VI

[2]Note on the earlier History of the Technical High School in Germany by A. E. Twentyman in Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, Vol 9, page 468.

The dates of the founding of the now existing Technische Hochschulen vary somewhat, certain of the schools growing out of a foundation which at the beginning was of a low or intermediate grade. Several of the schools have passed through a period of transition or reorganization state during the course of their existence. The institution, and time of establishment of each are as follows.

In 1799 was instituted in Berlin the Bauakademie, a State institution whose purpose was set forth in the royal decree thus:

“To train in theoretical and practical knowledge capable surveyors, architects, civil engineers, and masons, principally for the King’s dominions, but foreigners mayfind admittance if no disadvantage accrue thereby to the King’s subjects.”

Later, in 1821, Gewerbeschule came into existence, and in 1879 the union of these two formed the Berlin Technische Hochschule which is located in Charlottenburg, a suburb of the city. Owing to the high standards of this institution, it is styled the Königliche Technische Hochschule. Since its reorganization the plans of the other schools of like character have been modified in accordance with the Berlin scheme.

The preparation necessary for admission to the Hochschulen is equivalent to that demanded by the university proper. The age of admission probably never drops below seventeen, the average age being considerably greater. Men of mature years and of wide experience and training avail themselves to the privileges offered. The courses are from three to four years in length.

[3]“The new universities thus developed have the purpose of affording higher instruction for the technical positions in state and community service, as well as in industrial life, and of cultivating sciences and arts which are intimately connected with the field of technology (Berlin provisory statute, 1879). They prove themselves equal to universities in the following points: they claim for their matriculated students the same preparatory education required by the old universities, namely, nine years at a classical high school; they grant and insist upon perfect freedom in teaching and learning; and are under the direction of rectors elected for one year, instead of having principals chosen for life as in secondary schools.”

[3]Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1897-1898, page 70.

It may be said here that an exception to the rule of the annual election of the administrative officers, is furnished in the exampleof the Munich school, which retains a permanent Director as the custom prevailed in times past.

Unless otherwise qualified, students must have prepared in the Industrieschule, the Gymnasium, the Real-Gymnasium or in the trade or building schools. In lieu of this an examination is demanded. Twenty-four is the minimum age of graduation.

In tracing the development of these schools from unpretentious beginnings to their present high standards of excellence, we see that more and more they have become unified in purpose and similar in curricula. In the early days too, the qualifications for admission, their dynamic government, and educational standards were lower and more diversified than we find them to-day. Sustained by the State and each administered by its board or council, they are doing a work which cannot be excelled by the universities themselves.

The organization of departments of work offered is approximately the same in all schools. In Berlin there are six departments:

Special attention is given certain subjects in one or another of these schools; civil or mechanical engineering, building construction, industrial chemistry, etc. An agricultural department is maintained at Munich, and a forestry department at Carlsruhe. That a knowledge of the application of electricity is considered essential in our modern methods is shown in the fact that all students in departments of machine construction engage in the study of electro-technics.

The courses of study are to-day upon moreof an elective basis than formerly although even now the results of the work of Nebenius are clearly seen. The success of the Hochschulen is due to the efforts of Nebenius more than to any other one man. His ideas were worked out at Carlsruhe and in greater or lesser degree incorporated into all the schools. It was insisted by him that a proper foundation must be laid before any successful special technical training can be had. Preliminary work must be mastered and a natural sequence of studies followed. To this end a fixed graduated course is recommended, the student to be promoted as ability may determine. The one course plan however has been substituted for the several.[4]

[4]“Programm der Königl. Technischen Hochschule zu Hannover, 1901-1902, page 90. Den Hörern bleibt die Wahl der Lehrfächer frei überlassen, für ein geordnetes Studium empfiehlt sich aber die Beachtung der folgenden Studien und Stundenpläne.”

The following table compiled from various sources will give some idea of the extent ofthe work as carried on in Berlin. The school has a library of 54,000 volumes; a student body of upwards of 4,500 and a modern equipment throughout.

The rivalry existing among the various schools is in some respects a point to be commended. Then, too, the idea taking form in the Hochschulen and being more fully appreciated by the educationalists of our own country, that each school should specialize along some particular line, is worthy of attention. Energy is saved thereby, and students may have the advantage of increased facilities in equipment and instruction. Many Americans are studying in these schools, possibly more in Munich than elsewhere. While thorough in their treatment of subjects, the practical side of the work is too much lost sight of in the theoretical treatment. Testing and applied work are certainly given considerable attention however. To quote Dean Victor C.Alderson of the Armour Institute, Chicago, who says in reference to testing:

“Professors regard this work as professional practice, just as doctors, who are professors in medical schools, have an outside practice. The technical school allows the professors free use of the laboratories, but assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the results or opinions expressed.”

The degree of Doctor of Engineering is conferred by these institutions, and that their work has been highly instrumental in developing the country cannot be doubted, especially in the line of applied chemistry in which branch of engineering Germany leads the nations. How closely the development of the industries of Germany are related to the work of the Technische Hochschulen it is difficult to say, but that these schools have shown through the accomplishments of their graduates that high standards of moral and intellectual training can be had in other than the traditional universities, and that as efficient socialservice can be rendered through the application of science to the arts and industries as by means of the languages, cannot be doubted.

Schools of Industrial Art or Art Trade Schools

The Kunstgewerbeschulen are schools of art. The causes leading to their inception are clearly set forth in a paragraph contained in the 1902 Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor. It reads:

“The international museums of 1851, 1855 and 1862, in England, Austria and Germany, respectively called attention to the fact that with all their technical excellence the industrial products of Germany possessed few qualities of artistic finish and design. France showed what could be done in this direction. Her products easily held first rank in this respect, her eminence being the result of centuries of training in this field. Since Colbert’s time industrial art education has been emphasized in the training of French workmen, and the accumulated skill and taste due to this training, has leftits impress on French products. The German states at once set about to remedy this weakness in this respect, and since that time have so persistently established museums and schools for industrial art training that now there is no important city in the Empire which does not possess one or more of these institutions”.

Considerable variety exists among the various types of art schools and even among those belonging in the same class and separated as to location we find differences. In Leipzig, Saxony, for example the Kunstgewerbeschule aims at the graphic arts mainly. In Berlin, Dresden, Carlsruhe, and certain other cities these schools train for sculptors and painters, and the term “Akademie” is frequently applied to these institutions. They are in fact, art trade schools whose main purpose, while yet industrial, is also the instilling of an artistic feeling into industrial work. They reach on andout from the trade school and up to the institutions for the teaching of the fine arts. They are then a middle grade of applied art schools.

The genesis of the industrial art schools really lies in the establishment of museums of industrial art. The museums were an inspiring and energizing force, for here the best work could be exhibited and studied. The municipality and general government financed the movement for the museums. Schools sprang up in connection with the museums and later, independent art schools were established.

A moderate fee is charged those who pursue work here, twenty to forty marks yearly. Candidates must have had practical experience in the line of work they propose to take up, and both these schools and the so-called industrial drawing courses assume a certain proficiency on the part of the candidates; a proficiency in general subjects and indrawing particularly. An examination is given those who cannot present the desired credentials. The length of the courses in these schools is usually three years. The classes are both day and evening, 8A. M.to 4P. M.and from 5 to 10P. M.In some instances Sunday sessions are held also.

The courses consist of architectural designing in wood and metal, metal engraving and chasing, modeling, steel engraving and etching, design for fabrics, pattern designing, artistic embroidery, decorative painting, enamel painting, designing and painting figures and plants. The work throughout is both theoretical and practical in its nature, the instruction gained in the class being applied in the shop. The subjects of instruction and time devoted to each differ according to the course pursued. As an example of the programme offered, the following, taken from the architectural draftsman’s course in the Munich school is given; thefigures show the number of hours per week devoted to each subject.

The Bauschule are only for those who wish proficiency in architectural studies.

What the Industrial Hall at Carlsruhe, the Industrial Art Museum at Berlin, and the National Museum at Munich are to the art schools proper, the open drawing halls are to the industrial drawing courses. Here, as in the museums, are kept models and designs of rare merit and students may pursue work under competent instruction. Such halls are established in Bavaria, Hesse, Prussia, Saxony and Wurttemberg.

In these art courses skill and originality are aimed at equally. The relation existing between the art work and the trade or industry with which it is connected is such as to make more valuable the latter.

It is needless to speak further of the museums. The art products there exhibitedgive much incentive to students, as well as a feeling for the best from the standpoint of the beautiful and artistic, and all who visit them are consciously or unconsciously influenced for the better.

The following table shows the distribution of industrial art schools throughout the various States.

Bibliography

Beobachtungen und Vergleiche über Einrichtungen für Gewerbliche Erziehung, 1901.—Dr. G. Kerschensteiner.

Das Gewerbeschulwesen.—Carl Melchior.

Denkschriften über die Entwickelung der Gewerblichen Fachschulen und der Fortbildungsschulen in Preussen.—Lüders.

Encyklopädisches Handbuch der Pädagogik.—W. Rein.

English Technical Instruction Commission, 1896. Report on the Recent Progress of Technical Education in Germany.

Fortbildungsschule in unserer Zeit.—J. B. Meyer.

German Higher Schools.—James E. Russell.

German Technical Schools, 1901.—Victor C. Alderson.

Gewerbliche Fortbildungsschulen Deutschlands.—R. Nagel.

Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, 1900.—Conrad.

Höherer Polytechnischer Unterricht in Deutschland, etc.—Carl Koristka.

Industrial Education.—Philip Magnus.

Jahresbericht der Königlichen Industrieschule und Baugewerkschule zu München, 1898-1899.

Jahresbericht der Technischen Staatslehranstalten zu Chemnitz, 1890.

Jahresbericht über die Berliner Fortbildungsschule, 1890-1891.

Kunstgewerbe als Beruf, 1901.

Note on the Earlier History of the Technical High Schools in Germany.—A. E. Twentyman.

Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, 1902, Vol. 9, page 465.

Paches’ Handbook, 1899.

Problems in Prussian Secondary Education for Boys.—Michael E. Sadler.

Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, 1898, Vol. 3.

Programm der Königlichen Fachschule zu Iserlohn Metal Industrie.

Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1889-1890, page 1209-1212.

Same, 1894-1895, Vol. 1, page 345-380.

Supplementary and Industrial Schools in Germany.

Same, 1895-1896, Vol. 1, page 138.

Same, 1897-1898, Vol. 1, page 69. German Technical Colleges.

Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor, 1892, Eighth Annual.

Industrial Education in Germany.

Same, 1902, Seventeenth Annual.

Trade and Technical Education in Germany, page 871.

Second Report of the Royal Commission on Technical Education, London, 1884, Vol. 1.

The Educational Foundations of Trade and Industry, 1902.—Fabian Ware.

The Continuation Schools in Berlin.—Dr. H. Bertram.

Special Reports on Educational Subjects, London, 1902, Vol. 9, page 451.

United States Consular Reports. Description of the School of Carpentry and Cabinetmaking in Magdeburg, Prussia, No. 238, July, 1900.—Wm. Diederich.

Same. School of Marine Machinists, Flensburg, Prussia. No. 174, March, 1895.

Same. Technical and Merchant Schools 56:208, page 78.—J. C. Monoghan.

Same. Technical Education in Germany. 54:202, page 447.—J. C. Monoghan.

Transcriber’s Note:The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.p. viii: fordevelopmentreaddepartment→deportmentp. 007: make any one clasification → classificationp. 010: Conrad’s Handworterbuch → Handwörterbuchp. 011: Wurtemburg industrial → Wurttemburgp. 012: other conditions (examinations) or these schools → ofp. 012: Ages ranges from fourteen to thirty → rangep. 012: the only instition → institutionp. 013: [errata] Pure Air → Artp. 014: Technischeschulen → Technische Schulenp. 016: Continuation Schools or Fortbilbungsschulen → Fortbildungsschulenp. 016: Fortbildtngsshulen → Fortbildungsschulenp. 017: [extra comma] at this age, forced to → age forcedp. 017: a statsment made by Mr. Michael N. Sadler→ statementp. 018: [quote added] “Among the great numberp. 019: [errata] in the arts which enable → ennoblep. 019: born under a luckler star → luckierp. 020: continuation of Fortbildungsschulen → orp. 023: adapt their instrnction → instructionp. 023: [errata] Here the committee must meet → communitiesp. 025: [errata] character and development of the boys → deportmentp. 027: higher mathemematics, mechanics, physics → mathematicsp. 028: is carried suffciently far → sufficientlyp. 028: classes are arranged acording to → accordingp. 029: smaller towns or in the conntry → countryp. 029: university extention courses → extensionp. 031: similar to Fortbildungsschulen in Leipsig → Leipzigp. 031: schools have seen a marvelous developement → developmentp. 032: attended by journeyman and apprentices → journeymenp. 032: good manners (gute sitten) → Sittenp. 033: [normalized] throughout various parts of the empire → Empirep. 033: [extra comma] under eighteen years of age, might → age mightp. 033: [extra comma] the employer, must → employer mustp. 033: Baden. compulsory school laws → Baden, compulsoryp. 034: to be determined eventually be → byp. 035: worthy of note that she delares → declaresp. 039: that the Forthildungsschule → Fortbildungsschulep. 039: foundation of most of the Faceschulen → Fachschulenp. 046: Wagonmakers and Wheelrights → Wheelwrightsp. 047: Free hand drawing → Free-handp. 056: becomes the property ot the father → ofp. 057: The Lehrwerkstatten or apprentice shops → Lehrwerkstättenp. 059: fulfil certain teohnical qualifications → technicalp. 059: practical iu the highest degree → inp. 062: [missing letter] The governing power is in ome cases → somep. 063: [errata] laws of building; models of heat → modesp. 067: Buxtehede → Buxtehudep. 067: Magdeberg → Magdeburgp. 068: Orchatz → Oschatzp. 068: Zitteau → Zittaup. 069: [normalized] schools of this class in the empire → Empirep. 070: the elementary ranches in the curriculm → curriculump. 071: Inserlohn → Iserlohnp. 071: Mlttweida → Mittweidap. 071: compiled from tables appearing the Report → appearing in thep. 074: [missing letters] Webereilehrwerkstä en → Webereilehrwerkstättenp. 074: itinerant masters. (Wenderlehrer) → Wanderlehrerp. 074: lines of the indnstry → industryp. 075: In each of the several classses → classesp. 077: Grefeld → Crefeldp. 079: [errata] Knitting, 2 yrs. → Knitting, 1yr.p. 079: [errata, removed line] Machinery | | | 3 | 6 | 2p. 081: superior artizans → artisansp. 081: prepared in the Volkschule → Volksschulep. 081: [errata] the participants enter → participants to enterp. 085: [added chapter number] Vp. 086: show the aplication of science → applicationp. 087: in the atter country → latterp. 087: the necessity or heroic action → for heroicp. 087: due measure of public respsct → respectp. 087: by A. E. Twentymen → by A. E. Twentymanp. 088: Dresden, 1826 → 1828p. 088: principally for the Kiugs dominions → King’sp. 089: styled the Koeniglische Technische Hochschule → Königlichep. 090: Berlin provisory statue → statutep. 091: State and and each administered → State and eachp. 092: The organization of deparments of work → departmentsp. 093: [errata] For the one course plan however → The onep. 093: [errata] have been substituted → hasp. 093: [errata] substituted the several → substituted for thep. 093: Program der Königl. Technischen Hochschule → Programmp. 093: Den Horern bleibt die Wahl → Hörernp. 093: frei überlassen, Für ein geordnetes → überlassen, fürp. 098: Kunstgewerbsechulen are schools of art → Kunstgewerbeschulenp. 104: Alcace-Lorraine, Mülhausen, Strasburg → Alsacep. 104: Prussia, Aix-la Chapelle → Aix-la-Chappellep. 105: Enrichtungen für → Einrichtungenp. 105: Gewerbliche Erzichnung → Erziehungp. 105: Dr. G. Kerschenteuer → Kerschensteinerp. 105: Denkschriften über die Entiwickelung → Entwickelungp. 105: Fortbildungschulen in Prussen → Fortbildungsschulen in Preussenp. 105: Encyklopädischer Handbuch → Encyklopädischesp. 105: Handbuch der Pädogik → Pädagogikp. 105: in unserer zeit → Zeitp. 105: [removed in] Fortbildungsschulen in Deutschlandsp. 106: [removed comma] Jahresbericht der Königlichen, Industrieschulep. 106: Technischen Stattslehranstalten → Staatslehranstaltenp. 107: Program der Königlichen Fachschule → Programmp. 108: School of Marine Machinists, Fleusburg, Prussia → Flensburg

Transcriber’s Note:The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.

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