questions in arithmetic, both agricultural in their 
 nature, involving mensuration, were not particularly easy. One 
 hour was allowed for the selection. 
 
 (i) A farmer sowed field cabbages on a piece of ground con- 
 taining 3 hectares 65 ares. The expense of fertilizing and cul- 
 tivating was 175 francs 80 centimes per hectare. The rent of the 
 ground cost him at the rate of 24 francs for 30 ares. The har- 
 vest was 18.60 hectolitres per hectare and brought 22.50 francs 
 per hectolitre. What profit did the farmer realize ? 
 
 (2) A piece of land containing 3.45 ares was sold for 125 
 francs. At the same rate, what would be the value of a rectan- 
 gular garden 68.25 metres long with the width ^ oi its length? 
 
 V. One 'hour was allowed for the drawing — a simple conven- 
 tionalized, four-petaled rose enclosed in a square. 
 
 VI. The boys from the rural schools were allowed to substitute 
 the examination in agriculture for that in drawing. In case they 
 elected to take the drawing also and passed it, this fact would be 
 noted on their certificates. The following were the questions : 
 
 (i) What is meant by fertilizers? 
 
 (2) What is the difference between fertilizing and improving? 
 
 (3) What are the important cereals raised in our department? 
 
 (4) What fertilizer is particularly good for the cultivation of 
 wheat ? 
 
 (5) After what plants is it advisable to sow corn? Why? 
 
 These papers were corrected just as they came in by an exam- 
 ining board in charge of the primary inspector. The other mem- 
 bers of the body were one representative from each of the two 
 commissions scolaires (for there were two cantons represented 
 
EXAMINATION FOR PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 265 
 
 here), the director of the ecole primaire superieure at Lille, to- 
 gether with the directors and some assistants of the various ele- 
 mentary schools within the district, making all told some dozen 
 or fourteen persons. Included in this number were two repre- 
 sentatives of private or congreganiste schools, for the government 
 certificate is required of both public and private school pupils if 
 they wish to be free from the obligation to attend school before 
 the legal age, and these bodies are always represented when ques- 
 tions involving their interests are at stake. 
 
 The examination was administered with absolute fairness, as I 
 believe is everywhere the case, notwithstanding complaints of dis- 
 gruntled private school pupils to the contrary. Eadi candidate 
 wrote his name and that of his school on the corner of his paper, 
 folded it over and sealed it before beginning the examination. 
 This was not cut open until the paper had been read and marked, 
 so there was no possibility of knowing the writer's identity. 
 
 The board worked very rapidly and by about one o'clock all the 
 papers had been corrected. The marking was on a scale of ten, 
 and zero in any subject served to reject the candidate. A mini- 
 mum of twenty on the four compulsory subjects — the drawing 
 and agriculture were reckoned with the afternoon subjects — was 
 required in order to be admitted to the second part of the exam- 
 ination. However, those pupils that had seventeen to nineteen 
 might be admitted conditionally: that is, their report books for 
 the year were examined and marked very good, good, or fair. 
 Those whose books were very good could be admitted with a mark 
 of only seventeen, while those that had only fair on their reports 
 must have received at least nineteen on the written examination. 
 
 By three o'clock the results were all tabulated, the names of 
 the unsuccessful candidates were given to the principals of the 
 schools represented, and they announced them to their own pupils. 
 Then the second part of the examination began. 
 
 In this case the examinations in geography and history were 
 written instead of oral. An hour was allowed for the following 
 five questions : 
 
 (i) What kings (French) took part in wars in Italy? Results 
 of these wars. 
 
 (2) Name some civil wars that desolated France and show the 
 results of one of these. 
 
 (3) Tell what you know of the American Revolution under 
 Louis XVI. 
 
266 APPENDIX B 
 
 (4) Trace the course of the Rhone and name the cities wat- 
 ered iby it. 
 
 (5) What do you know of the commerce and industries of the 
 following cities : Reims, Saint- fitienne, Rouen, Armentieres ? 
 
 The answers were all short and simple, at most not more than 
 three or four lines, so there was no difficulty in finishing within 
 the allotted time. 
 
 The questions for the second part were formulated by the ex- 
 amining board after they had convened for the afternoon session, 
 while those of the morning were sent by the academy inspector in 
 sealed envelopes and were opened by the chairman in the presence 
 of his fellow-examiners. 
 
 The examination in French was really the only oral examina- 
 tion. The candidates that had been successful in the morning 
 were divided into little groups with one examiner for each. As 
 each boy was called up in ttuni, he was asked to read from a book 
 and explain the text, or perhaps to recite some lines from any one 
 of a number of short poems which he submitted. The poems 
 were not the same for all the schools, but were the same for all 
 pupils from the same school. As before, some questions were 
 asked tending to show whether or not the subject matter was 
 understood. In order to insure absolute fairness here, the candi- 
 date handed to his examiner a paper folded twice and pinned, on 
 the inside of which he had written his name. The examiner wrote 
 the mark on the outside, and the paper was not opened until it 
 reached the board room. 
 
 When the results were tabulated, there were a few that did not 
 have the necessary thirty-five points. In general those were the 
 boys that had been conditionally admitted from the morning. For 
 these there was little hope. In a few exceptional cases, however, 
 w'here the candidates lacked only one or two points and were 
 above the compulsory school age, the board tried to show a little 
 consideration. School records were looked up again, and every 
 possible allowance was made. Sometimes the pupil just managed 
 to get through, but at other times he was doomed to failure. One 
 case in particular was noteworthy. A boy had only thirty-four 
 and three-quarters points, and was nearly fourteen and a half 
 years old. His reports had been marked only fair, and the case 
 seemed a hard one to handle. On re-reading the reports, it was 
 found that he had repeatedly been careless and troublesome in 
 
EXAMINATION FOR PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 267 
 
 the class room. Also, he had been absent from two to ten days 
 almost every month, and this in spite of repeated warnings from 
 the teacher. In the face of all these facts the board refused any 
 indulgence, and the boy failed. 
 
 The chairman now hastened to announce the results to the 
 anxious children. In the meantime many parents had gathered to 
 hear the announcement, and were quite beside themselves when 
 they found their boys had gained their certiiicats. With this 
 came the award of the departmental prizes, two for each canton. 
 For the city schools, these were taken with fifty-eight and fifty- 
 seven points respectively out of a possible seventy, for the coun- 
 try schools the corresponding records were fifty-two and a half 
 and fifty-two points. 
 
 Only a very small number failed in the oral examination, and 
 of all the one hundred and fifty-seven candidates, eighty per cent 
 were successful. In the girls' examination the following day, 
 eighty-three per cent passed. These figures happen to be exactly 
 the same as those for all France for the last two years. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 (i) Program of the Normal Schools^ July 31, 1851 
 
 (Recitations per week.) 
 Year. 
 
 I. II. III. 
 
 Religious instruction and sacred history 3 3 3 
 
 Reading 6 6 2 
 
 Recitation 3 3 3 
 
 Writing 5 5 2 
 
 French language 9 9 3 
 
 Arithmetic, legal system of weights and measures 6 
 
 Arithmetic, legal system of weights and measures, me- 
 chanical drawing 6 
 
 Arithmetic in its practical applications 6 
 
 Religious music 3 3 
 
 Music 3 
 
 Work in the practice school * * 
 
 Elements of geography i 
 
 Principles of the physical sciences and of natural his- 
 tory, with their applications. Agriculture, horticul- 
 ture 3 
 
 Surveying, levelling, mechanical drawing 5 
 
 Elements of history i 
 
 35 35 32 
 
 * Number of hours not specified. 
 
 1 Arrete, July 31, 1851, Gr. Ill, p. 481. 
 268 
 
PROGRAM OF THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 269 
 
 (2) Program of the Normal Schools^ July 2, 1866 
 
 (Recitations per week.) 
 Year. 
 
 I. II. III. 
 
 Religious instruction. 2 2 2 
 
 Pedagogy. Exposition of the best methods. Physical, 
 intellectual and moral education. Organization of 
 
 the schools i 
 
 Writing 3 2 2 
 
 Reading. Recitation S 4 3 
 
 French language 5 5 3 
 
 Arithmetic; legal system of weights and measures. 
 Arithmetic in its practical applications. Bookkeep- 
 ing S 4 3 
 
 Elements of geometry. Surveying and levelling i i 2 
 
 Mechanical and free-hand drawing 2 2 2 
 
 Elements of history and geography 3 3 3 
 
 Singing and organ 3 3 3 
 
 Principles of physics, chemistry and natural history, 
 
 with their practical applications 2 3 3 
 
 Agriculture and horticulture. Elementary principles of 
 
 trade 2 3 3 
 
 Hygiene I 
 
 Civil papers and communal administration I 
 
 Gymnastics 
 
 23 32 32 
 
 1 Circ, July 2, 1866, Gr. IV, pp. 102-103. 
 
270 
 
 APPENDIX C 
 
 (3) Daily Program Boys' Normal School at Auteuil 
 
 Monday. Tuesday. 
 
 I. II. III. I. II. III. 
 
 3Ji-8 
 
 
 Study. 
 
 [ 
 
 Study. 
 
 
 8-9 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 9-10 
 10-n 
 11-12 
 
 History. 
 French. 
 French. 
 
 French. 
 Authors. 
 History. 
 
 Authors. 
 History. 
 Science. 
 
 Reading. 
 Mathem. 
 Geog. 
 
 Mathem. 
 
 Geog. 
 
 Lit. 
 
 Geography. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Mathem. 
 
 I2j^ 
 
 
 
 Luncheon. 
 
 
 
 1-2 
 
 Lab. 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Free-hand 
 drawing. 
 
 Mechanical 1 Manual 
 drawing. ! training. 
 
 Agric. 
 
 Study. 
 
 2-3 
 
 Mathem. 
 
 Agric. 
 
 3-4 
 
 Music. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Science. 1 Pap. fold. 
 
 Study. 
 
 Mathem. 
 
 
 
 5-6 
 
 Morale. 
 
 Music. 
 Study. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Study. 
 
 
 9 
 
 5K-8 
 
 8^ 
 9-10 
 
 lO-II 
 
 IT-12 
 
 1-2 
 2-3 
 
 3-4 
 
 5-6 
 
 6-7 
 
 7-8 
 
 8 
 
 8J^-9 
 
 9 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Recreation. 
 
 Bedtime. 
 
 Wednesday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 Thursday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 
 Study. 
 
 1 
 
 Study. 
 
 7-8 Morale. 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 History. 
 Science. 
 Mathem. 
 
 Mathem. 
 History. 
 
 Science. 
 
 Science. 
 Mathem. 
 History. 
 
 Study. 
 
 1 Model lesson. 
 
 Luncheon. 
 
 Free-hand 
 drawing. 
 
 Manual 
 training. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Tit^ 
 
 Music. 
 
 I Writing. | Educ. 
 
 ^12^-5 
 Excursion. 
 
 Study. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Study. 
 
 Study. 
 
 Supervised study 
 mathematics. 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Recreation. 
 
 Bedtime. 
 
 
 I. 
 
 Friday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 I. 
 
 Saturday. 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 s'A-i 
 
 
 Study. 
 
 1 
 
 Study. 
 
 
 8-9 
 
 Breakfast. 
 
 9-10 
 
 lO-II 
 II-I2 
 
 French. 
 French. 
 Science. 
 
 Psychol. 
 Science. 
 French. 
 
 Science. 
 
 Lit. 
 
 Lit. 
 
 Mathem. 
 Psychol. 
 Science. 
 
 Lit. 
 
 Science. 
 Mathem. 
 
 Civics. 
 
 Mathem. 
 
 Lit. 
 
 12j^ 
 
 Luncheon. 
 
 1-2 
 
 Mechanical 
 drawing. 
 
 Lab. 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Free-hand 
 
 drawing. 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Writing. 
 
 History. 
 
 Manual 
 
 2-3 
 
 French. 
 History. 
 
 Mechanical 
 drawing. 
 
 training. 
 
 3-4 
 
 Writing. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Lab. 
 
 
 
 5-6 
 6-7 
 
 7-8 
 
 Mod. lang. 
 
 Study. 
 Morale. 
 Study. 
 
 Music. 
 
 
 
 
 K-9 
 
 Dinner. 
 Recreation 
 Bedtime. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 EXAMINATIONiS FOR THE HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 
 (i) Department of the Gard.^ July, 1901 
 
 GENERAL QUESTIONS 
 
 French Composition (boys and girls) 
 
 In the primary school you have committed to memory and at 
 the higher primary school you have studied several fables of La 
 Fontaine. 
 
 As you have learned to know this great fable writer better, you 
 have found more reason for admiring him and loving him. 
 
 Suppose you are writing a letter to one of your friends who is 
 very fond of reading but who knows La Fontaine too little to 
 recommend his fables. Tell simply and sincerely why you like 
 La Fontaine. Try to make your friend s'hare your admiration 
 and your sympathy for the author of so many fine works. Indi- 
 cate carefully the fables that have struck you most forcibly and 
 have interested you the most, and from which he himself can de- 
 rive the greatest pleasure and profit. 
 
 Science (girls) 
 
 1. Find a fraction which reduces to yi when its terms are 
 diminished by three and to ^ when they are increased by five. 
 
 2. Cooking utensils. Common metals used in their manufac- 
 ture. Advantages and disadvantages of each. Precautions to be 
 taken in using them. How kept clean. 
 
 Science (boys) 
 
 Mathematics 
 The frustum of a regular pyramid whose lateral edge d has 
 
 1 Courrier des Examens de I'Enseignenient Primaire, Jan. 11, 1903, pp. 
 25-26. 
 
 271 
 
272 APPENDIX D 
 
 for 'bases two regular hexagons with sides a and h respectively. 
 What is the total surface and the volume of the solid? 
 Application : a ^ 3m ; & = 2m 50 ; J = 4m 30. 
 
 Chemistry 
 Principles in the manufacture of vinegar. Processes em- 
 ployed in commerce. 
 
 Natural History 
 Description of the human respiratory apparatus. Chemical 
 phenomena of respiration. 
 
 Morale (hoys and girls) 
 Show that drunkenness is a degrading vice, that it debases man 
 below the level of the beasts. 
 
 Drawing (boys) 
 Greek fillet. 
 
 Drawing (girls) 
 
 Embroidery; corner of a rug. 
 
 Motif ; bind weeds and pansies. 
 
 SPECIAL QUESTIONS 
 
 Agriculture 
 
 1. The American vines: role and use of vine growing. 
 
 2. Treatment of limestone in the soil. 
 
 Drawing 
 A salt cellar. 
 
 (2) Paris. Session of July, 1903 ^ 
 general, commercial and industrial sections 
 
 Geometry (boys) 
 
 An obelisk is in the form of the frustum of a pyramid with a 
 square base. The side of the lower base is im 50; of the upper 
 base, o m 80; the height, 15m. The frustum is surmounted by 
 a pyramid whose lateral faces are equilateral triangles with one 
 side o m 80. 
 
 Find the volume and the lateral surface of the obelisk. 
 
 1 Coiirrier des Exainens de I'Enseignement Primaire, Aug. 9, 1903, pp. 
 500-504. 
 
EXAMINATION FOR HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 
 
 ^7Z 
 
 GENERAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTIONS 
 
 Physics 
 
 Suppose you buy two lenses and fasten each at the end of a 
 pasteboard tube, so arranged that one will slide within the other. 
 
 Explain the general arrangement of the lenses and the object in 
 order to have : 
 
 (i) A camera, 
 
 (2) A telescope. 
 
 (3) A microscope. 
 
 Hygiene 
 Principal adulterations of the common solid and liquid foods. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL SECTION 
 
 Physics 
 
 Manometers. 
 
 Natural History 
 Describe briefly the human organs of sight and hearing. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SECTION 
 
 1. Useful and noxious insects. Name the principal ones. Give 
 some details about the bee and the June-bug. 
 
 2. The use of flower of sulphur and the cupric solutions. In in- 
 dicating the use, note what plants are to be treated thus and why. 
 
 Arithmetic (girls) 
 I invest 608 francs for thirty days and 720 francs for fifty- 
 seven days at rates of interest whose difference is 2^ per cent. 
 The returns from the two investments are the same. What were 
 the rates of interest? 
 
 Physics or Chemistry 
 Describe the principal experiments which prove that the air 
 has weight. Deduce the explanation of atmospheric pressure and 
 tell how this pressure is measured. 
 
 Natural History 
 The circulation of the blood. 
 
 Morale 
 Boys. — Show what moral lesson includes this thought of one 
 of our most ancient writers : " There are tribunals, whose juris- 
 
274 APPENDIX D 
 
 diction man cannot escape : on the outside, reputation ; within, 
 his conscience. 
 
 Girls. — What is the relation 'between justice and charity? 
 
 French Composition 
 
 Boys. — Write a letter saying that on last Sunday you were 
 present at the distribution of prizes of the "Societe d' encourage- 
 ment an bien." 
 
 The President of the Republic was the presiding officer, thus 
 indicating the importance of the occasion. 
 
 The prize-winners were either societies which devote them- 
 selves to the instruction or the succor of the lowly, or to indi- 
 viduals belonging to various classes of society. 
 
 What reflections did these incidents suggest to you? 
 
 What is your impression of the future of such a country as 
 ours where all these phases of the good are thus honored? 
 
 Girls. — Imagine that during your stay in the country two swal- 
 lows came and built a nest at the window of your chamber. 
 
 Recount what you saw and your impressions up to the time 
 when the young brood took flight.^ 
 
 Modern Languages 
 
 Boys. — (Selections in English, German and Spanish from 
 which to choose.) 
 
 English. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott. — Sir Walter Scott was a man full of the milk 
 of human kindness. Everybody loved him. He was never five 
 minutes in a room ere the little pets of the family, whether dumb 
 or lisping, had found out his kindness for all their generation. 
 One day, a dog coming toward him, he took up a big stone, threw 
 it and hit the dog. The poor creature had strength enough left 
 to crawl up to him and lick his feet, although he saw its leg was 
 broken. The incident had given him the bitterest remorse in his 
 after life. "An early circumstance of that kind, properly re- 
 flected on," said Walter Scott, when relating the incident to a 
 friend, " is calculated to have the best effect on one's character 
 throughout life." S. Smiles. 
 
 1 Cf. the moral tendency of this composition work as well as in the suc- 
 ceeding selections from the English. 
 
EXAMINATION FOR HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 
 
 275 
 
 Girls. — (Selections in English and German from which to 
 choose.) 
 
 English. 
 
 Power of women. — The greater part of the influence exercised 
 'by women on the formation of character necessarily remains un- 
 known. They accomplish their best work in the quiet seclusion 
 of the home and the family, by sustained effort and patient per- 
 severance in the path of duty. Their greatest triumphs, because 
 private and domestic, are rarely recorded, and it is not often, even 
 in the biographies of distinguished men, that we hear of the share 
 which their mothers have had in the formation of their character, 
 and in giving them a bias towards goodness. Yet are they not 
 on that account without their reward. The influence they have 
 exercised, though unrecorded, lives after them, and goes on prop- 
 agating itself in consequences forever. S. Smiles. 
 
 Draiving 
 Boys. — Copy, from a sketch, with given scale. 
 
 Architectural ornament, after a plaster model. 
 Girls. — Design interlaced capitals A and B, suitable for frame 
 embroidery. 
 
 These letters, intended for a bed coverlet, should measure ten 
 centimeters in height. 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 Examination Questions Brevet £lementaire 
 
 boys. paris, july 3, i903 ^ 
 
 I. Spelling 
 Dictation, thirty lines. Extract from Challemel-Lacour. 
 Questions on the interpretation of the text. 
 
 II. French Composition 
 Develop this thougiht : " It is impolite to write badly, for it 
 makes trouble for the readers, and it is foolish, for it spoils what 
 is written." Legouve. 
 
 III. Arithmetic 
 
 1. Theory. — Given two numbers 5544 and 936 and their 
 G. C. D. 72. Find the L. C. M. 
 
 2. Problem. — A landowner sells two parcels of land at 48.75 
 francs per are. One is in the form of a rectangle loom by 54m. 
 The other is triangular, with the base 95m and the height 64m. 
 
 With the purchase money, the proprietor bought 3% stock at 
 82.29 francs. How much stock did he buy? 
 
 IV. Writing 
 A phrase taken from the dictation. 
 
 V. Drazving 
 
 Plan, cross-section, and elevation of a trestle. 
 
 girls, lille, 1903 ^ 
 I. Spelling 
 Dictation, twenty-eig'ht lines. Extract from Renan. 
 Questions on interpretation of the text. 
 
 ^ Coitrricr dcs Examcns, July 26, 1903, pp. 467-469. 
 - Ibid., Aug. 2, 1903, pp. 487-489. 
 276 
 
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 277 
 
 ii. trench Composition 
 
 A candidate is about to come up for the brevet elenientaire. 
 She writes to a member of her family who occupies a position 
 that you may imagine. She asks this person to send a letter of 
 recommendation to the examiners. 
 
 The person whom the candidate approached replied in a 
 friendly manner, but stated why s'he would not write the letter. 
 
 Write this last letter. 
 
 III. Arithmetic 
 
 1. Theory. — What is a cube? If you triple the length of each 
 face, establish and demonstrate the relation between the two 
 cubes. 
 
 2. Problem. — ^Two brothers divide a sum of 5,225 fr. 60. The 
 former spends f of his part; the second loses ^ of his, and 
 then each has the same sum. What were the two parts ? 
 
 IV. Writing 
 The first lines of dictation. 
 
 V. Drawing 
 Design a butter-pot with two handles. 
 
 VI. Sewing 
 
 Make a sack 20 cm. long by 15 cm. wide, with English seams 
 on the sides, a hem at the end and the mark (R. 5) thereon. 
 Cuff. 
 
APPENDIX F 
 Examination Questions Brevet Superieur 
 girls. toulouse, i902 ^ 
 
 I. Arithmetic and Science 
 
 1. Problem. — Given an alloy of gold and copper in the propor- 
 tion of 13 en. cm. of gold to 7 cu. cm. of copper. 
 
 Assuming the density of gold to 'be 19 and of copper to be 8.8, 
 find the density of the alloy and its standard. 
 
 The alloy weighs 1805 gr. 31 and is made into a rectangular 
 plate 2 mmi. thick, the length being twice the width. Find these 
 last two dimensions to within i mm. 
 
 2. Science. — Chlorine ; preparation, physical and chemical prop- 
 erties, most important uses. 
 
 11. French Composition 
 Comment on this expression : 
 
 " Speech has been given to man for thought ; thought for truth 
 and virtue." 
 
 in. Modern Languages 
 
 1. Sixteen lines of poetry to be translated into English or Span- 
 ish, according to the choice of the candidate present. 
 
 2. Likewise a translation from one of these languages into 
 French. 
 
 The English selection is as follows : 
 
 "The choice of books. How s'hall you know what to read? 
 A very important question, for some books will really injure, if 
 they do not destroy you. Others will have no positive effect; 
 but from all a tincture, like that left upon the mind by the com- 
 pany you keep, will remain. Do not expect to read all, or even 
 a small part of what comes out and is recommended in this age 
 of books. You take up a book and read a chapter. How shall 
 
 1 Courrier des Examcns, Feb. 8, 1903, pp. 83-86. 
 278 
 
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 279 
 
 you know whether it is worth your reading without reading it 
 through ? In the same way that you would know whether a cask 
 of wine was good. If you draw one glass, or two, and find them 
 stale and unpleasant, do you need to drink off the whole cask to 
 decide that you do not want it? I have somewhat else to do, in 
 the short day allotted to me, than to read whatever anyone else 
 may think it his duty to write." 
 
 IV. Drawing 
 Design one-quarter of a tea napkin. Richelieu embroidery. 
 Character of the ornamentation is left to the choice of the can- 
 didate. Size, 16 cm. square. 
 
 BOYS. PARIS. JULY 1 6- 1 7, I903 ^ 
 
 I. Arithmetic and Science 
 
 1. Problem. — On the inside of each side of a square as a diam- 
 eter, describe a semi-circumference. Calculate the side of the 
 square, if the area of the rosace thus formed is 30 qm. 87. 
 
 Assume tt = 2_2__ 
 
 2. Science. — Ordinary or ethyl alcohol. Its formation, physi- 
 cal and chemical properties, principal derivatives and their uses. 
 Different commercial methods of manufacture. Fermented 
 liquors, their manufacture. Action of alcohol on the body. 
 Alcoholism, its dangers, means to combat it. 
 
 II. French Composition 
 
 Develop and criticize this thought of La Bruyere: "A man of 
 fashion lives but for a time, for fashions pass away: if, by 
 chance, he is a man of merit, he is not effaced, for he lives still 
 by virtue of some good quality ; so, worthy of esteem, he is, how- 
 ever, less esteemed." 
 
 III. Modern Languages 
 
 1. Eight lines from Rousseau to be translated into English or 
 German according to the choice of the candidate. 
 
 2. Likewise a translation from one of those languages into 
 French. 
 
 The English selection is as follows : 
 
 "A genius developed by accident. — Sir Isaac Newton was the 
 
 1 Cotirrier des Examens, Aug. 9, 1903, pp. 497-500. 
 
28o APPENDIX F 
 
 most remarkable mathematician and philosopher of his own or 
 perhaps of any other age. He was born in the year 1642, a year 
 doubly remarkable by his birth and the death of Galileo. We 
 owe his great discovery to a very trivial accident. When a stu- 
 dent at Cambridge he had retired during the plague into the 
 country. As he was reading under an apple tree in his garden 
 at Woolsthorpe one of the fruit fell and struck him a smart blow 
 on the head. When he observed the smallness of the apple, he 
 was surprised at the force of the stroke. This led him to con- 
 sider the accelerating motion of falling bodies, from whence he 
 deduced the principle of gravity and laid the foundation of his 
 philosophy." I. Disraeli. 
 
 IV. Drazving 
 Rosace (no. 2933 of the catalogue of the Ecole des Beaux- 
 Arts.) 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 Written Examination Questions. Certificat d'Aptitude 
 
 Pedagogique 
 
 (The time allowed in each case was three hours.) 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE COTE-d'oR, I902 ^ 
 
 Mental arithmetic. Its importance. Explain how you assure 
 the application of the program in yiour school or your class, and 
 with what results. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE VOSGES, I902 ^ 
 
 Develop this thought of Jules Simon : " Education is a process 
 by which a spirit moulds a spirit, and a mind develops a mind." 
 
 Show how a teacher can and ought to realize this in a primary 
 school. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE AUBE, ig02 ^ 
 
 What is meant by civic instruction ? Emphasize its importance 
 in a democratic republic. 
 
 How shall civic instruction be directed in order to prodlice the 
 best possible results? Necessity of giving it an intuitive charac- 
 ter. Indicate in detail the means of accomplishing this. 
 
 (In treating this subject, men should have boys' schools in 
 mind, and women sihould have girls' schools.) 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE PUY-DE-DOME, I902 * 
 
 What means do you use for developing in your pupils the ideas 
 of justice and cooperation? 
 
 1 Cotirrier des Examens, Feb. 8, 1903, p. 81. 
 
 ^ Ibid., Jan. 11, 1903, p. 17. 
 
 ^ Ibid., Feb. 15, 1903, p. 97. 
 
 * Ibid., Feb. 22, 1903, p. 113. 
 
 281 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. CERTIFICATE FOR PRIMARY 
 
 INSPECTOR 
 
 I. Written. Pedagogy ^ 
 
 i8p6. 2d Session. 
 " The art of teaching does noit consist in descending to the level 
 of your pupil, but in raising him to yours." (Jules Simon.) 
 Develop and comment upon this thought. 
 
 i8pp. 1st Session 
 Women. — The education of the ecole maternelle. What should 
 be its principles? 
 
 1 8 pp. 2d Session 
 All teachers ought to teach their children ideas of order and 
 economy. How can they do this discreetly? How avoid the ex- 
 aggeration of these qualities into defects from which it is partic- 
 ularly important to keep children ? 
 
 I poo. I St Session 
 
 What is meant in primary education by " preparation for the 
 class?" 
 
 How would you make the teachers that have spent several years 
 in the service understand' that one must " prepare for the class " 
 all one's life? 
 
 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION ^ 
 
 i8p6. 2d Session 
 Powers and duties of the director of a school who is relieved 
 from class work. 
 
 1 8 pp. I St Session 
 The primary certificate. How was it organized? What mod- 
 
 ^ L'Inspection de I'Enseigneuient Primaire, pp. 52-53. 
 2 Op. cit., pp. 61-62. 
 282 
 
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 283 
 
 ification has it undergone? What do you think of the criticisms 
 against it? 
 
 1 8 pp. 2d Session 
 What are the obhgations of the commune in reference to pri- 
 mary education? 
 
 ipoo. 1st Session 
 The higher primary schools. General organization and teach- 
 ing force. 
 
 (Avoid any detailed discussion of the programs.) 
 
 II. Oral. Pedagogy ^ 
 
 (Each candidate has only one of the following questions. He 
 is allowed two hours by himself in which to collect his thoughts 
 and prepare his answer.) 
 
 In your opinion, how can a teacher extend his educational in- 
 fluence outside and beyond the school ? 
 
 How would you regulate the use of monitors in the elementary 
 school ? 
 
 As primary inspector, each year you have to examine the daily 
 programs which your teachers submit to you. Indicate what 
 general rules would guide you in this examination. 
 
 Reading in the primary school ; in the class ; in the home. 
 
 SCHOOL LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION ^ 
 
 Regulations in the case of suppressing a public primary school. 
 
 Powers and duties of the primar}-- inspector in examinations. 
 
 Right of opposition to the opening of private schools. Closing 
 of these schools. 
 
 Administrative councils of the primary normal schools. Com- 
 position; powers. 
 
 1 Op. cit., pp. loo-ioi. 
 ~ Op. cit., p. 102. 
 
APPENDTA 1 
 (i) Girls' Normal School at 
 
 Menus April 26th to May 2d, 1903. 
 
 Dessert of the 
 professors. 
 Breakfast. .Tea; Boiled eggs. 
 
 Sunday Dinner Meat broth; Beef; Radishes; 
 
 Spinach, white sauce ; Oranges. Oranges. 
 
 Supper Rabbit stew; Stewed prunes; 
 
 Cream cheese. Cream cheese. 
 
 Breakfast. .Soup; Chestnut puree. 
 
 Monday Dinner Soup; Potato croquettes; Fried 
 
 eggs. Chestnut puree. 
 
 Supper Beef; Spinach. Cheese. 
 
 Breakfast. .Rice soup; Raisins. 
 
 Tuesday Dinner Soup; Meat pie; Potato puree. Raisins. 
 
 Supper Roast veal; Carrots. Oranges. 
 
 Breakfast. .Vermicelli soup; Chestnut pre- 
 serves. 
 
 Wednesday . . Dinner Soup ; Roast mutton ; Lima beans. Fresh cakes. 
 
 Supper Roast beef; Rice. Cheese. 
 
 Breakfast. .Rice soup; Stick chocolate. 
 Thursday. . . .Dinner Meat broth ; Beef; Fried pota- 
 toes ; Fresh cakes. Fresh cakes. 
 
 Supper Beef a la mode; Cheese; Stewed 
 
 prunes. 
 
 Breakfast. .Soup; Chestnut puree. 
 Friday Dinner Soup ; Sardines ; Radishes ; Mac- 
 aroni with cheese. Chestnut puree. 
 Supper Apple omelet; Peas. Cheese. 
 
 Breakfast. .Rice soup; Raisins. 
 
 Saturday . . . .Dinner Soup ; Sliced veal ; Spinach, 
 
 white sauce. Fresh cakes. 
 
 Supper Roast lamb; Spinach. Oranges. 
 
 (Bread is served at each meal, and at dinner a half bottle of wine is 
 allowed each person.) 
 284 
 
MENUS 
 
 285 
 
 (2) Girls' Normal School at 
 
 Menus May i8th to 25TH, 1903. 
 
 Dessert of the 
 professors. 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 Monday Dinner Soup; Stew with beans; Pre- 
 serves. 
 Supper Roast beef; Spinach. Whipped cream. 
 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 
 Tuesday Dinner Soup; Boiled beef; Split peas. Cheese. 
 
 Supper Roast veal; Macaroni. Oranges. 
 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 
 Wednesday. .Dinner Soup; Beefsteak; Fried potatoes. Cherries. 
 
 Supper Roast mutton; Lentils. Creamed eggs. 
 
 Breakfast. .Chocolate. 
 
 Thursday. .. .Dinner Soup; Ham; Artichokes. Tarts. 
 
 Supper Roast beef; Salad; Cakes. Preserves. 
 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 
 Friday Dinner Soup ; Fish ; Potatoes and butter. Cakes. 
 
 Supper Omelet; Spinach; Cheese. Cheese. 
 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 Saturday ... .Dinner Soup; Boiled beef; Beans. Kisses. 
 
 Supper Roast veal; Potato puree. Chocolate 
 
 pudding. 
 
 Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
 Sunday Dinner Soup; Roast pork; Split peas. Asparagus; Tarts. 
 
 Supper Roast mutton; Salad; Preserves. Cakes. 
 
 (Bread is served at each meal, and at dinner a half bottle of wine is 
 allowed each person.) 
 
APPENDIX J 
 
 Boys' Normal School at Lyon. £cole Annexe 
 
 (i) points to be followed by critic teacher in appreciating 
 PUPIL teacher's work 
 
 1. Writing. 
 
 2. Preparation for class. 
 
 (a) Materials. 
 
 (b) Written. 
 
 3. Exposition of lessons. 
 
 4. Correction of home work. 
 
 5. Condition of note-books. 
 
 6. Discipline. 
 
 7. Supervision oi recreation. 
 
 8. Relations with the children. 
 
 9. Attitude of the master. 
 10. General appreciation. 
 
 (2) actual criticism of a PUPIL by the director 
 1st Tour 
 
 " This is a very poor week. 
 
 " The only encouragement is that you can do better if you wish. 
 I see here an aggravation of your mistakes. You can do well 
 and you do poorly. 
 
 " Have you considered that you are the son of a director of an 
 ecole annexe and that you will be a teacher in a few months ? 
 
 " If the next week does not show distinct progress, I shall be 
 very uneasy for your future as a teacher and for that of your 
 pupils. 
 
 " I hope you will arouse yourself." 
 
 2d Tour 
 " Results this week prove that you can do well. You are then 
 dioubly culpable when you do poorly. I hope this is not an iso- 
 lated or exceptional effort. Men^ — and children too — are not 
 judged by what they can do, but by what they do. Take courage." 
 286 
 
BOYS' NORMAL SCHOOL AT LYON 
 
 287 
 
 Physical 
 
 condition 
 
 Temperament. ' 
 
 Personality. 
 
 The will. 
 
 (3) PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS (bY PUPIL TEACHER) 
 
 Name of pupil 
 
 Age 
 
 Cours 
 
 Temperament and normal state of health. 
 Sense organs, especially the eye and ear. 
 
 Native and dominant tendencies. 
 Characteristic sentiments. 
 Characteristic tastes. 
 Qualities. 
 Faults. 
 Conduct of pupil. 
 Appreciation of moral worth. 
 
 1. Kind of attention (application). 
 
 2. Normally developed faculties (remarks). 
 
 3. Insufficiently developed faculties (remarks). 
 
 4. Appreciation of intellectual power (qualities 
 and defects of the mind) . 
 
 Characteristic tendencies. 
 
 i Physical condition. 
 Temperament. 
 Intelligence. 
 
 Intelligence. 
 
 General 
 
 appreciation 
 of pupil. 
 
 CRITICISM BY DIRECTOR ON PUPIL's OBSERVATIONS 
 
 " Good attempt at analysis. You have very properly insisted 
 on the causes of the phenomena observed. Try to compare and 
 draw conclusions from these observations. 
 
 " Continue to study the same pupil. Consult with your school 
 fellows on certain particular points." 
 
 (4) OUTLINE TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE PUPIL IN NOTING THE 
 
 DIFFICULTIES HE HAS FOUND IN THE PREPARATION OF HIS 
 
 LESSONS, AND HIS METHOD IN SOLVING THEM 
 
 Plan of the rapport personnel ^ (by pupil teacher) 
 I. Preparation for the class. 
 
 A. Preparation of materials. 
 
 B. Written preparation ; difficulties met, 
 
 a. Concerning the choice and gradation of the lesson. 
 
 1 Cf. ch. XI, p. 222. 
 
288 APPENDIX J 
 
 h. Concerning the plan (general idea, subordinate 
 
 ideas, details). 
 c. Concerning the choice of method and processes, 
 C. How have you solved these difficulties and what prog- 
 ress do you think you have made ? 
 
 II. Lessons. 
 
 A. Questions. 
 
 B. Methods and processes of development, 
 
 C. Adaptation of ideas and language. 
 
 Recall in each subject the difficulties encountered, the means 
 employed to solve them and the results obtained, so far as you are 
 concerned. 
 
 III. Home work. 
 
 A. Preparation of pupils. 
 
 B. Correction and report (French composition). 
 
 The difficulties encountered. Results obtained, so far as you 
 are concerned. 
 
 IV. Condition of note-books. 
 
 Toward what have you directed your efforts? What difficul- 
 ties have you met? What means employed to solve them? Re- 
 sults obtained? 
 
 V. Discipline. 
 
 A. In class. 
 
 B. In recreation. 
 
 What good haibits in general or particular have you tried to 
 instil? Difficulties encountered? Results obtained? ist, from 
 the (teacher's standpoint ; 2d, from the pupil's standpoint. 
 
 VI. Conclusion. General view of principal difficulties encoun- 
 tered, of means employed to solve them, and of those you will use 
 in the future. Personal progress made. What pedagogical qual- 
 ity do you most lack ? Resolutions. 
 
 N. B. In the interest of the pupil teacher, this work should be 
 dbne in all sincerity. 
 
 director's criticism on a pupil's notes of the above 
 
 " You have touched too lightly on the difficulties encountered 
 
 and the means employed to surmount them. Useless details in 
 
 certain places. Nevertheless your account is interesting and, I 
 
 believe sincere. It should have been a profitable study for you." 
 
APPENDIX K 
 Bibliography 
 
 The authorities used in the preparation of this account of the 
 French schools were almost entirely French, the chief exceptions 
 being the articles from the English Educational Department 
 Special Reports on Educational Subjects, and these mainly for the 
 facts personally observed by the writers. The other works in 
 English are cited here for the convenience of those to whom the 
 French books may not be readily available. 
 
 For further literature relating to education in France, see the 
 bibliography appended to each chapter of the 
 
 Rapport sicr I' organisation et la situation de I'enseignement pri- 
 maire public en France. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1900; also 
 
 Columbia University Library Bulletin No. 2. Books on Educa- 
 tion in the Libraries of Columbia University. N. Y., 1901 ; and 
 
 Cubberley, E. P. Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Educa- 
 tion. N. Y., 1902. 
 
 I. Primary Sources 
 
 Annuaire de I'enseignement primaire. Armand Colin, publisher. Paris. 
 
 Published yearly since 1886. 
 Annuaire de I'instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Delalain Freres, 
 publishers. Paris. 
 
 Published yearly since 1851. 
 Anthoine, E. a travers nos ecoles. Souvenirs posthumes. Paris, 1887. 
 10 + 350 p. 
 
 Carrive, Pierre. La nouvelle legislation de I'enseignement primaire; 
 suivie du texte des lois, decrets, arretes, circulaires et programmes. 
 (May 19, 1874— July 19, 1889.) Paris, 1889. 14 + 658 p. 
 
 Comptabilite des ecoles normales primaires; guide legal et administratif 
 des economes. Mem. et doc. sco. No. 61. Paris, 1888. 124 p. 
 
 CoNDORCET. Rapport et projet de decret sur I'organisation generale de 
 instruction publique, presentes a I'Assemblee nationale, au nom du 
 Comite d'instruction publique, les 20 et 21 avril 1792, I'an 4 de la li- 
 berte. Paris, 1782. 94 p. 
 
 289 
 
290 
 
 APPENDIX K 
 
 DuRUY, Victor. Circulaires et instructions officielles relatives a I'instruc- 
 tion publique. (1863-1869.) Paris. 24 -|- 716 p. 
 
 Gratuite de Tenseignement primaire. Cf. Rapport a I'Empereur du 
 6 mars 1865 sur I'etat de renseignement primaire en France pendant 
 I'annee 1863, in L'administration de I'instruction publique de 1863- 
 1869, pp. 188-21 1. 
 
 Administration de I'instruction publique. (1863-1869.) Paris. 24 
 -h 932 p. 
 
 EsTOURNELLES de CONSTANT, Jean d'. Lois et reglements sur I'enseigne- 
 ment primaire. (Mar. 15, 1850 — July 31, 1890.) Paris, 1890. 1108 p. 
 
 ficoles normales. Adresse de plusieurs eleves de I'ecole normale, a la Con- 
 vention, lue dans la seance du 5 floreal, an III. (Apr. 25, 1795.) 
 Paris. 12 p. 
 
 Memoire sur la necessite d'etablir dans Paris une maison d'institu- 
 tion pour former des maitres, et quelques colleges pour les basses 
 classes. (Two memoirs: I. 28 p., II. 34 p. — date Oct. 25, 1762.) 
 
 Rapport fait a la commission des ecoles normales, sur I'etat de I'en- 
 seignement dans les ecoles normales en general, et particulierement 
 dans celles des academies d' Amiens, Douai, Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg 
 et Dijon. 23 Oct., 1845. Manuscript. 20 p. 
 
 Fontenay-aux-Roses. Sujets de concours pour I'admission a I'ecole nor- 
 male superieure d'enseignement primaire, de I'origine a 1897. (Section 
 des lettres.) Paris. 74 p. 
 
 France. Budget des depenses de I'exercice de 1903. Ministere de I'in- 
 struction publique et des beaux-arts. Paris, 1903. 181 p. 
 
 Bulletin administratif du ministere de I'instruction publique et des 
 beaux-arts. 1850- 
 
 New and present series began 1864. Published monthly until 
 1881, and weekly since that time. 
 
 Circulaires et instructions officielles relatives a I'instruction publique. 
 1802- 
 
 Still continued. 12 volumes through 1900. 
 
 Extraits du bulletin de I'instruction primaire. Lois, arretes, instruc- 
 tions. Departement de la Seine. 1866-1877. Paris, 1878. 24 + 885 p. 
 
 Inspection academique. (Direction de I'enseignement primaire.) 
 Paris, 1900. 18 -f 628 p. 
 
 Inspection de I'enseignement primaire. Paris, 1900. 6 -f- 435 p. 
 
 Rapport sur I'organisation et la situation de I'enseignement primaire 
 public en France. Paris, 1900. 15 -j- 628 p. 
 
 Statistique de I'enseignement primaire. 
 
 A quinquennial publication begun in 1877. Volume II covers the 
 period from 1829 to 1877. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 201 
 
 GoBRON, Louis. Legislation et jurisprudence de I'enseignement public et 
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 Greard, Octave. Legislation de I'instruction primaire en France depuis 
 1789 jusqu' a nos jours. 2^ edition. Paris. 7 v. (1789-1900.) 
 
 Lakanal, Joseph. Rapport sur I'organisation des ecoles normales. In 
 Celestin Hippeau. Instruction publique en France pendant la revo- 
 lution. Pp. 408-422. Paris, 1881. 
 
 Paris, Ville de. Budget de I'exercice de 1903. Paris, 1903. 284 p. 
 
 Petit, Edouard. Rapport sur I'education populaire en 1899-1900. Minis- 
 tere de I'instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Paris, 1900. 
 
 PiCHAED, A. E. Nouveau code de I'instruction primaire. Paris, 1900. 
 20 -f 764 p. 
 
 Plan d'etudes et programmes d'enseignement. Collection Delalain. 
 No. 66. ficoles maternelles. 19 p. 
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 No. 64. ficoles primaires superieures (gargons). 72 p. 
 
 ficoles primaires superieures (fiUes). 57 p. 
 No. 61. ficoles normales. 45 p. 
 
 Rendu, A. Considerations sur les ecoles normales primaires de France. 
 2^ edition. Paris, 1849. 8 -f 92 p. 
 
 Resbecq, E. de. Code de I'enseignement primaire. Lois, decrets et arretes. 
 Paris, 1887. 4 + 350 p. 
 Covers the period Mar. 15, 1850 — Mar. 26, 1887. 
 
 Saint-Cloud. Sujets de concours pour Tadmission a I'ecole normale supe- 
 rieure d'enseignement primaire, de I'origine a 1897. (Section des let- 
 tres.) Paris. 66 p. 
 
 Salvandy, de. (Ministre.) Instruction primaire: Rapport au roi, cham- 
 bre des deputes, 12 avrii 1847. Expose des motifs du projet de loi. 
 Paris, 1847. 50 p. 
 
 ScHMiT, Henri. L'organisation de I'enseignement primaire. Commen- 
 taire de la loi du 30 octobre 1886; suivi de la legislation en vigueur — 
 lois, decrets et arretes pris en execution de la loi. Paris, 1887. 6 -f- 
 543 P- 
 
 ViLLEMAiN. (Ministre.) La situation de I'instruction primaire en 1840. 
 Rapport au roi. Paris, 1841. 54 p. 
 
 II. Secondary Sources 
 
 Allain, E. L'oeuvre scolaire de la revolution. 1789-1802. £tudes critiques 
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 Allard. Ecoles normales primaires. Recueil methodique des lois, ordon- 
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 tabilite. Tableaux des resultats jusqu' a ce jour. Paris, 1843. 361 p. 
 
292 
 
 APPENDIX K 
 
 Arnold, Matthew. Special Report on Certain Points connected with Ele- 
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 1886. 27 p. 
 
 S3''Stems of Popular Education in Use in France, Holland, and the 
 French Cantons of Switzerland. London, 1861. 50 -\- 294 p. 
 
 Barrau, Th. H. De I'education morale de la jeunesse a I'aide des ecoles 
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 Beard, Mary S. ficoles maternelles of Paris. English Board of Educa- 
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 Board of Education, Special Reports on Educational Subjects. Vol. 
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 Brouard, Eugene. Essai d'histoire de I'instruction primaire en France, de 
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 113 P- 
 
 Dictionnaire de pedagogie et d'instruction primaire. 2 pts. 4 v. 
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 Compayre, Gabriel. Contemporary Educational Thought in France. 
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 Fitch, J. G. The French Leaving Certificate. English Board of Educa- 
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 London, 1898. Pp. 634-647. 
 
 France. Ministere de I'instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Recueil 
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 I. Organization, budget. 
 
 II. Various grades of schools, including normal schools. 
 III. Musee pedagogique, school libraries, teachers' certificates, teach- 
 ers' conferences. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 293 
 
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 V. School savings banks, graduates' associations. 
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 Paris, 1825. 2 v. 
 
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 London, 1902. 8 -j- 405 p. 
 
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 Rec. des monog. ped. Vol. III. Pp. 231-377. 
 
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 348. 
 
 Klemm, L. R. European Schools. France (chiefly Paris). Pp. 317-391. 
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 L'exposition du ministere de I'instruction publique. Revue peda- 
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 Lebon, Andr^; and Paul Relet. France as It Is. Mrs. William Arnold, 
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 L6veque (Directeur). L'ecole J. B. Say; Rapport presente au comite de 
 patronage. Paris, 1899. 22,2, p. 
 
294 
 
 APPENDIX K 
 
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 143 P- 
 
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 Vol. XII. Pp. 3'^3-334- F. L. Luqueer, tr. 
 
 Martel, F. et G. Ferrand. Ecoles primaires superieures, ecoles d'appren- 
 tissage et ecoles nationales professionnelles. Rec. des monog. ped. 
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 Musee pedagogique. Monographies et documents scolaires. 
 
 The first series is composed of 120 monographs covering a great 
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 The second series is made up of the already mentioned Rec. des 
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 Normal School in France, A. (A girls' school in southwest France.) 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 295 
 
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 I 893- I 894 
 1894-1895 
 I 896- I 897 
 I 897- I 898 
 1898-1899 
 1899-1900 
 I 900- I 90 I 
 
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INDEX 
 
 The following abbreviations are used in this index: cl. en., classe enfantine; com. 
 and ind. s., commercial and industrial school; ec. m., ecole maternelle; e. p. s., ele- 
 mentary primary school; h. p. s., higher primary school; n. s., normal school; 
 p. b. n. s., primary higher normal school; s., school; ss., schools. The other 
 abbreviations will readily be understood. 
 
 Absence on account of illness, teacher's, 
 
 67 
 Academies, 12, 26 
 
 Academy inspector, 30; duties, 31; 
 powers, 34; relations with prefect, 33, 
 with rector, 32 
 Adjoint, 28 
 
 Agricultural course, in h. p. ss., 128 
 Agriculture, in e. p. ss., 1 15-1 16; in h. p. 
 ss., 135; in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 
 160, 165, 190, 192, 208, 209; in n. 
 s. of the Convention, 143. See 
 also Gardening. 
 In exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228; higher diploma, 232 
 Aid, State, 54, 55, 84; for h. p. ss., 122 
 Aiken and Barbauld, modern language 
 
 requirements in n. ss., 203 
 Alcoholism, crusade against, 194, 195, 207 
 Algebra, study of, in n. ss., 166, 205, 206 
 Algeria, n. s. established in 1865, 159 
 Arithmetic, in e. p. ss., method, 103-104, 
 109; in p. ss. under Napoleon, 145 
 Study of, in ec. m., and cl. en., 76— 
 77; in e. p. ss., 106, 109-110, 117, 
 145; in La Salle's seminary, 140; 
 in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 165, 180, 
 205-206 
 Armentieres, national professional s., 1 9, 
 
 127 
 Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 107 
 Arrete, meaning, 1 7 
 Astronomy, study of, in n. ss., 147, 150 
 Auteuil, model lessons, 223-224; physical 
 examination, 216; practice teaching, 
 220 ; science instruction, 207; student 
 reading, 184 
 
 Baccalaureat, 14, 240 
 Bar^re, proposition for a n. s. by, 142 
 Barle-Duc, n. s., 147 
 Barrau, pamphlet against n. ss., 155 
 BatignoUes, 64, 76; model lessons, 224- 
 225; practice teaching, 219 
 
 Bayet, M., director of primary education* 
 quoted, 226 
 
 Beauvais, preparatory year for Saint- 
 Cloud, 248 
 
 Bell-Lancaster system, 100 
 
 Berthelot, quoted, 47 
 
 BerthoUet, teacher in the n. s. of the Con- 
 vention, 142 
 
 Biography, national, study of, in ec. m., 77 
 
 Bookkeeping, study of, in com. and ind. 
 ss., 135. 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in 
 n. ss., 160, 205 
 
 Botany, study of, in n. ss., 208-209; in 
 p. h. n. s., 244 
 
 Brevet de capacite, 29, 227 
 
 Brevet elementaire, 75, 132, 178,226-227, 
 237, Appendix E. 
 
 Brevet superieur, 60, 170, 178, 191, 226- 
 227, 237, 240, 241-242, Appendix F. 
 
 Budget, national, for education, 18-19; 
 in 1902, 169 
 
 Budget, Paris, educational, 19 
 
 Budget, p. h. n. ss., 252 
 
 Buisson, director of primary education, 
 163 
 
 Bureaus, ministry of public instruction, 19 
 
 Cahiers, See Note-books. 
 
 Caisse d'ecole, 48 
 
 Calligraphy, study of, in n, s., 146, 150 
 
 Cantine scolaire. See School kitchen. 
 
 Cantonal delegates, 38, 46, 47 
 
 Carter, James G., infiuence for Massachu- 
 setts n. ss., 154 
 
 Centralization of educational system, 15 
 
 Certificat d'aptitude au professorat, 122, 
 246 
 
 Certificat d'aptitude pedagogique, 29, 61, 
 178, 226, 234-236, Appendix G. 
 
 Certificat d'etudes primaires. See Certifi- 
 cate, primary. 
 
 Certificate, primary, 116-119, Appendix B. 
 
 Certificate, teaching, 175, chap. xi. 
 
 Chalmet, proposition for h. n. s., 166 
 297 
 
398 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Channing, in n. s. curriculum, 196 
 Chemistry, in exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. s., 
 241, 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
 in h, p. ss., 135; in n. ss., 173, 
 180, 190, 192, 206 ff.; in n. s. of 
 the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
 ss., 244, 250 
 Civics, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. 
 ss., 165, 166, 190, 192 
 Classe, 62 n. 
 Classe enfantine, 12, 73, 218; curriculum, 
 
 80 
 Club, English, at Auteuil, 183 
 Co-education, 57, 80—81 
 College, 63,95; distinguished from lyc6e, 
 
 12 
 Comenius, influence on method, 258; in 
 
 n. s. curriculum, 195 
 Comit6 consultatif, 22 
 Comite d'instruclion publique, 16 
 Comite de patronage, 28, 32 
 Comite du contentieux, 18 
 Commerce, Minister, partial control over 
 
 some ss., 124-125 
 Commercial course, in h. p. ss., 128 
 Commission de surveillance, early n. ss., 
 151; in n. ss., 1851, 157; in n. ss., 
 1861, 158; in n. ss., 1866, 161 
 Commission scolaire, 47-49, 92 
 Committee of patronage, 133 
 Communes, financial responsibility, 53-56; 
 refusing to support ss., 56; vi'ithout ss., 
 53-54 
 Compayre, history of education, text-book 
 
 in n. ss., 195; quoted, 59 
 Composition, in exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 
 Study of, in n. ss., 180, 196; in p. h. 
 n. ss., 244, 250 
 Compulsory attendance, 48, 50, 54, 82 
 Conferences, pedagogical, in n. ss., 159; 
 
 teachers', 44-45 
 Congreganiste ss., 84 
 Congregations, 74, 108. See also Religious 
 
 bodies. 
 Conseil, academique, 20, 29 
 Conseil, de I'universite, 20 
 Conseil departemental, 11, 20, 35, 38, 39, 
 46, 51. 52, 54, 55. 70, 84, 128, 178. See 
 also Council, departmental. 
 Conseil general du d6partement, 11, 51, 
 
 52, 56, 171- 
 Conseil superieur, 17, 20, 71 
 Conseillers generaux, 52 
 
 Consulting committee, 22 
 
 Content studies, 257 
 
 Control, student, in n. ss., 161 
 
 Convention, attitude toward n. ss., 142 
 
 Corner, Miss, modern language require- 
 ments, in n. ss., 203 
 
 Correlation, lack of, 16 
 
 Cosmography, study of in p. h. n. s., 244 
 
 Council, departmental, 36; powers, 37-39 
 
 Council, superior, 20 
 
 Cours, 62 n, 95-97, 130 
 
 Cours complementaire, 12, 95, 120, 122, 
 123, 124, 128 
 
 Cours superieur, 130, 132 
 
 Creative instinct, development of, 258 
 
 Critic teachers, 221 ff 
 
 Decret, meaning, 17 
 
 Delegues cantonaux. See Cantonal dele- 
 gates. 
 Department, financial responsibility,5i-53 
 Descriptive geometry, in n. s. of the Con- 
 vention, 143 
 Dictation, in exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 227 
 Diploma, elementary, 227-230; higher, 
 230-234; secondary, 240. See also 
 brevet elementaire, brevet superieur, 
 certificat. 
 Disciphne, 97-99, 1 80-1 81 
 Divisions, civil and pohtical, 11 
 Domestic economy, study of, in girls' n. 
 
 ss., 209-210 
 Dormitories in n. ss., 172-173 
 Douai, n. s., 172, 173 
 Drawing, in exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241- 
 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
 136; in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; 
 in e. p. S3., 106; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; 
 in n. SS., 146, 150, 156, 165, 173, 
 176, 177, 180, 190, 192, 210, 211; 
 in p. h. n. ss., 244, 250 
 Duplan, M., quoted. 121 
 Duruy, influence over the n. ss., 159-162; 
 minister, 1863-1869, 158-159 
 
 Ecole annexe, 174, 177, 218, Appendix J.; 
 in 1851, 156-157; in 1866, i6o-i6r. 
 See also Practice schools. 
 
 Ecoles d'application, 218 n. See also 
 Practice schools. 
 
 Ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage, 12, 73, 
 120, 124 
 
 Ecoles maternelles, 12, 73, 177; condi- 
 tions for establishing, 74; curriculum, 
 76—80, 96; teachers not specially 
 trained, 75 
 
 Ecoles pratiques de commerce et d'indus- 
 
INDEX 
 
 299 
 
 trie, 126; program compared with that 
 of h. p. ss., 134-136 
 Ecoles primaires elementaires. See Ele- 
 mentary primary schools. 
 Ecoles primaires superieures, 12, 95, 251. 
 
 See also Higher primary schools. 
 Ecoles professionnelles, 120, 124, 127 
 Econome, 32, 173, 174, 251 
 Education, history of, Fontenay-aux- 
 Roses, 245; in n. ss., 195-196; in p. 
 h. n. s., 245 
 Education, in exam, for higher diploma, 
 
 232 
 Elementary primary schools, 81-83, 95, 
 106, 107 
 Subjects of instruction in, 106-I16; 
 agriculture, 11 5-1 16; arithmetic, 
 109; geography, in-113; geom- 
 etry, no; gymnastics, 113-114; 
 history, 111-113; manual work, 
 II4-115; military drill, 113-114; 
 morale, 107; reading, iii; sing- 
 ing, 113; writing, III 
 Eleves-maitres. See Pupil teachers. 
 Eligible list of teachers, 62 
 Elocution, study of, in p. h. n. s., 244 
 English, study of, in ec. m., 77*, 78. See 
 
 also Modern languages. 
 Enscignement libre, 20 
 Esthetic environment, 254 
 Ethics, in exam, for higher diploma, 231 
 
 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241 
 Examen de passage, in n. ss., 186-187 
 Examinations, entrance for n. ss., i6i; 
 for certiticat d'aptitude pedagogique. 
 Appendix G.; for elementary diploma, 
 227 ff, Appendix E. ; for higher di- 
 ploma, 231 ff. Appendix F.; in e. p. ss., 
 1 1 6-1 19, Appendix B.; in n. ss., 186- 
 187 
 Excursions, school, 1 71-172, 185 
 Extension courses, at early n. ss., 152 
 
 Falloux law of 1850, against n. ss., 155- 
 156 
 
 Fees, abolished in n. ss., 164; in second- 
 ary ss., 13 
 
 Fenelon, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
 
 Ferry, Minister, 163 
 
 Finance, 49-56; State, 49-51, 54; de- 
 partment, 51-53; commune, 53-56 
 
 Fontenay-aux-Roses, 51, 88, 163, 175, 
 225, chap, xi.; budget, 252; daily pro- 
 gram, 244; entrance exams., 241-243; 
 life at the school, 239; opened in 1880, 
 166, 238; practice teaching, 225; 
 teachers, 243 
 
 Form studies, 257 
 
 Fortoul, Minister, in 1854, 157 
 
 Fourtou, Minister, 163 
 
 Francke, n. s. of, 141, 142 
 
 Franco-Prussian war, eflTect on n. ss., 162 
 
 Franklin, h. p. s. at Lille, 212 
 
 Free education law, 164 
 
 Free ss , 50, 54, 82 
 
 Froebel, slight influence on ec. m., 75 
 
 Games, in ec. va. and cl. en., 76 
 Gardening, instruction in, in n. s., 159, 
 
 165, 191 
 Geography, m exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241-242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
 136; in ec. m., 77; in e. p. ss., 106, 
 III ff, 117; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
 in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 160, 165, 
 180, 190, 192, 198; in n. s. of the 
 Convention, 143; in p. h. n. ss., 
 244, 250 
 Geology, study of, in p. h. n. s., 244 
 Geometry, in exam, for higher diploma, 
 231 
 Study of, in e. p. ss., iio-iii; in n. 
 ss., 147, 150, 160, 165, 205, 206 
 German, study of in n. ss., 146, 150. See 
 
 also Modern languages. 
 Germany, influence of, upon Strassburg 
 
 n. s., 145 
 Girls' ss., separate, 54, 83 
 Goblet law, 49 
 Goethe, modern language requirements, 
 
 n. ss., 203 
 Grammar, in exam, for higher diploma, 
 231 n; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
 Study of, in n. ss., 150, 196; in n. s. 
 of the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
 s., 244 
 Grenoble, preparatory year for Saint- 
 Cloud, 247 
 Guizot, influence of, on n. ss., 148-149, 
 152; testifies to success of Strassburg 
 s., 146 
 Gymnasiums, in n. ss., 214-215 
 Gymnastics, in e. p. ss., 106, 113-114; in 
 h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. ss., 146, 
 147, 150, 156, 165, 176, 190, 192, 
 213 ff; in p. h. n. s., 244 
 In exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228 
 
 Heine, modern language requirements in 
 n. ss., 203 
 
 Helfedange, n. s., 147, 150 
 
 Higher primary schools, 166, chap, xii; 
 aim, 139; certificate in, 138; courses, 
 128; development, 121; dual control, 
 124-127; entrance exam., 130; estab- 
 lishment, 128-129; examinations, 131 
 Appendix D.; fees, 131; function 
 138-139; modern language methods 
 203-204; practical nature of the work 
 
300 
 
 INDEX 
 
 137; programs, 1 34-1 37; pupils, 130- 
 131; purpose, 120; scholarships, 132- 
 133; social class of pupils, 1 30-13 1; 
 teachers, 62, 65, 67, 129, 130, 167 
 History, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228; for higher diploma, 231 n; 
 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
 136; in ec. m., 77; in e. p. ss., 
 106, III fif, 117; in h. p. ss., 135, 
 136; in n. ss., 147, 150, 156, 160, 
 165, 180, 190, 192, 197; in n. s. of 
 the Convention, 143; in p. h, n. 
 ss., 244, 250 
 Weakness in, 198 
 Holidays, 105 
 
 Hundred Days, n. s., during, 145 
 Hygiene, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
 135; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; in n. ss., 147, 
 150, 156, 190, 192, 207 
 
 Indemnity, residential, primary inspector, 
 
 51; teacher, 53, 55,68, 74 
 Industrial course, in h. p. ss., 12S 
 Industrial work, in national professional 
 
 ss., 127-128 
 Initiative, lack of, 101-102 
 Inspecteur d'academie. See Academy 
 
 inspector. 
 Inspecteur general, 23, 28 
 Inspectors, ec. m., 24; general, 23, 28; 
 
 primary, 39-45, 51, Appendix H. 
 Institute, 20 
 Instructions, meaning, 17 
 
 Jacoulet, M., director of n. s., Saint- 
 Cloud, 247 
 Jura, department of, first girls' n. s., 153 
 Jesuits, expulsion of, 141 
 
 Kuhn, M., teacher at Auteuil, 183 
 
 Lagrange, teacher in n. s. of the Conven- 
 tion, 142 
 
 Laicization of the ss., 50, 54, 82, 165 
 
 Lancaster (Bell-) system, 100 
 
 Language, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
 126, 135, 136; in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 
 77; in e. p. ss., 106; in h. p. ss., 135, 
 136; in n. ss., 146, 156, 165, iSo, 190, 
 192 
 
 Lantern slides, sent out by Musee peda- 
 gogique, 259 
 
 Laplace, teacher in n. s. of the Conven- 
 tion. 142 
 
 La Salle, training s. of, 140 
 
 Libraries, in n. ss., 184; school, 89, 90 
 
 Lille, e. p. s. specially prepares for teach- 
 er's diploma, 178 
 
 Literature, history of, in n. ss., 196 
 
 Literature, in exam, for higher diploma, 
 231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
 Study of, in n. ss., 165, 190, 192; in 
 n. s. of the Convention. 143; in p. 
 h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
 Lodging allowance, 68, 74 
 Loi, meaning, 17 
 
 Loire-lnferieure, closing of n. s., 155 
 Longfellow, modern language require- 
 ments in n. ss., 203 
 Lycee, 63, 95; distinguished from college, 
 
 12 
 Lyon, graduated practice teaching, 221- 
 222; n. s., 178; preparatory year for 
 Saint-Cloud, 248; science laboratory, 
 207-208; student lectures. 196-197; 
 study of music, 212-213 
 
 Maire, power of s. inspection, 46 
 Mann, Horace, influence for Massachu- 
 setts n. ss., 154; in n. s. curriculum, 196 
 Manual work, in com. and ind. ss., 126, 
 135, 136; in ec. m and cl. en., 76, 
 77; in e. p. ss., ic6, 1 14- 115, 117; 
 in h. p. ss., 135 fi; in n. ss., 165, 
 166, 173, 176, 190 ff, 211-212; in 
 p. h. n, ss., 244, 247, 250 
 In exam, for elementary diploma, 
 
 228; for p. h. n. ss., 243, 248 
 Saint-Cloud, 249 
 Map drawing, in n. s. curriculum, 199 
 Marking system, exam, for the elementary 
 
 diploma, 229 
 Mathematics, in exam, for elementary di- 
 ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. s., 
 241, 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 126, 
 135, 136; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; in n. 
 ss., 190, 192, 205-206; in n. s. of 
 the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
 ss., 244, 250 
 Mechanics, elementary, study of, in n. ss., 
 
 147, 150 
 Mens, first girls' normal course in 1833, 
 
 153 
 Menus, in n. ss.. Appendix I. 
 Metaphysics, study of, in n. s. of the Con- 
 vention, 143 
 Method, class, Fontenay-aux-Roses, 245; 
 
 evolution of, 258 
 Methods of teaching, study of, in n. ss., 
 
 140, 146, 150, 152, 160 
 Metric system, advantage of, 1 10 
 Militarism, effect, 169-170 
 Military drill, in e. p. ss., 106, 113-I14; 
 
 in n. ss., 166, 190, 192 
 Military service, two years', 170 
 Minister of public instruction, 16, 17, 22. 
 
 147; relations with Minister of Com. 
 
 and Ind., 17, 124, 125 
 
INDEX 
 
 301 
 
 Mironneau, M,, director of n. s., at Lyon, 
 
 197 
 Mixed schools, %t, 
 Model lessons, 222-225 
 Modern languages, in exam, for higher 
 diploma, 231 n, 232; for p. h. n. 
 s , 241, 242 
 Methods of instruction, in h. p. ss., 
 
 203-204; in n. ss., 202 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. 
 ss., 165, 166, 177, 190, 192, 200; 
 in p. h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
 Text-books, in n. ss., 203 
 Monitors, loo-ioi 
 Montaigne, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
 Moral instruction, in cl. en., 76, 77; in 
 com. and ind. ss., 136; in ec. m., 76, 
 77; in e. p. ss., 106 ff ; in h. p. ss., 135, 
 136; in n. ss., 150, 151, 156, 165, 166, 
 176, 190, 192; in n. s. of the Conven 
 tion, 143; in p, h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
 Morale, in e. p. ss., 107-108; in n. ss., 
 194-195; substituted for religious in- 
 struction, 83. See also Ethics, and 
 Moral instruction. 
 Musee pedagogique, 197, 259 
 Musee scolaire. See School museum. 
 Music, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228; for higher diploma, 231 n. 
 Study of, in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 159, 
 190, 192, 212, 213; in p. h. n. ss., 
 244, 250 
 
 Nancy, preparatory year for Saint- Cloud, 
 
 248 
 Nantes, national professional s., 19, 127 
 Napoleon and the University, 145 
 Natural history, in exam, for elementary 
 diploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
 231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. 
 ss., 241, 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
 in h. p. ss , 135 ; in n. s., 147, 150, 
 156, 180; m n. s. of the Conven- 
 tion, 143; in p. h. n. s., 250 
 Natural science. See Natural history. 
 Newspapers, 184-185 
 Nimes, normal class, 149 
 Normal courses, established for girls be- 
 fore n. ss., 153; in 1877, number, 153 
 Normal school, at Bar-le-Duc, 147; at 
 Helfedange, 147, 150; at Paris in 1872, 
 154; at Strassburg, 145-146; direct- 
 ors, source of supply, 252; of the Con- 
 vention, 142-145; of the Hundred 
 Days, 145 
 Normal schools, admission requirements, 
 179; Barrau's pamphlet against, 155; 
 before the Revolution, 140-142; 
 changes in curriculum, 188 n; chart of 
 
 the, 149; closed in Loire-Inferieure and 
 the Vosges, 155; condition in 1832, 148; 
 curriculum of 1832, 150; curriculum of 
 1851, 156-157; curriculum of 1881, 
 165-166; curriculum, present, chap, x; 
 curriculum reorganized in 1866, 160— 
 162; curriculum revised in 1883, '^6; 
 discipline, 180-181, 183, 184; early, 
 extension courses, 152; early, scholar- 
 ships, 149; effect of Franco-Prussian 
 war, 162; effect of militarism, 169- 
 170; entrance exam., 179- 180; estab- 
 lished in Algeria in 1855, 159; exams., 
 186-187; excursions, 171-172; Fal- 
 loux law of 1850, 155-156; fees abol- 
 ished, 164; first girls', 153, for girls, 
 movement toward, 162; in 1832, ad- 
 mission to. 151 ; in 1832, appointment 
 of teachers, 151; in 1832, control, 151; 
 in 1837, number, 153; in 1863, teach- 
 ing force, 158; in 1866, entrance ex- 
 ams., i6t; in 1879, number, 164; in 
 1890, number, 168; in 1903, number, 
 169; influence of Guizot, 148-149, 
 152; inspection, 171; legislation of 
 1832-1833. 153; life of the pupils, 181- 
 184; modern language text books, 203; 
 obligatory for both sexes, 164; organi- 
 zation, chap, ix; pedagogical confer- 
 ences, 159; pupils, chap, ix; reaction 
 against, about 1840, 154; recruitment 
 of pupils, £79; regulation of 1832, 149- 
 150; rtgulation of 1851, 157-158; 
 salaries, 162; salaries in 1855, 158; size, 
 168-169; special exam, for teachers, 
 164; student control, 161; subjects of 
 instruction, 194 ff; support, 51, 171; 
 teachers, 173 ff, 210; weekly programs, 
 I90, 192 
 Nute-books, 102-105 
 
 Obligatory schools, conventionally, 55 
 
 Octroi, 68, 207 
 
 Orne, department of, first girls' n. s., 153 
 
 Paris, n. s., established in 1872, 154; n. 
 ss., 172; school budget, 19 
 
 Paternalism in French ss., 259-260 
 
 Pecaut, F>;hx, director at Fontenay-aux- 
 Roses, 240, 245 
 
 Pedagogy, in exam, for p h. n. s., 241 
 Study of, in n. ss , 159-160, 165, 176, 
 190, IQ2, 195; in p. h. n. ss., 244, 
 250. See also Methods of teaching. 
 
 Pelletier, attitude toward training of teach- 
 ers, 141 
 
 Pensions, 70 
 
 Pestalozzi, influence on method, 258 
 
 Physical environment, 254 
 
 Physical exams., in n. ss., 215-216 
 
302 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Physics, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
 228; for higher diploma, 231 and 
 note, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
 Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
 in h. p. ss., 135; in n. ss., 146, 150, 
 156, 165, 173, 180, 190, 192, 206 ff; 
 in n. s. of the Convention, 143 
 Pierre, M., director of n. s., Saint-Cloud, 
 
 247 
 Political economy, study of, in com. and 
 ind. ss., 135, 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
 in p. h. n. s., 250 
 Practice schools, chap, xi 
 Practice teaching, 156; at Auteuil, 220; 
 at Batignolles, 219; at Fontenay-aux- 
 Roses, 225, 246; graduated, at Lyon, 
 221-222 
 Prefect, 35-36, 70 
 Primary certificate, 187 
 Primary education, distinguished from 
 
 secondary, 12 
 Primary instruction, director of, 20 
 Primary school, aim, 13. See also Ele- 
 mentary primary school and Higher 
 primary school. 
 Primary school course, limits, 12 
 Privas, student lectures, 197 
 Prizes, 71 
 
 Probation, teacher's period of, 61 
 Professeur, meaning, 21 n 
 Program, ec. m., 77; e. p. ss., geography 
 and history, H2; h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
 n. ss., 165, 190, 192; n. s. of the Con- 
 vention, 143; p. h. n. ss., 244, 250, 
 Appendix C. 
 Psychology, in exam, for higher diploma, 
 231 n 
 Study of, in n. ss., 190, 192, 194; in 
 p. h. n. ss., 244, 245, 249, 250 
 Punishment in ss., 98-99. See also Dis- 
 cipline. 
 Punishments, teacher's, 38, 70 
 Pupil teachers, 180 
 
 Rabelais, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
 Rapport personnel, 222, Appendix J. 
 Reading, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
 
 228; for higher diploma, 231 n; 
 
 in primary ss. under Napoleon, 145 
 Study of, in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; 
 
 in e. p. ss., 106, iii, 145; in La 
 
 Salle's seminary, 14O; in n. ss., 
 
 150, 156, 165 
 Recess, 105 
 Rector, 26-29 
 
 Religious bodies, 82. See also Congrega- 
 tions 
 Religious instruction, in n. ss., 1 50-1 51, 
 
 156 
 Religious question, 108 
 Repetitrices. See Tutors, English. 
 
 ' Residential allowance, 74. See also In- 
 
 1 demnity, residential. 
 Reviews, 116 
 Rewards, in the schools, 99, see also 
 
 Discipline; teacher's, 38, 71-72 
 Rifle practice, in h. p. ss. and n. ss., 213 
 Rolland, attitude toward training of 
 
 teachers, 141 
 Rouland, Minister in 1856, 158 
 Rousseau, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
 
 Saint-Cloud, 23, 51, 163, 175, 212, 225, 
 chap, xi; admission, 248; budget, 252; 
 contrast with Fontenay-aux-Roses, 248; 
 daily program, 250; opened in 1882, 
 166, 247; student life, 251; teaching 
 force, 251 
 
 Saint-Pierre, teacher in n. s. of the Con- 
 vention, 142 
 
 Salaries, 24, 43, 49-50, 55-56, 65-69' 
 158, 162-163, 176-177 
 
 Salles d'asile. See Ecoles maternelles. 
 
 Schiller, modern language requirements, 
 in n. ss., 203 
 
 Scholarships, 132-133; at early n. ss., 
 149, 152; foreign, 249; in Strassburg 
 n. s., 146 
 
 School, administration, study of, in p. h. 
 n. s., 249, 250; attendance, 92, 93; 
 board, local, see Commission scolaire; 
 conduct, 255; coordination with the 
 community, 259-260; equipment, 86; 
 fund, see Caisse d'ecole; kitchen, 56, 
 74, 93-94; library, 56, 89; museum, 
 88-89; organization, 95-96; organiza- 
 tion, study of, in n. ss., 160; registers, 
 89; savings banks, 56; support, sources, 
 
 49-56 
 School buildings, 172; construction super- 
 vised by the State, 84; decoration, 87, 
 
 239; heating, 85; legal requirements 
 
 of, 84; ventilation, 85 
 Schools, prevalence of, 83; private, 34 
 Science, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
 
 126, 136; in e. p. ss., 106, 117; in h. p. 
 
 ss., 136; in n. ss., 165, 206-209. See also 
 
 under the various branches of science. 
 Secondary education, distinguished from 
 
 primary, 12 
 Secondary school, aim, 14; course, 13, 
 
 14; fees, 13 
 Seine-et Oise, departmental n. s., served 
 
 Paris until 1872, 154 
 Sevres, early location of p. h. n. s., 247 
 Sewing, 57, 114, 117, 212; study of, in 
 
 girls' n. ss., 212. See also Manual work. 
 Singing, in e. p ss., 106, 113; in h. p. 
 
 ss., 135, 136; in La Salle's seminary, 
 
 140 ; in n. ss., 1 65 
 Social organizations, at Fontenayaux- 
 
 Roses, absence of, 239 
 
INDEX 
 
 303 
 
 Spelling, in e, p. ss., 117 
 
 Sports, lack of interest in, 182-183 
 
 Stagiaire, 33, 34, 59-60, 233 
 
 State, financial responsibility, 49-51, 54 
 
 Stereotomy, study of, in p. h. n. s., 250 
 
 Strassburg n. s., 145-146 
 
 Student lectures, 196-167 
 
 Student life, at Fontenay-aux-Roses, 239; 
 
 at Saint-Cluud, 251 
 Student organizations, 183 
 Study periods, surveillance of, 130 
 Study rooms, in n. ss., 1 73 
 Surveying, study of, in n. ss., 147, 150, 
 
 156, 165 
 
 Teachers, appointment, 60, 129; classes 
 of, 60, 63; in ec. m., 75; in e. p. ss., 
 59; in h. p. ss., 62, 129; in n. ss., 173- 
 174; in n. ss., preparation, 175; in p. 
 h. n. ss., 243; number, 57-58; promo- 
 tion, 63-66; proportion of men and 
 women, 57; qualifications, 60, 129; 
 relations with pupils, 57; salaries, 65- 
 67; sources of supply, 63, 178; trained, 
 61 
 
 Tenure of office, 69 
 
 Textbooks, choice of, 91 ; elementary, 
 criticism of, in the n. s. of the Conven- 
 tion, 143; free, 56, 92; required, in e. 
 p. ss., 90; use of, 193 
 
 Titulaire, t,},, 34, 38, 59-60, 63-66, 233, 
 
 235 
 Topography, study of, in p. h. n. s., 250 
 Trigonometry, study of, in n. ss., 205-206 
 Tuition, free, 82. See also Free schools. 
 
 Tutors, English, at girls' n. ss., 201 
 
 Union schools, 83 
 
 United States, inadequately treated in 
 
 geography, 199 
 University of France, 16 
 University, its authority over public 
 
 ss., 148 
 
 Vacations, 161, 185-186 
 
 Vaccination, compulsory, 71 n.; reward 
 
 for encouraging, 71 
 Vatican, relations with France, 82 
 Versailles, n. s., established in 1831, 154 
 Vierzon, national professional s., 19, 127 
 Voiron, national professional s., 19, 127 
 Von Rochow, supporter of n. s. move- 
 ment in Germany, 142 
 Vosges, closing of n. s., 155 
 
 Wordsworth, modern language require- 
 ment, in n. ss , 203 
 
 Work, home, 105-106 
 
 Writing, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 136; 
 in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; in e. 
 p. ss., io6, III, 117, 145; in h, p. 
 ss., 135, 136; in La Salle's semi- 
 nary, 140; in n. ss., 156, 165, 180, 
 190, 192; in primary ss. under 
 Napoleon, 145 
 In exam, for elementary diploma, 228 
 
 Zoology, study of, in n. ss., 207; in p. h. 
 n. s., 244 
 
VITA 
 
 Frederic Ernest Farrington : Born, Waltham, Mass., 
 December 15, 1872; Educated in the elementary schools of 
 Waltham ; Graduated, Waltham High School, Classical Course, 
 1890; Bachelor of Arts, Harvard University, 1894; Master 
 of Arts, Faculty of Philosophy, Columbia University, 1902; 
 Student at the Sorbonne, Paris, 1902-1903; Fellow in Educa- 
 tion, Teachers College, 1 901 -1902; International Fellow for 
 Study in France, Columbia University, 1902- 1903. 
 
 Instructor, Waltham High School, 1894-1897; Instructor 
 in Mathematics, Collegiate School, New York, 1 897-1 901 ; 
 Reader in Mathematics, Middle States and Maryland Examin- 
 ation Board, 1901 ; Reader in Mathematics, College Entrance 
 Examination Board, 1902; Director of Neighborhood Work, 
 Speyer School, Teachers College, 1903-1904; Assistant Pro- 
 fessor of Education, University of California, 1904 — 
 
 305