Salem State University - Clipper Yearbook

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DR. ASBURY PITMAN, Pzumfwzf A great soul will be strong to live as well as to think.

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CAMPUS SCENE

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The Tear Boob 1933 501116 lhnpttssiuns uf Qfutupean btbuuls BY Asnum' P1'ixi.xN The following impressions are based upon observations in a large number of schools in ten different countries, during a period of six months ending in December. 1932. The list of institutions visited includes Ll wide range from the nursery school and kindergarten through the university, although particular attention was given to a study of teacher training and of progressive schools. There was also ample op- portunity to observe various kinds of public and private schools, both elementary and secondary, and work in many specialized fields. particularly in commercial and other forms of vocational education An American engaged in the professional training of teachers is immediately impressed by numerous evidences of age and tradition ln general, a large proportion of the school buildings in the countries visited are relatively old-some of them centuries old+and provided with furnishings and equipment which are altogether inferior to those found in the average American school. For example, single adjustable chairs and desks were found in only two of all the buildings inspected. Of course there are notable exceptions to this generalization in certain countries and in several ofthe cities in other countries. With the exception of real progressive schools and school systems, the attitude toward discipline is distinctly traditional and in many instances it reflects the spirit of militarism. This is particularly true in numerous schools in which even little children are taught by rehabilitated war veterans, who often have had no professional preparation. The almost universal separation of the sexes, from the nursery school through the university, is another expression of mediaeval influences which have been per- petuated through the centuries, although very often boys and girls in the public schools receive their education under the same roof but not in the same classes. Always with the exception of the progressive schools, the curriculum itself is much more traditional than in America. In the secondary schools, the time-honored classical subjects are everywhere in evidence, general courses are discredited, and there are few comprehensive high schools in which vocational subjects are taught. This work is usually left to highly specialized schools, many of which are rendering con- spicuous service. For example, there are the vocational schools in Munich, founded by Dr. George Kirchensteiner, and similar schools in Vienna. Advanced commercial education receives more attention in most European countries than in America. Apparently the secondary schools are not doing as good work in this field as our own, but the higher commercial schools are conspicuous both in the number and in the quality of their work. In Italy, Austria, and Germany, in particular, art and music are much more prominent in the curriculum of the elementary and the secondary school, and of 6