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(7) Wundt, using a simile, says: The concepts which at a given moment exist in consciousness differ with regard to their distinctness. This fact may be compared with a similar phenomenon observed in the act of seeing. The pictures of outer objects which are formed on the retina are most distinct at the point called the focus. Their clearness diminishes more and more the farther away they are from that point. Taking consciousness as an inner seeing it may be said that all concepts present at one moment are within the field of vision, while only one is in the focus of consciousness. The entrance of an image into the field of vision he defines as perception; its entrance into the point of vision (focus) as apperception, and to bring it to that point a definite psychical action is necessary, namely this: The image being present with others in consciousness as a percept is seized upon and brought to greater clearness by attention. But attention is an act of the will. Hence, apperception is an act of volition, a determinative action of the will upon the concepts. The will being an inborn faculty makes apperception a spontaneous action. He briefly defines apperception as conceiving activity of the mind, the sum and substance of our intellectual activity. (After Lange's "Apperception.")

19.-RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EDUCATION.

Netherlands. At the annual general meeting of elementary teachers, held this year at Sneek, in Friesland, the president made a reference to the state of primary education, as affected by the revision of the school law in 1889. The revised act provides for State aid to voluntary schools, or, as they are termed in Holland, schools with the Bible. At first the gravest fears were entertained by all the lovers of enlightenment and progress that the act would be interpreted in the narrowest sense, as has been the case with a somewhat similar change in Belgium. But thus far such apprehensions have proved groundless. The president called the new act one of pacification. It had been honestly and impartially administered by the government. There were, however, still some defects to be remedied, the principal of which was the abnormal size of the classes in come districts. When one teacher had charge of sixty children, as was too frequently the case, all talk of intelligent teaching was mere mockery. (Lond. Jl. of Ed.)

France. Several voices are being raised against the nonreligious instruction by the public elementary schools. M. Keller, formerly member for Belfort, adjures the Catholics to come to the rescue, and open schools in opposition to the public schools. "The time is not far off," he writes, "when all the public schools, like the high public offices, will be in the hands of the freemasons, and when the children will receive an education no longer neutral in its character, but downright bad in its tendency." He advocates schools of a more pronounced religious character, in which religious instruction shall have the first place, and in which all the books, classics, prize books, and recitation books included, shall bear testimony on every page to God and his wonders. No science must be taught that is not illustrated from a religious point of view. Statistics, however, do not give such a desponding account of voluntary schools. In 1878 there were 8,110; in the following year 12,426, and at present there are about 13,000 Catholic voluntary schools. (Schoolmaster.)

At the instance of M. Causeret, a school inspector at Poitiers, the prefect of the district has lent his sanction to a plan for encouraging the moral development of children by establishing permanent records in the schools of notable acts of courage or devotion performed by pupils of the school. The proposal is universally approved. One teacher enlarges on the desire for praise existing among children, and considers that the plan will "inspire the pupils with the love of that which is good," while another affirms that the best definition of virtue is a roll of the virtuous." The promoter has decided to enlarge the original scope of his plan so as to include not only present pupils, but those old pupils who have distinguished themselves by obtaining a medal or a diploma of honor for any act of courage or devotion. It is hoped by this means to "arouse in the children and develop all those civic virtues which make the strength of armies." The children will be stimulated against the time when they are called upon to serve "la patrie" by the example of those who, upon the battlefield have performed some striking deed or who have died for their country. In establishing the record of the brave the following order of procedure is laid down: (1) When the inspector reports a special act of bravery, the prefect should present a board and a book of honor to the school; (2) the young hero's name is to be written on the board and the official record of his deed, after publication in the local official journal, ED 90-78

is to be duly inscribed in the book of honor; (3) the pupils who have secured a medal or diploma for an act of bravery, or whose military service may have entitled them to the cross of the Legion of Honor or a medal shall have their names inscribed on the board; (4) the names of old pupils who have perished on the battlefield shall be carefully preserved,and, if possible, engraved on a stone or marble tablet conspicuously placed in the schoolroom. (Lon. Jl. of Ed.) Germany.-The Prussian minister of education has reversed the decision of a provisional council and declared that children of parents who profess no religious faith are not to be compelled to attend scripture lessons in schools, even when they receive no religious instruction in gymnastics at home. Moreover, such children are not to be refused admission to high schools and normal schools.

20.-SALARIES.

England.-In England, out of 12,087 head masters, only 357 (less than 3 per cent) receive salaries of over £300 ($1,500) per year; and of 16,308 head mistresses, only 449 (less than 2.8 per cent) receive over £200 ($1,000). The average salary is £134 (about $670) for head masters and £82 ($420) for head mistresses.

Germany. A new scale of salaries for teachers of elementary schools in Germany has been adopted by the city government of Bremen. In the primary schools of the city the salary of a principal will be hereafter from $875 to $1,125; that of teachers from $375 to $750; the higher salary mentioned to be reached after eighteen years' service. In the country districts of the city (it must be remembered the free city of Bremen, like Hamburg and Lubeck, own a limited territory outside of the city limits, analogous to Washington and the District of Columbia) the salaries of the principals are slightly less than in the city, but those of teachers are the same as those in the city. The principal of the normal school in Bremen has $1,500, rising to $1,650 in seven years, the professors begin with $650 and reach $1,125 after twelve years.

France. The principals of boys' primary schools who formerly, that is, before the great revival of public education, had only from $500 to $700 annually, now have from $820 to $1,060. The principals of girls' primary, who formerly had from $160 to $710, now have $580 to $910. The male teachers, who had formerly had salaries ranging from $340 to $480, have now from $520 to $720. The female teachers, who had formerly salaries ranging from $340 to $420, now have from $380 to $620. The city appropriation for 1889 for current school expenses was $1,944,881, while in 1871 it was only $1,920,179; and during the years 1871 and 1887 the city paid $17,000,000 for the erection and remodeling of school buildings. (Allg. Dr. Lztg.)

Spain. The library of Madrid has published a general view of the delays in the payment of Spanish teachers. A large number have not seen for twenty years a third or a half of their salary. More than 25,000 teachers have not received their regular payments. In all, the sum due to teachers amounts to 3,055,033 pecetas, or considerably over $700,000. A teacher in Benjarin, Grenada, was owed 2,124 pecetas, but as he could not get any money he took to selling matches, while his wife and daughters sought positions as domestics. Many teachers have been obliged to receive public charity. Many have closed their schools, not having the strength to continue their work. A teacher in Torviczon, to whom the commune owed 6,000 pecetas, was shut out of the schoolroom because the proprietor could not get his rent. While she was able she had paid the rent, adding this to the amount due her from the Government. The report leaves one wondering if all the public spirit in Spain is confined to public school teachers. (Freie päd. Blätter.)

Germany.-The Statist. Jahrbuch für höhere Schulen states that normal school teachers are paid:

Salaries for normal school teachers for 1890-91.

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Annual salary.

$425 to $675

Hessia

$450 to $1,075

775

Oldenburg

500

950

525

750

Weimar

475

750

500

1,350

Brunswick.

450

900

570 1.200

Bremen

675

1,000

575 1,125

Alsace-Lorraine

400 1,025

450

900

It must be remembered that these are not the salaries of teachers of primary and grammar schools, but of normal and training schools. In view of that fact, Americans are apt to consider these salaries pauper wages.

In Prussia the average salary in the country is $256, in the cities $319. To these cash salaries should be added 20 per cent for rent and fuel, which are free to teachers. They either live in dwellings especially built for the accommodation of teachers or in lieu of a dwelling a supplementary payment is made; hence the salaries may be said to range between $300 and $370. Principals of buildings, of course, get more, between $400 and $800.

In Saxony the beginning is $190. If the school has more than forty pupils the salary is raised progressively to $323. Principals receive a minimum salary varying according to the population; thus in towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants, $450; in towns of 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants, $563; in towns of more than 10,000 inhabitants, $675.

In Würtemberg the scale of salaries rises from $225 to $500.

Hessia gives its teachers in the cities of less than 10,000 inhabitants from $225 to $450, and in larger cities from $300 to $550. Women get between $225 and $450.

The minimum salary in Bavaria is $200, the maximum $211, according to the size of the town. To that is added an annual increase, according to length of service, which ends when $300 per annum is reached.

In Baden the communities are divided into five classes with reference to salaries: I, $195; II, $210; III, $240; IV, $270; V, $300. In large cities higher salaries are paid.

Here are mentioned a few cities of Germany with two columns, showing minimum and maximum salaries of teachers (not principals) of elementary schools:

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Karlsruhe, Duisburg, Osnabrück, Freiburg (in Baden), and several other cities pay like Brunswick. Others, notably the wealthier and larger cities, like Hamburg, Frankfürt, and Berlin, treat the teachers better. The minimum in Frankfürt is $430; in Berlin, $390; the maximum in Frankfürt is $850; in Berlin, $810. The rectors or principals in Berlin get from $795 to $971. In Frankfurt the principals are all on a level with regard to salaries, they receive $1,050. Dresden pays to teachers $484; to principals, $1,200. To all these sums about 20 per cent should be added for rent and fuel.

Basil averages $643; Zurich, $446; Geneva, $438; Neuchâtel, $388; Wallis, $369; Schaffhausen, $350; Glarus, $322; some cantons make additional payments. In Belgium, minimum for teachers $240, assistants $200.

Law fixes the minimum for principals in Netherlands at $294, for teachers at $252, for assistants $169.

Salaries rise in Sweden from $140 to $168 within five years of service. In some localities teachers get $380.

The lowest salary in Norway is $185, the highest $400.

The lowest in Denmark is $224, the average is $280, in some localities $392 is paid.

Salaries in Grecce are $16, $20, or $28 per month, independent of an annual sum of from 20 cents to $1 per capita of pupils.

In Turkey a monthly salary of $37 if licensed, but only $22 if without diploma. Italy brings us back to low averages: $112 and $244, with an increase of 10 per cent every six years.

In Spain salaries range according to population: $111 is the minimum, $370 the maximum.

In Russia the average salary is $97 per annum.

Minimum salary in Portugal is $113 per annum and an addition for regular attendance. After the first six years an increase of 25 per cent of the minimum salary is given.

In England, of 15,243 male teachers only 211 had the minimum salary of $250. The others ranged between $250 and $1,500. Of 22,434 women 1,394 had the minimum of $200. The others ranged between $200 and $1,000.

In Scotland and Ireland substantially the same salaries are paid to teachers which are paid in England.

Of course the fact must be considered that the purchasing power of money is greater in Europe than with us, but even with due regard to that a teacher's salary may be said to be low in Europe. (Revue Pedagogique.)

21. SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

Germany-Classical and modern high schools. The facts presented here are gleaned from secondary schools in Prussia only; but the lessons they seem to teach are applicable to other states of Germany, though there are fewer classical and more modern high schools in southern Germany, notable in Würtemberg and Baden.

On February 1, 1890, more than 100 classical high schools (secondary schools) of Prussia' had in their lowest grades less than 25 pupils each, or an average of 18. Of these 20 had only an average of 10 pupils in the "sexta" (lowest grade). The school in Lauenburg needed a teacher for 6 "sextaners," that in Münstereifel 1 for 7, those in Hadamar and Rheinbach 1 for 8, those in Gentheim and Marue 1 for 9, those in Attendorn, Dramburg, Otterndorf, and Riethburg, and other towns 1 for 10 pupils. All these schools are classical high schools or gymnasia, in which the ancient languages claim the lion's share of time and energy. A different picture is presented when we look at the high schools without Latin. Where all circumstances are equal, that is to say, where the number of inhabitants and the industrial, professional, artistic, and commercial pursuits of the people are about equal, we find that the classical school has an almost empty "sexta," while that of the modern school without Latin is overcrowded.

A comparison of a few cities may prove this. Take, for example, the high schools of Lüdenscheid and Bockenheim. In these cities of equal size and similar conditions of life, we find that Lüdenscheid, with 15,000 inhabitants, has only 17 pupils in the lowest grade of its gymnasium, the classical high-school, while Bockenheim, with 17,500 inhabitants, does not show the relative number 20, but 58 pupils in the lowest grade; but then its high school is one without Latin. Even in cities that have both kinds of schools, the same fact may be observed. Emden, for instance, has 20 pupils in the lowest grade of its gymnasium, and 34 in that of the modern school without Latin, which school is only a few years old.

Precisely the same facts are noticed in larger cities, and they prove most convincingly that though the people turn away from the classical languages, they do not mean to desert higher education. Merseburg, for instance, has 16,800 inhabitants, but only 23 pupils in the lowest grade of its classical high school. But annually 190 boys in that city reach the age of nine years, hence might enter the high school (the course of which covers the years from nine to eighteen), but 167 of them do not. It is reasonable to suppose that many of them would do so if a higher school without Latin was founded. Compare this with Emden. This city has only 14,000 inhabitants, but 56 pupils in the lowest grade of its high school without Latin, or about one-third of the boys of that age in that one year.

Here is another instance: Memel has 18,800 inhabitants and only 23 pupils in "sexta" of the high school, which is a classical one. How many of such pupils it might have may be seen from Graudenz, which has 17,300 inhabitants but 113 pupils in the lowest grade of its high school without Latin. Görlitz has 55,600 inhabitants and only one high school, a classical one. It has 55"sextaners," while Potsdam, with 51,000 inhabitants and a modern high school, has 175 “sextaners."

How little the gymnasia answer the demands of modern life is seen from the way the people are deserting them. The gymnasium at Memel had in 1882 49, in 1890 it has 23; that at Friedberg had in 1882 35, in 1890 it has 18; that at Gumbinnen had in 1882 40, in 1890 it has 17; that at Havelberg had in 1882 46, in 1890 it has 19; that at Marne had in 1882 25, in 1890 it has 9; that at Oldesloe had in 1882 30, in 1890 it has 16 pupils in the lowest grade. Since the number. of inhabitants of these towns has not decreased, but, on the contrary, increased during the eight years mentioned, it is plain that the cause is to be sought in the schools and the trend of the time. "If these towns had high schools without Latin more boys would aspire to a higher education," says the Zeitung für das Höhere Unterrichtswesen. "Despite the facts set forth, the Government of Prussia aids the establishment of new classical high schools and discourages that of modern schools. This is seen from the fact that during the school year 1889-190 eleven new classical schools have been opened and only one modern high school with Latin." (Ztg. f. d. höh. Unterrichtswesen.)

England.—“We think that the time has come when the state might usefully take some degree of responsibility for the entire educational system of the country. What the degree should be will necessarily be a matter for discussion

1 Prussia has about 300 classical high schools gymnasia.

whenever action is taken; but we entirely fail to see why only one class of schools should have the advantage of Government examination and encouragement. There is no reason to doubt that most of the secondary schools of the country are doing excellent work; but there are also some which might do far better work than they are now doing, and many which provide an education but ill-fitted for the necessities of the day. In addition to this, education in the middle and higher class schools is terribly expensive, and we do not at all see why one section of the community should have free education provided for their children while all the other sections, which find most of the money, get no benefit whatever. Our present educational system is entirely a class system. It benefits one class only; but it is easy to see that there are great numbers of people, such as professional men, tradesmen, farmers, and persons of small independent means, who want help in the education of their children much more than the well-paid artisan or mechanic. The classes we have named find a large portion of the money now spent upon elementary schools, which are of no use to them, and paying so heavily as they do for the benefit of other people, they are entitled to ask for a little advantage to themselves. We may rely upon it also that they will be certain to get an advantage if they ask for it with sufficient persistency." (Nott. Daily Guardian.)

France.-M. Dupuy, in his financial report to the chamber on public instruction (France), set forth as follows the chief causes of the decline of colleges and lycées: (1) The increase in the cost of board and teaching; (2) the incessant change of text-books, and the expenses thereby imposed upon parents; (3) the constant change in the programmes and the method of teaching; (4) the general state of instability in these institutions, which causes discouragement among the teachers. But to these causes must be added another not mentioned in the report, namely, a growing dislike of the French parent for the whole system of barrack-like education in the secondary schools of France.

Germany. In the Kingdom of Prussia the classical high schools (gymnasia) are so well patronized that there is one student of a classical high school to every 384 inhabitants of the entire population. How greatly favored these schools are generally may be seen from the following list of cities in which the ratio of population is less than 100: Kiel has 1 student to every 99 inhabitants; Halberstadt, 1 to 81; Munster, 1 to 63; Treves, 1 to 62; Stolp, 1 to 60; Hildesheim, 1 to 58; Tilsit, 1 to 55; Ratibor, 1 to 47; Murbury, 1 to 40; Padeborn, 1 to 29; Freienwalde, 1 to 27; Ostrowo, 1 to 24; Marienwerder, 1 to 21. The number of university students has increased in entire Germany from 17,631 in 1869 to 34,118 in 1888. While the ratio of increase in the population during the same period was only 20 per cent, that of the number of students was 100 per cent. (Paed. Ztg.)

The Berlin city council sympathizes in the feeling against the abolition of the realgymnasium, and has presented a petition on the subject. They point out that the 11 gymnasia in Berlin were attended by 5,569 pupils in December, 1890, the 7 realgymnasium by 3,951. Consequently, the realgymnasium has on an average 58 pupils more than a gymnasium. This number is all the more remarkable when all the attractions and privileges of the gymnasium are taken into consideration. Again, the decrease in numbers in the year was in the gymna sium 219, and in the realgymnasium only 26. (This decrease is probably due to the erection of higher Burgerschulen.) Finally, it seems very probable that when the realgymnasium is abolished the gymnasium will be considered the more aristocratic school, and that the great social danger of sharply defined class schools will arise. The petition closes with this request: To preserve the realgymnasium, and give the graduates the right to study medicine." (Allg. D. Lztg.) The mayor of Brandenburg, Herr Reuscher, has sent to the magistrates of all the 280 towns in Prussia in which only one high school exists a document in which he calls their attention to the resolutions arrived at by the school conference in Berlin of December last, and to urge upon them to join in a petition on the subject to the Emperor. "In the towns," he writes, "where the realgymnasia is called in question by the sweeping decision of the conference the city authorities have already taken steps to prevent an utter annihilation of these institutions. The numerous Prussian towns, numbering almost 300, which have only one high school have urgent need of understanding the import of the conference resolutions and of averting the danger which threatens their interests in the immediate future. Not only is the existence of the nine-class realgymnasia, the seven-class progymnasia, and prorealgymnasia threatened in these towns, but also the three upper classes are concerned, in which the number of the pupils "does not justify their existence." This, naturally enough, is very

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