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read the Holy Word of God and the good laws of his colony!' (Hear, hear, and cheers.) My lord, as the humble representative of that state, I may say with some feeling of pride, that from the earliest times to the present, it is a very rare thing to find a single nativeborn citizen of Connecticut, who could not write his name and read the laws of his country. (Hear, hear.) But I will not detain the assembly at this hour of the evening. It is a peculiar pleasure to me, who am not an entire stranger in your country, for I have been cordially received in many of your homes, and I trust I have not left any of your doors ajar-(hear, hear)—it is a more peculiar pleasure to me to come here again on this occasion, after an interval of twenty years, and to find such marks of educational progress as I have seen during the last three weeks that I have been in this country. 'And, although my own state and other American states will not make large additions to the Exhibition which is about to be opened under the auspices of this Society-owing to the notice having reached so few of them-owing also perhaps, to the fact that education with us is entirely a state affair, and not a national affair; although I say, owing to these facts, our contributions to your Exhibition will be small, yet I have already seen enough of the contributions made by other countries, and by your own schools, to feel that I shall carry away with me very important lessons, which I trust will be felt in the schools of my own state and my own country. Permit me, gentlemen, now to give you a toast-'Success to the Educational Exhibition."" (Much applause.)

EUROPEAN IDEAS OF AMERICAN EDUCATION.

A SAXON'S IMPRESSIONS.

AMONG the accounts which have recently appeared in Europe of American education, one of the best is that of Dr. Hermann Wimmer, of Dresden, entitled "The Church and the School in North America,' an octavo volume of nearly four hundred pages which was published at Leipsic, in 1853. A large portion of this work had previously appeared in two German periodicals, the Allgemeine

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* Die Kirche und Schule in Nord Amerika. Uebersichtlich beschrieben von Dr. Hermann Wimmer. 8°, pp. 368. Leipzig, 1853.

Schulzeitung and the Repertorium der Pedagogischen Journalistik und Literatur. Much of it has since been translated into French,* and published in Belgium by M. LeRoy, Professor in the University of Liége. A translation of the whole volume into French with fresh corrections and additions, has also been recently promised.

Dr. Wimmer spent nearly two years in this country, engaged for the most part of his time in an examination of our various institutions. He was in many respects well qualified for the task he undertook, having been for several years a practical teacher, and being thoroughly acquainted with the excellent and systematic methods of public instruction, which are established in the kingdom of Saxony, the country of his nativity and residence. It is also evident from the allusions which are made in his book, that while residing in the United States he had excellent opportunities for seeing all that he desired, and especially for making the acquaintance of such men as have been most influential in promoting education. He appears to understand our country much better than is usual with foreigners, and although his book is neither complete in all its statements, nor satisfactory in all its opinions, it is a clear, unprejudiced, interesting, and in general accurate statement of our systems of common schools.

The first part of the work, as the title intimates, is an account of the Churches of this country, with full particulars in regard to the various doctrines and usages of different denominations, and many curious descriptions of the peculiarities which a German notices in our strict observance of the Sabbath, in the " prayer-meetings" established in so many congregations, and in the progress of "revivals," as seen in New England and New York. The limits of this article will not allow us to dwell, however interesting it might be, upon that portion of the book.

In his account of the schools and other seminaries of learning, Dr. Wimmer does not attempt to give the narrative of a traveler, with allusions to different institutions in the order in which they were visited, nor in the order of their geographical location. He endeavors to classify all the information which he obtained, and although on account of our various state governments, and local laws, this is no easy task, he has succeeded far better than would naturally be expected.

Beginning with a slight historical survey, from the days of 'the

* Les Ecoles Publiques dans l'Amerique du Nord. Traduit de l'Allemand de Dr. Wimmer, par A. LeRoy proferseuer agrégé a l'Université de Liége. 8°, pp. 26. Tournai et Bruxelles, 1853.

Pilgrim Fathers' down, he proceeds to state the general organization of our different school systems, the officers, the functions of Superintendents, Boards of Education and School Committees, the acquirements and number of Teachers and Scholars, and the character of schools of different grades. These last he describes in the order of district or country schools, city or classified schools, normal schools, academies, colleges and universities, professional schools, and other literary institutions.

We are glad to see that in all his investigations, New England holds, as it should, a prominent place; and that although the author commends more highly the present state of education in Massachusetts and New York, he is not unmindful of what has been accomplished in CONNECTICUT. It is especially gratifying, to see how Dr. Wimmer, like every other writer on American education, appreciates the long continued labors of the Hon. Henry Barnard. There is scarcely a sheet of the work before us in which there is not either an allusion to the efforts, or an extract from the writings of that indefatigable friend of popular instruction, of whose various services it is impossible, says Dr. Wimmer, to give a just idea. "I have often," he continues, "had occasion to admire the magic influence of Dr. Barnard, his brilliant powers of eloquence, and his great administrative talent. The new school-houses in the United States, so well adapted to their objects, both in the exterior and interior, are visible marks of his zeal. His School Architecture' has been widely influential in America, and since the Edinburgh Review last year called attention to its merits, the results of his suggestions are already very manifest in England."

We find not only these references to the distinguished superintendent of common schools in this state, but many honorable allusions to our local institutions. Yale College, the Connecticut Normal School, the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, the Hopkins Grammar School, the Retreat for the Insane, the Hartford Young Men's Institute, the Linonian Society in New Haven, the classes in Hartford for educating Teachers for the West, are all described with more or less detail. Quotations are often made from the Connecticut Common School Journal, from articles in the New Englander, and from Prof. Porter's Prize Essay. There is also a lengthened account of the Yale Literary Magazine.

While commending American systems of education as on the whole admirably adapted to the wants of the country, Dr. Wimmer does not praise everything he sees, but finds ground for criticism in

the want of thoroughness which is too often apparent in methods of instruction; he speaks of the disadvantages of too frequent changes in the teachers of given schools; he complains of the want of musical lessons in common schools, and animadverts to the absence of religious training.

Perhaps the following free translation of his account of a district school, will give the best idea of the manner in which he speaks of our good points and our faults. After alluding to the exterior appearance of some of the school-houses, which he calls true children's temples, he proposes to enter.

"We see," he says, "a large company of children, separated according to sexes by a long aisle, all occupied in remarkable activity. We should suppose that the teacher had stepped out, did he not come forward to offer us a seat upon the platform beside him. Upon his table we see Webster's or Worcester's dictionary, the Bible, a school register, and a bell. Before the table, are standing a few children with open books in their hand. The teacher strikes the bell. It becomes quiet and the instruction proceeds. The children read in rotation, and one can not but acknowledge that they do so with evident understanding. I was particularly surprised at the reading of poetical extracts, remembering how poorly they are often read with us. I hoped that the subject of the reading lesson would be made the basis of further instruction, but after a short practice the children are sent to their seats. The second class then comes up. There is much more to correct in their pronunciation and elocution. The third class comes up to read and spell. While the Teacher was occupied in this manner with a part of the children, the others were learning their lessons for the next recitation. Little children I have often seen sitting quite idle, without even a book in hand.

"In Geography, there is a similar proceeding. The first class, which is partly composed of other children from the first class in reading, come forward and take their position so as to see the maps which hang upon the wall. Each one has his 'School Geography' in his hand, a quarto volume as large as an atlas, maps and letter-press being combined on one page. Beneath the text of each page are questions which form regularly, and alas exclusively, the basis of the recitation. Also the more extended Geographies which are not used in the country schools, contain a great many pictures combined with the text. For instance, we see under Germany, in Mitchell's Geography, a Professor clad in old-fashioned garments,

surrounded with a mass of books, and busied with writing, while from his long tobacco-pipe vast clouds of smoke arise! These books are great favorites with the young and that is their best recommendation. Moreover they are all written in the old style, except Woodbridge's, which is based upon the principles of modern science. Germany is for all geographers and politicians a vague notion, generally considered as a union of small states with the exclusion of Austria and Prussia. That the Rhine provinces should be part of Prussia, is a stumbling-block, and they accordingly have often the good fortune to be included in Germany, while yet some.cities whose French names are transferred to English, like Aix la Chapelle, Cologne, Mayence, are carelessly spoken of in books for children, as parts of France. Now it is quite common to distinguish between Germany and the German Confederation, and under Prussia to make the remark, that it with Germany and Austria forms the Germanic Confederation; and also that the inhabitants of Prussia speak German, while under Austria this remark is not made. Of Saxony nothing more is known than its Saxon wool, as the boundaries of the smaller states quite disappear in these maps. Every interested child knows of Bremen, Hamburgh, Dresden, Berlin, Leipzig, &c., but all, great and small, know nothing more of Germany as a whole (beside its name and language,) than that it is the birthplace of many German emigrants."

In respect to historical instruction, Dr. Wimmer complains that children in American district schools know nothing of the past in any country but their own, England, and France,-"all the rest have only a present." In arithmetic he finds them better trained than children in Germany. The difficulties in teaching spelling he considers very great, on account of the peculiarities of the English language, but he inclines to recommend a more general employment of the phonetic method. He finds the American running hand much better than the more stiff way of writing which is taught in German schools.

It would perhaps be interesting to the reader if we could quote more of Dr. Wimmer's impressions in regard to our public schools, but the limits of this article will not allow us to do more than show the general manner in which he comments upon our institutions.

It is worthy of remark that while he considers one hour a week of religious instruction in the Sunday school, as a very small amount compared with the ten hours which it receives in the day schools of Germany, he acknowledges that the spirit of religion and the love of

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