Blackboards of proper size are very rare in the schools of Norway. As a rule the board is about three by five feet in size and fastened to a clumsy easel which elevates it so high that it is out of reach of the pupils.To enable the children to use such a board a small platform is provided. The child mounts the platform by means of a few steps and there stands and does his blackboard work. In only one instance did the writer during his visits to the schools find what appeared to him to be an adequate amount of blackboard space. This exceptional condition was in one of the primary schools where special equipment was installed for the instruction of children below normal intelligence. The ample provision of blackboard here is proof of a recognition of its value, and the situation may also be regarded as an indictment against the prevalent neglect in this line.
School room decorations are not as prominent as might be expected. Despite the facts that the whole of Norway is picturesque, that her artists are quite numerous, and that the masses of her people are more than ordinarily appreciative of the finer phases of life, very few paintings or pieces of sculpture adorn her schools. True, exceptions as to this rule of scant provision of the artistic may be found; but, as in all countries, they quite generally fail to appreciate the educative values of art.
While, traditionally at least, the study and recitation rooms have been considered of prime and greatest importance in school buildings, there are others, accessory to them, which in their effects are productive of quite as good results. Among them may be mentioned: offices, teachers' rooms, libraries, laboratories, and other rooms for special purposes. Some of theseare not provided in all schools, but commonly all of them are found in the city school buildings.
The offices for rectors, inspectors, head masters, etc., are admirably arranged and handsomely appointed. They are provided with desks, cabinets, chairs, settees, tables, and other furnishings which add to convenience and comfort. The rooms for teachers are equipped and furnished in a way just as suitable to their purpose. In these they spend their vacant periods in study, reading, or in leisure, according to their choice. Here, too, officers and teachers are served with luncheons in the middle of forenoon and afternoon sessions.
There are libraries in nearly all school buildings. While many of them are small some are of large consequence. The one in the Christiania Cathedral School numbers thirty thousand volumes. This is one of the oldest and perhaps the largest library in any school of the country, and it is regarded with considerable justifiable pride.
The laboratories are furnished in harmony with their traditional plan of instruction. Instead of having a supply of apparatus so that most or all of the pupils may be occupied simultaneously in laboratory experimentation, they have but one set of instruments. However, they do furnish liberal quantities of materials for laboratory experimentation. The teacher is the chief operator, one or two pupils assist in the work, and the other members of the class are onlookers.
Where domestic arts are taught, rooms are fitted up especially for the purpose. Stoves, cooking utensils,and many other necessary articles are at hand ready for use. The efficiency of the work is in no wise hindered by lack of supplies. In many instances teachers go themselves to the markets and purchase provisions needed for the day. An earnest effort is made to combine theory and practice in proportions suitable to obtaining the best possible results.
Some of the larger buildings have special rooms for the storing of apparatus and illustrative materials (Anskuelsesmidler). Racks, cupboards, cabinets, drawers, cases, and the like provide convenient means for preserving these supplies and of rendering them easily accessible. Gymnastic halls and lunch rooms will be discussed in another section.
The playgrounds are generally small, but some of the schools have, in addition to the grounds immediately surrounding the buildings, athletic parks of considerable proportions. The grounds about the school buildings are arranged with a view of securing from them maximum returns. They are enclosed by high board or wire fence, or by stone or brick and cement walls. A heavy coating of gravel is usually placed on the ground in order to avoid the growth of vegetation or an accumulation of dust. "Keep off the grass" signs are not in evidence, for rarely do they attempt to have grassy lawns.
They recognize the need and value of physical exercise in the open, and provide means for it in connection with every school. It is specifically required that all pupils go on to the playgrounds during the intermissions (fri Krarterer) which come between all lessons.While the children are at play one or more of the teachers are detailed to supervise the grounds, while others are to patrol the hallways. Large roofs are put up under which the children play when the weather is not favorable to being in the open. On rare occasions when the weather is bitter, pupils may be permitted to remain indoors. Children whose health is extremely delicate are dealt with in leniency, and some of them are permitted to remain inside regularly.
Near to the school buildings, generally on a corner of the grounds, homes are provided for the head master or principal and the janitor (Vagtmester). Sometimes the janitor and his family live in an apartment in the school building. Generally, however, a double house is erected, one part for the principal and the other for the janitor. These homes are furnished rent free to these men.
Teachers in rural districts, as a rule, are supplied with a house and sufficient ground for garden and the pasturage of two or three cows. These provisions materially reduce living expenses, and, in a way, recompense for the low salaries received. In one rural school the writer found three hundred and fifty pupils taught in two divisions—forenoon and afternoon sessions—by six teachers. The principal had been in charge of the school forty-three years. One portion of the school building provided a residence for him and his family. They had a small garden; a fruit orchard; a few acres of land for pasturage and hay; and a barn and sheds for cow, pig, and chickens. There are many similar situations throughout the country. This particularone lay just outside a small city, and this fact accounts in part for the large number of pupils in attendance.
As a rule the homes for rural school teachers compare very favorably with the better class of homes in the surrounding neighborhood. They have sufficient room, are comfortable, and generally satisfy the occupants. The majority of rural teachers have such homes provided, though only a few city teachers enjoy this favor. In 1905, two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-six rural teachers had homes furnished them free of cost.
Most of the teachers in the rural primary schools are men, while the majority of them in the city are women. During the year 1907 there were four thousand, one hundred and twenty-three male and one thousand, four hundred and seven female teachers occupying regular positions in the rural schools, and in the city their numbers were respectively eight hundred and twenty-eight and one thousand, six hundred and six. Although the law makes no requirements as to sex, except that in city schools there must be at least one master and one governess, there are certain forces operative which almost equal edicts of law. Traditionally, teachers in the rural schools are men and, as previously stated, homes are provided for them and their families. Appointments to teaching positions are permanent. Teachers remain in their places until death removesthem or until they choose to retire on pension, which is, all too often, long after they pass the time of their efficiency. It is difficult to break with the old customs and hence the entrance of women teachers into the rural school positions has been slow. In the cities the conditions are different. There only a small percentage of the teachers have homes furnished them, the number of teaching positions without supervising responsibility is large, and the salaries paid to women are lower than those paid to men. As a consequence the female teachers have found easy entrance into the city schools, and at present they outnumber the men two to one. Women have been teaching since 1869, and the people are convinced that their ability as teachers is equal to that of the sterner sex.
In the secondary schools, also, the majority of the instructors are men. In the gymnasia practically all of them are men, but in the middle schools there are many women teachers. Even though the Norwegians recognize woman's ingenuity and efficiency in teaching small children, they have not yet become converted to the idea that she is man's equal in the more advanced educational fields. It seems probable that tradition is the chief hindrance to the entrance of women into teaching positions in the gymnasia.
In their plan of instruction there is much to commend and some things to criticise. The teachers do a large amount of teaching, but they also provide opportunity for the children to do a great deal on their own initiative, so that they too may know the joy of discovery and feel the triumph of mastery. The Norwegianpedagogue uses the recitation period, nearly always fifty minutes, in an endeavor to impart information, both directly and indirectly; directly by straightforward giving, and indirectly through cooperative mental activities. While they feel the importance of direct instruction, they see, also, the advantage in shifting a part of the responsibility to the pupils. They recognize the fact that the child has ability, and that by himself he is capable of finding and recognizing problems, and of working them out to satisfying conclusions. They appreciate that even a small child is able to carry out many educative activities with a minimum of direction from the teacher, and that the development which comes from this self-direction and initiative is one of the most valuable ends of education. The intent is that the class period shall be devoted to exercises which will furnish information and, at the same time, make the children independent and able to direct themselves.
Though the ideals and aims are excellent, the means for attaining them are not the best. There is a certain inherited aloofness on the part of the instructor which robs both teacher and pupils of some of the values which come from closer association. During the recitation hour the teacher nearly always occupies the high chair on the elevated platform, except while using the blackboard or doing other demonstrational work. My observations convince me that the teachers, especially the men, do not get down and work among and with the children as much as seems essential to the accomplishment of the greatest good.
Now the discipline and character of recitations also deserve attention. When a pupil is called upon to recite, he is expected to pass to the aisle and there stand erect until the recitation is completed. Only in rare cases are children allowed to sit while reciting. I have seen children only eleven or twelve years of age called to the front of the room to analyze and develop a problem. The smallest children are required to give only short answers to questions, but responses rapidly increase in length, as age advances, until they amount to minute and extended discussions of topics. Recitations lasting ten to fifteen minutes are not uncommon, and the children become quite expert in the relation of facts and in the development of problems presented. This method of procedure is perhaps all right for a certain class of children, but timid boys and girls are sometimes embarrassed to the extent that they are unable to do credit to themselves, their teachers, or the lessons. On one occasion I saw a boy who was so frightened in an attempt to stand and recite, being required at the same time to look into the face of a complaining teacher, that he was unable to say anything whatever. The teacher, a man of advanced age, finally awoke to the situation, and placing his hand on the boy's head, talked to him about the lesson until he calmed the lad's fears and obtained a very satisfactory response from him.
In addition to classroom activities connected with mental growth, considerable work is done looking to physical development. Gymnastic exercise is required of all children in primary and secondary schools, exceptingthose in first and second grades and a few who are physically disqualified for it. To provide for this work, the city schools furnish large halls with excellent equipment, and special teachers to give instruction. A Swedish system of gymnastics is in vogue throughout the country. There seems to be no criticism against the system, and the benefits testify emphatically to its efficiency. The apparatus is simple and inexpensive, but the variety of movements and the numberless combinations of them seem to answer every demand.
Certain conditions and customs prevailing in Norway make it necessary to serve lunches at the school buildings. The morning sessions are long and the dinner hour is far later than noon—generally two or three o'clock. Furthermore, many children of poor parentage come to school underfed. Opportunity to obtain a light lunch of nourishing food and a warm drink at about 10:30 or 11 o'clock is an appreciated necessity. Hence most buildings have lunch rooms arranged and equipped according to local demands. Here, in the secondary schools, the family of the janitor furnishes rolls, buns, cakes, cocoa, coffee, milk, etc., at a reasonable rate. As stated before, the teachers have lunches served in their own rooms. Some cities provide children in the primary schools with one meal of wholesome food each day of school during the winter months—generally from the middle of October until the first of May. This is free to the needy children, and others obtain it at first cost.
In Christiania they have a central kitchen from which the city primary schools receive supplies. Thiskitchen has a capacity for steam cooking, ten thousand liters at a time. Only the best food is purchased. This is carefully prepared and delivered every day in tightly sealed cans to the several schools where it is served hot. The maintenance of this kitchen is in answer to recommendations made by a committee, appointed by the school board, after visiting various similar European institutions and studying carefully into their operations. In equipment, management, and good results it is not surpassed in any city in Europe or America. In some of the schools, hundreds of free meals are dispensed every day throughout the long winter. During the year 1908-1909, from October 19, 1908, to April 30, 1909, (one hundred and thirty-two days), the Christiania central kitchen furnished 616,821 free meals and 77,733 meals which were paid for by children in the schools. This work stands as a testimonial to the beneficence of the people whose circumstances enable them to maintain it.
The discipline of the school borders on the military order. The pupils form in line and march in passing to and from classrooms and playgrounds. While the work of instruction proceeds strict discipline is maintained. Before entering a classroom where a recitation is in progress, one invariably knocks at the door, whoever he is and whatever his errand, and by the time he enters teacher and pupils are on their feet. Turning to the one entering, they bow and continue to face him until he is seated, which is a signal to them to sit. Should the visitor withdraw before the class is dismissed,the pupils again rise to their feet and bow him out; but, if he remains until they are dismissed, they bow to him before taking their departure. Every activity indoors and out of doors is closely supervised, and the control exercised over the pupils is praiseworthy.
Attendance at school is regular in all grades. When children are absent for any reason the case is inquired into without delay, and, unless satisfactory excuse or explanation is forthcoming, the truant officers are on hand to enforce regulations. Failure to comply with the laws regarding absence from school, subjects parents or guardians of children to a fine of from one to twenty-five crowns.[18]Very rarely is an enforcement of these laws necessary, for the people are generally law-abiding and peace-loving. Being eager for development, they gladly comply with educational provisions without any compulsion, and regularity in attendance is the universal practice. Sickness is perhaps the most common excuse given for absence and, since excellent health is characteristic of the people, this is infrequent.
Pupils are nearly always healthy, vigorous, and robust. One of the chief points calling attention to this is the rarity of cases where glasses are worn. In visiting schools I noticed that spectacled children were very few. I was at first inclined to criticise what I interpreted to be neglect of the eyes, but soon found that eyesight, as well as the general health of the children, was being carefully guarded. Every school has itsphysician whose duty it is to regulate sanitation and to remedy physical defects of children. I ascertained that in some schools special examinations had been conducted for the testing of eyesight, and results showed that very few of the pupils were under the necessity of wearing glasses. Among the causes contributing to this favorable situation may be mentioned a healthful climate, regular drill in gymnastics, proper lighting of school rooms, good ventilation, physical exercise in the open between successive classes, and, in general, the maintenance of a high state of physical vigor. The Norse take justifiable pride in their physical development, and they pay considerable attention to this phase of education. Consequently the children are able to attack the strenuous activities of school life with vim, and mastery of the course of study is not a hardship.
Teaching is a profession in Norway. Those following it have chosen it as their life work. The people thus engaged deserve and receive the recognition, confidence, and esteem of the masses, and they maintain the dignity of their calling. As a class they rank high educationally, morally, and professionally. With the advance in social ideals it has been necessary to raise the standards of preparation for teaching, and, as the years pass, further changes will be required. For a long time, professional training has been demanded of every appointee to a teaching position, and indications point to a rapid development of the quality of this training until every resource is operative.
The law requires that to be eligible for appointment to a regular teaching position in the secondary schools (middle school and gymnasium), one must have had a course in the university and special training provided in the pedagogical seminary. This means that the candidate has completed: (1) the twelve years of work in the primary and secondary schools, where a widerange of instruction and general culture are provided; (2) a course in the university (four to seven years in length), devoted to exhaustive research in the particular branches of study which are subsequently to be taught; and (3) the course of training given in the pedagogical seminary.
It is the aim and function of this seminary to provide for the university graduates who are to become teachers the most practical and complete professional training possible within the limits of time (six months). It is readily evident that excellence in educational equipment and intelligent insight into the business of teaching are among the accomplishments of the profession. In fact, mastery of the field to be taught and professional training in its presentation are requisites.
The certificates or diplomas issued upon completion of the preparatory work just outlined are the only credentials required of the Norwegian teachers. Being issued by the state they have a standard of value which is uniform, recognized, and honored throughout the realm. Without these papers it would be folly to seek appointment to a fixed (permanent) post.
Besides the regular corps of instructors occupying on full time in the general lines of instruction, there are many special teachers devoting their energies along particular lines of work, such as home economics, drawing, music, gymnastics, and manual training; and still others who teach some of the regular branches of study only part time, whose positions are not permanent. Special preparation is required in order to obtain positions in these specific lines of work.
Norway early recognized the value of specific training for the work of the teacher. The experiences of other nations served as object lessons illustrating the good coming from the services of properly equipped teachers and the dangers of proceeding without such. The state was eager to lay substantial foundations, to conserve and develop every resource, to build permanently and economically, and to profit by the experiences of other systems. Consequently, the people moved forward in a conservative manner and planned for the future as well as for immediate needs.
Utilizing the strong points of other systems and adapting them to local conditions, the state established six teachers' seminaries, locating one in each of the six dioceses into which the country is divided, so that they would be within easy access of the people attending them. Besides these state seminaries, four private institutions, having almost identical functions, have been established and are flourishing. The private seminaries are located at vantage points not too close to the State Schools yet where they will be within reach of a large number of people. The favorable location of these schools makes it possible for a large number of the attendants to live in their own homes, while the large majority need be but a short distance from their homes.
The work of the teachers' seminaries is, of course, to provide special preparation for teaching in the schools throughout the nation. Their curricula are similarto those used in the secondary schools. The chief point of difference between them is the attitude taken toward the subjects of instruction. In the secondary schools the aim is general and in a large measure cultural, while in the seminaries the attempt is always to present the lesson or subjects of instruction in such a manner that the pupils shall get both intellectual development and the correct method of presentation. It is the intent that this experience shall help to qualify for the successful teaching of the subjects studied. The work corresponds closely with that done in the normal schools of America or similar teachers' schools in other lands.
It is everywhere true that teachers teach as they have been taught. The principle of imitation is illustrated clearly every day in every school room. Teachers, like pupils, follow example more closely than precept. Providing schools designed to fit people for the teaching profession have ideal teachers, they will be able to turn out from year to year groups of teachers, who, imitating their masters, both in the application of scientific principles of method and in the exercise of individuality, will in turn become ideal teachers. If the curriculum and teaching of the training college are rich and varied, its products will be characterized by efficiency and resourcefulness. On the contrary, should the work of the school be narrow because of a cramped curriculum, or on account of biased and shrunken ideals of the faculty, the results will be unsatisfactory. The teachers who go out from such an institution will beunequal to the tasks awaiting them—they will be unable to meet the situation in the educational field.
Since it is a chief occupation of the training school to instill methods of presentation, there is great danger of becoming mechanical, machine-made, or stilted in one way or another. Quite the opposite must be the nature and work of the teacher. The teacher should be able to come down from the high platform and cooperate with the children; to find the individual child and his interests and, in a genuinely sympathetic spirit, to direct those interests; to discard set rules, hard and fast lines, and pet theories; and to open up to each child a vision of the fields before. In order to do these things the instructor must be thoroughly familiar with child life: its nature, mental and physical make-up, processes of development, conditions of growth and activity, instincts, and hopes. He must also cherish and manifest a sympathetic attitude towards youthful tendencies and aspirations, and be able to inspire the pupils to noble purposes.
The seminaries of Norway, like those of other nations, fall short of some of the conditions of excellence that we yearn for. They do not include a sufficient amount of professional training nor is that which is provided always the ideal type. Nevertheless, an earnest effort is being put forth to approach these higher conditions as rapidly as possible. The course of three years, besides furnishing a valuable fund of instruction, provides a large amount of work in observation and extensive experience in teaching. The training in observation generally consists of work in connection with the stateschools (primary and secondary) in the immediate vicinity of the seminary. Into these state schools the seminary pupils are permitted to go and observe the teaching of the regularly employed instructors as they present the different subjects in the curriculum. After having observed teaching for some time and having carefully discussed class room procedure with their own teachers, they are required to specially prepare and present some lessons under the close, yet sympathetic scrutiny and supervision of their masters. As time passes, more and more of this practice teaching is assigned until proficiency is attained in the presentation of subjects to be taught in subsequent years. While these schools do not incorporate into their activities all things that seem important, it must be said to their credit that they have done a great service in qualifying teachers for the class of instruction which has already raised the masses to their present place of literary distinction.
Besides the institutions providing teachers' training above referred to, there was established in 1907 the Pedagogical seminary. This seminary is affiliated with the university in Christiania but is not an organic part of it. It was founded by act of the Stortbing and is supported by the state. The function of the Pedagogical Seminary is to provide professional training of an especially practical type for graduates of the university who intend to make teaching their profession. The length of the course is six months. Instruction and training provided in this institution includes: (1) lectures in hygiene, psychology, history of education,and principles of education; (2) observation of class instruction by masters, whose teaching is the highest representation of the art in the city; (3) discussions, formal and informal, general and analytic, with the headmaster of the seminary concerning methods of instruction, class conduct, and school management; and (4) practice teaching under the supervision of masters whose criticisms are given in such frank and sympathetic manner as to make them invaluable.
As a rule, those trained in the teachers' seminaries are employed in the primary schools. The students who avail themselves of the advantages of a university education and follow it by the training provided in the Pedagogical Seminary generally become teachers in the secondary schools. The seminary training in general is of such character that it may be put into use immediately upon entrance into the work of teaching. It also renders vital and usable for purposes of instruction the information and intellectual development gained during the long-continued and intensive schooling preceding such training.
Throughout the school system of Norway teachers are given titles according to the nature of the positions occupied. In the primary school the man who does the supervising work (in America known as superintendent) is called theInspektor; the head teacher or principal is termed theOverlaerer; and the other teachers, male and female, are spoken of respectivelyasLaererandLaererinde. In the middle school and gymnasium the titles areRektor,Overlaerer, andAdjunkt. TheRektorhas the supervisory work and some teaching to do; theOverlaereris one of the principal teachers who has been given the title and ranking, chiefly because of fitness and long service; and theAdjunktis a regular teacher who has served the school for five years or more and has received permanent appointment.
Titles do not correspond strictly to educational equipment nor do they depend wholly upon term of service, though both of these may be and generally are contributory factors. For example: positions in the middle schools and gymnasia are open only to those who have certain educational fitness; the teachers with especially strong qualifications and superior ability are the ones most liable to receive early promotion to the higher class positions; and, when promotions are made, the persons who have taught for a long time enjoy some advantage over those with but slight experience. Titles correspond more definitely to classes of positions occupied than to any other thing that can be named. When an individual is appointed to a position carrying a title, that designation is invariably used in connection with his name. He is no longer John Johnson or Herr Johnson, butRektorJohnson,OverlaererJohnson,InspektorJohnson, etc.
The teacher's tenure of office in Norway is very different from what we are accustomed to in America.Positions are of two kinds—permanent and temporary. Nearly all appointments in the past have been to permanent posts. This means that the individual occupies his place without molestation or any hint of insecurity until he chooses to resign or until he reaches the age of retirement.[19]Some appointments now are to temporary positions though generally they lead to permanent ones. Rarely, if ever, does a person who makes reasonable success in a temporary position fail to secure an appointment to a permanent post.
Permanency in position has a number of well-recognized advantages. Security of situation gives to the teacher a release from the uncertainty which constantly harasses the minds of so many where frequent change of position is the rule. A lasting appointment enables one to get a firm grasp on the local situation, and to utilize without waste all the momentum accumulated while occupying in a particular place. Furthermore, the teacher who feels settled in a position is able to establish a home, and to become identified with the community and its interest.
Since teachers continue for so long a time in a position, they and their pupils become as well acquainted with each other as with members of a common family. It is interesting to note how minutely a teacher knows the daily life and habits of his pupils. While the relations are not always the most congenial, they are known to be practically inevitable and impossible of escape so they each make the best of the situation and get the most out of it.
Again, when children know that it will be their lot to come under the tuition of a certain instructor who occupies a permanent post under state appointment, they work faithfully and usually eliminate any criticising attitude. In fact, long terms of service tend to inhibit the criticisms of both children and parents which sometimes attend teachers who occupy positions but for a short time. The situation conduces to a condition of harmony and cooperative activity. The children instinctively feel the authority of the teacher. They know that he has the support of local and state authorities, and that they will cooperate with him in carrying forward his projects. The teacher, in turn, recognizes his responsibilities in the premises and endeavors to occupy acceptably.
Now it is just as true that there are some disadvantages to permanency of positions. Teachers are apt to become non-progressive and in some cases, little more than fixtures. Change of environment stimulates progress and development. Variety in teaching experience broadens the capabilities and increases the usefulness of teachers. In addition, children need the touch and influence of many lives. They receive greater inspiration because of coming in contact with the personality of a large number of teachers. However, too frequent change is wasteful. It dissipates the energy of teachers and breaks the continuity of the work of the children. Where the permanency of positions is absolutely uncertain, the teaching profession is transitory and dwindling. Only a few remain for long time in the work under such conditions. Manyefficient school men leave the profession annually because of this discouragement.
At present, the feeling appears to be general that permanency in position should be conditioned upon improvement in efficiency. Evidently a recognition of this principle is a basic cause underlying the increase in number of appointments to temporary teaching positions. This procedure affords an excellent opportunity for weeding out the unfit. At the same time it acts as a spur inducing growth and development. Progressive tendencies, along with other qualifications, are regarded necessary to appointment even to temporary posts, and, as implied before, success in such positions is a prerequisite to appointment to permanent ones.
In America, teacher's tenure of office is very short. Each year there are many changes in the personnel of teachers throughout the country. Here we have the extreme of uncertainty, while in Norway they go to the limits of certainty in teaching positions. Both these extremes are unfortunate. Could a golden mean be reached which would include proper incentives to and recognition of continuous self-improvement and a reasonable sense of security in permanent occupation, the profession would call into its ranks a large and more efficient body of men and women, and the schools would make greater and more substantial progress. In order to illustrate the permanency of positions in Norway Table VI has been arranged.
Table indicating Retirement from Teaching Staff and Reasons for Retirement.
Year1890189519001905SexMaleFemaleMaleFemaleMaleFemaleMaleFemaleTotal number of positions39411187440221164670261348652885Total number leaving1171788221068911090Vacated after a period service from1 to 10 years191121132465205310 to 20 years2641071013191920 to 30 years381181651310Over 30 years341392566588Reasons for leavingDeath3012423063211Retirement on pension39348353215922Change in position93244Marriage9114748Various others3941662013155
It is immediately apparent that the changes in the body of teachers are rare. It is also evident that nearly all who leave the profession do so on legitimate grounds. A few changes result from transfers in position, a large per cent of withdrawals are retirements after extended periods of service, and many vacancies are due to death. Fifty per cent or more of the women who retire do so on account of marrying, a few die at their posts, and many retire on pensions. Very few of the women teachers retire to enter other lines of work. While the table does not indicate how much longer than thirty years some teachers remain in the service, it may be added here that examples are not rare where individuals continue teaching for more than half a century. In most cases teachers occupy the same position throughout their teaching experience.
The salaries received by teachers do not average high in Norway. Many provisions are made, however, for the reduction of their living expenses. All those who serve the school authorities in Norway receive certain benefits appertaining to the positions they hold. For example: There is advance in salaries on promotions and after specified periods of service; teachers are exempt from expense incident to particular offices; school authorities send all official communications through the mail free of postage; teachers receive pensions on retirement from positions; the rural school teachers frequently receive, in addition to their salary, a houseto live in and sufficient land for the pasturage of two or three cows, and in towns and cities some of the teachers have homes provided, or are allowed a certain amount per year for living expenses. These and similar concessions and provisions are extended to the teachers according to enactments of the state, individual communes, or municipalities. Generally, a regular schedule is made out by which salaries are governed. Table VII indicates the salaries for different positions in eight cities of Norway:
The table is made up from the salary schedules of typical cities of various sizes. The values are inkroner(onekroneis practically the equivalent of twenty-seven cents in United States money). We note that salaries are medium in the beginning, and that they increase at regular intervals until certain limits are reached. When we consider these limiting salaries, the long service generally rendered at the highest rate, certainty of position, and the pension to be received upon retirement, we are prone to admit that the advantages are not altogether in favor of the higher salaries paid in our American schools. True, the American teacher generally receives larger returns in dollars and cents, but the Norwegian pedagogue is less mercenary than his American cousin. He is satisfied when his wants and those of his family are liberally provided for. His life is not strenuous. It is happy and filled with the joys of service and the companionship of youthful souls. Anxieties are in large measure overcome by the assurance that the state will provide necessities whenthe time for retirement comes. Pensions are graduated according to individual necessity as well as with reference to position, term of service, and salary at the time of retirement.
Schedule of Salaries paid to Teachers in the Primary Schools of eight cities in Norway.[20]
Salary After (in Kr.)CityPositionBegin'ngSalary3 yrs.5 yrs.6 yrs.9 yrs.10 yrs.12 yrs.15 yrs.1. ChristianiaOverlaerer3000340037004000Laerer, h.g.3000Laerer, l.g.160018002100240027003000Laererinde, h.g.1700Laererinde, l.g.1100120013001400150017002. FredrikshaldLaerer, h.g.2200Laerer, l.g.130014501650175019002000Laererinde, h.g.1250Laererinde, l.g.95010001050110011503. SarpsborgLaerer, h.g.18002000Laerer, l.g.12001400160017001800Laererinde, h.g.11501250Laererinde, l.g.900975105011504. FredrikstadLaerer, h.g.2100Laerer, l.g.140015501700185020002100Laererinde, h.g.1200Laererinde, l.g.1000110012005. DrammenOverlaerer2600Laerer, h.g.23002400Laerer, lg.140016001800200021002300Laererinde, h.g.13001400Laererinde, l.g.90010001100120013006. HortenLaerer, h.g.20002200Laerer, l.g.13001500170018502000Laererinde, h.g.11001200Laererinde, l.g.9009501000105011007. TonsbergOverlaerer250026502800Laerer, h.g.240016001800200022002400Laerer, l.g.1400Laererinde, h.g.1300Laererinde, l.g.90098010601140122013008. KongsbergLaerer, h.g.1800Laerer, l.g.13001450160017001800Laererinde, h.g.1100Laererinde, l.g.70080090010001100
We come now to a consideration of the course of study in the school system as it has evolved and is now operative. As was true throughout other parts of Europe, so in Norway, education during the middle ages issued almost exclusively from the cloister and cathedral schools (Dom-og Kathedral Skoler), and in them are found the germs of most modern courses of study. Inasmuch as the successive steps in the evolution of the recent schools of Europe from the earlier forms vary but little in the several countries, and since the subject is already familiar to nearly all students of education, we omit any technical discussion of that interesting feature of history, and refer the reader to any of the several works treating it fully. Suffice it to say, the aim of the church in maintaining these earlier schools centered in the development of a qualified clergy about whom should be gathered a loyal following, well-trained in the dogmas, doctrines, and traditions of the organization.
At this time the monk and a small company of disciples constituted the school. The little group studied together from day to day in and about the cloister or cathedral. Among them, very naturally, certain new thoughts and ideals sprung up. The masters saw the new developments if they were not themselves parties to them. As the newer thoughts became fixed in the youthful minds, individual interests pressed harder and harder still until provision was made for extending the work of instruction as well as for widening the scope of activities within the schools. While the aim was at first to give instruction and discipline in lines necessary to a clerical career, it changed by degrees until it included branches useful in legitimate occupations other than that of the clergy. However, the diversifying of school activities and the enrichment of the program of study did not keep pace with the changes that were taking place in other phases of the social cosmos. A spirit of unrest grew to proportions almost ungovernable until the middle age renaissance in learning removed the fetters and brought relief by effecting systems of education very fitting to the requirements. Great credit is due to the leaders in the Reformation for the part they played in placing means for instruction and education upon a more secure and permanent basis, and for the service they rendered in giving to the schools certain vitality that had rarely, if ever, been characteristic of any similar institution.
The new type of school bore a stamp of general approval which enabled it to gain a momentum which was not soon to be overcome. In fact, the schools of all themore civilized countries are still largely dominated by traditions dating back to the epoch-making works of such men as Erasmus, Luther, Melanchthon, and Sturm.
Now the ideas of these famous educators were less subjected to change in Norway than in the centers from whence they came. Until the union between this country and Denmark came to an end in 1814, very little thought was given to advancing educational interests in Norway. The work of her cathedral schools had been little improved during the centuries that had passed since their establishment. When at last Norway became a free constitutional state and these Norsemen breathed the air of freedom, felt the exhilaration of greater personal liberties, realized that their destiny was to be of their own making, and fully sensed their important responsibilities in the situation, they all, ecclesiasts and politicians, capitalists and laborers, combined in developing their schools in ways calculated to lift the masses to higher intellectual planes. The changes wrought were in relation to what was to be taught and to the extension of learning. An opportunity for instruction was given to every youth in the land.
For a long time the ancient languages formed the bulk of higher learning, while in the primary schools only the rudiments of a few subjects were attempted. Social tendencies soon required an increase in the number of branches to be taught, and also laid added weight upon the importance of such study as would be of benefit in vocational activities. Accordingly, mathematics, history, geography, and nature study became moreprominent features in all schools. One of the best characteristics of the work throughout is that the mother-tongue has been at all times a dominating factor through every grade of their schools. Later in the process a demand for the modern foreign languages was responded to favorably and they took places in the curriculum of the higher school. These changes bring us down through the last century to the recent forms in courses of study and we shall introduce the reader immediately into the present situation.
Besides the institutions for higher learning there are now three distinct sections in the school system of Norway, viz.: Primary School, Middle School, and Gymnasium. The primary school is designed to provide education of an elementary type for every citizen of the country. By vital cooperation and the exercise of great care in organization, distribution, supervision, and inspection of these schools, the people have overcome illiteracy and have reduced truancy to a minimum—almost to a negligible factor. They are unitedly converted to the belief that an enlightened populace is a necessity to the continuity of desirable institutions, to the development of resources, and to the maintenance of worthy traditions. To secure for all the essentials of good and intelligent citizenship, an attempt has been made to have the curriculum for the primary schools include the branches of study which have meaning in every walk of life, and which enhance the efficiency of each citizen in his individual activities. In short, it is the intent that all the people shall have the more abundant life which comes with a thorough, general, elementaryeducation; and, at the same time, that they shall be prepared for the higher schools which build on the broad foundation of the common school.
Following the primary schools are the middle schools which lead still farther in the pathway of intellectual development those whose situation in life enables them to proceed with school work. Besides carrying forward the lines of study begun in the lower school with added vigor and exactitude, they include a large amount of work in foreign modern languages. Thus we see that this second section in the great institution of learning fills in the elementary framework, enriches the fund of information, adds a considerable amount of culture, and paves the way for the more liberal training to follow in the next section.
The Gymnasium succeeds and builds directly upon the work of the middle school. Its function is to provide a liberal culture and education suited to the needs and desires of those who become in large part the leaders in all phases of political, professional, or other social careers.
Thus we note that the succeeding steps taken in the educational ladder are in harmony with and dependent upon preceding work. While only a correspondingly small number pass to the summit, all the people enjoy the advantages of the broad fundamentals and generalizations which lie at the base of their educational system and equip very well for the common walks and vocations of life. In our discussion we shall separate the work of the three sections and consider them one at a time. It seems advisable to handle them in this way,and we believe that a more adequate conception of the work as a whole will be obtained by offering first the part affecting all the people and dealing with the primary schools.
The primary schools are of two kinds,—those specially designed for the rural sections of the country and others provided for the towns and cities, the latter being somewhat richer in curricula, more complete in organization, and more thorough in operation than the former. Considering the fact that such uniformity characterizes the courses of study in the various schools, it will be necessary to present but one outline for each class of schools. An effort has been made to select courses that are representative and which clearly set forth typical conditions. Table VIII gives the program of work offered in one of the rural communes, and shows the number of hours per week devoted to each branch of study for the seven years in the course. Just after the legislative act of 1889, the Department sent out a "normal plan" which served as a guide in arranging the time-tables for rural municipalities. As a result great uniformity exists.
Table Showing the Number of Hours per Week for Each Branch of Instruction in the Course of Study in Fredrikvaern Commune.[21]