The School System of Norway Part 6

_From New Testament_: The Birth of Jesus, Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' Death on the Cross, The Burial of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus, The Outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Instruction is exclusively oral. Historical references are disregarded. Historical situations are frequently clarified by references to the history of civilization and geography. New phases of G.o.d's dealings with men and their att.i.tudes toward Him are singled out and presented for consideration. Pa.s.sages of Scripture and others from the catechism or hymns are treated in connection with the Bible stories as they are told.

_Cla.s.s III._ (Six half hour periods weekly.) Biblical history up to and including the time of Solomon, characteristic stories from the prophetic period, and selections of Scripture from the New Testament designated officially for study in reference to certain church holidays. Among the topics included we find: The Tower of Babel, G.o.d's Covenant with Abraham, The Visit of the Three Men, The Lord Visits Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob Serving Laban, Jacob's Return, The Travel to Sinai, The Giving of the Law, The Unfaithfulness of the People, The Travels from Sinai to Jordan, The Death of Moses, Joshua Leading the People into Canaan, Gideon, Ruth, Samuel, Saul Becomes King, Saul Rejected, G.o.d Chooses David to be King, David and Jonathan, Saul Pursuing David, The Death of Saul, David Chosen to be King by the People, The Fall and Rest.i.tution of David, Absalom, The Last Days of David's Life, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, Daniel. The matter covered in Cla.s.ses I and II is again taken up, to which the above is added in historical connection. To this material Biblical geography and cultural history are added as needed, while hymns, pa.s.sages of Scripture, or selections from the catechism are continually used. Through constant reviews the moral and religious contents from the various sources are connected into successive groups, each group centering around the life of some prominent Biblical character. Instruction is chiefly oral, though some reading from text is a privilege which may be indulged in as an aid. A certain amount of catechismal work may be a.s.signed as home lessons.

_Second Division_

_Cla.s.s IV._ (Boys four hours, girls three hours, weekly.) New Testament history centering in the stories of Jesus' childhood, His miracles, and His easier parables. New stories taken up: The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold, The Birth of Jesus Foretold, The Birth of John the Baptist, Jesus Presented in the Temple, The Flight into Egypt, Appearance of John the Baptist, The Baptism of Jesus, Jesus is Tempted, The First Disciples Come to Jesus, The Marriage in Cana, Jesus Visits Nazareth, Jesus Choosing the Twelve Apostles, Jesus Heals the Centurion's Servant, The Death of John the Baptist, Jesus Healing the Palsied, Jesus Raising Jairus' Daughter, The Woman of Canaan, Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, The Good Samaritan, Jesus at the House of Martha and Mary, Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, Parable of the Prodigal Son, Dives and Lazarus, Healing of the Ten Lepers, Parable of the Publican and Pharisee, Parable of the Marriage of the King's Son, Easter, Pentecost. The extent to which details of stories, Biblical geography, cultural history, and pa.s.sages of Scripture or catechism are included is governed by the maturity and education of the children. In this cla.s.s considerable attention is given to the reading of hymns and New Testament Scriptures from the four Gospels (elucidating obscure pa.s.sages and difficult sentences), to connections between Bible stories and history, and to chronological sequence.

_Cla.s.s V._ (Boys four hours, girls three hours, weekly.) Continued instruction in New Testament history, especially the parables of Jesus and the story of his pa.s.sion and resurrection. To this is added the account of the founding of the first Christian church and its spread by the efforts of the chief apostles. The work includes the following new stories: Jesus and Nichodemus, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Jesus Commences to Speak in Parables, The Transfiguration of Jesus, Peter's Confession, The Man Born Blind, Jesus the Good Shepherd, The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus in the House of Zacchaeus, Jesus in Bethany, Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, Parable of the Ten Virgins, Was.h.i.+ng of Feet, The Lord's Supper, Jesus in Gethsemane, Jesus Before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, Jesus Before Pilate and Herod, Crucifixion of Jesus, Christ's Burial, The Resurrection, Jesus Appears to the Two Disciples on the Way to Emmaus, He Appears to the Disciples in Jerusalem, He Appears at the Sea of Tiberias, The Great Commission to the Disciples, His Ascension, The Outpouring of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, The First Miracle and First Persecution, Stephen, The Ethiopian Eunuch, Saul, Cornelius, Paul Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Bible reading, the catechism, Bible history, and hymns are studied as in former cla.s.ses, but more intensively. Besides the catechism, pa.s.sages of Scripture, containing great Christian and moral truths are to be impressed and memorized verbatim. Continuous reviews through the years enable the children to connect several stories into groups, and to acquire complete information regarding the life and work of Christ. A small instruction book is used. First part and Article I of the second part are studied.

_Third Division_

_Cla.s.s VI._ (Four hours weekly.) Bible history and Old Testament taken up simultaneously--Bible reading and ecclesiastical history alternating.

A deeper knowledge of sacred history is sought. Striking ill.u.s.trations of G.o.d's plan of salvation operating among the Jews are given, designed to enable the children to appreciate the redemptive meaning of Old Testament history. Emphasis is placed on the period just preceding the time of Christ. New stories introduced: The Division of the Kingdom, Elisha, The Downfall of the Kingdom of Israel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, The Fall of the Kingdom of Judah, The Jews under Babylonian Captivity, Their Return from Captivity, The Last Four Hundred Years.

Familiarity with Old Testament Scriptures and history, Biblical geography, and cultural history is to be gained. Articles II and III of the second part, and the third, fourth, and fifth parts of the instruction book are taken up.

_Cla.s.s VII._ (Three hours weekly.) One Gospel--Matthew--is read connectedly and followed by a treatment of selected parts from the Acts of the Apostles in connection with the work of Biblical history in the fourth and fifth grades. All materials previously gathered from the various sources are again taken up, applied, and centered.

Narratives relating to important periods of the church. Among them:--The Persecutions (under Nero, Polycarpus), The Victory of Christianity (Constantine), The Christian Ceremonies, Augustine, Hermits and Monks, The Spread of Christianity, The Popes, The Crusades, The Preparation for the Reformation, The Lutheran Reformation (Luther, the Jesuits, the Catholic Mission), The Lutheran Church in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, The Mission, Bible Societies.

The aim in this division is to give information regarding the development of the church in general, and of the Lutheran church in particular. Narratives are grouped around great central characters--Christian personages. A realization of the lofty aims of Christianity on the part of the children together with an appreciation of their duties and responsibilities as members of the Christian church is the intent. By means of an instruction book the main divisions of church history, general history, and the history of Norway are correlated. Information contained in the hymn book acquaints the children with the ceremonial order of the ecclesiastical year as well as with the contents and order of the book itself. The study of previously memorized hymns and verses is emphasized and enlarged upon.

It is to be remembered that in Norway church and state are united.

Religious and scholastic interests are under the direction of the Department of Ecclesiastical and Educational affairs. The minister of this department of State is one of the King's cabinet. Here we find one of the numerous attempts at the solution of the vexing question of moral instruction, or, to be more exact, religious instruction in the public schools. While the provisions for this teaching are not faultless, and though their course of instruction could not be adopted for use in America with its medley of religious prejudices, yet we must acknowledge that they are well adapted to the needs and desires of the people served. The citizens.h.i.+p of the country is h.o.m.ogenous religiously, almost universally Lutheran, and their traditions militate against any change in religious creed. The teaching of religion in the schools has been the practice for generations, the instruction is taken as a matter of course, and it exerts its beneficient influences upon all.

There are a number of important features of this moral instruction which press their claims for special mention, but we cannot discuss them all.

A few, however, demand some attention. The statement of the proverb, that as the twig is bent so will the tree be inclined, has been borne out in practice times without number. Here, it seems to me, is one more ill.u.s.tration. Throughout their whole school life--that receptive, appropriating, formative period--the children have constantly before them ideals that are elevating, examples that are inspiring, and admonitions that tend to create and develop within them an ambition to excel in beauty of character. That the morals of society are not kept more nearly pure by this procedure seems a psychological impossibility.

Again a rather successful attempt is made to have the home and school cooperate along the lines of personal purity. In fact the home, the school, and the church join hands and supplement each other in all efforts in religious and moral training. True it is that striking examples of n.o.bility of character, high ideals, and moral worth abound in profane history as well as in sacred, in secular life as well as in religious, in living characters as truly as in those of past ages, but the school system of Norway provides ample opportunity for presenting all of these things in connection with their regular instruction in the various subjects taught, and, in addition, furnishes particularized instruction which makes a specialty of moral and religious development.

It seems imperative that, when these enn.o.bling lessons are thus vividly presented, the powers of imitation and habit should combine in the creation of stronger and n.o.bler characters.

Nevertheless, when religious instruction is made a requirement, it too frequently becomes formal and literal rather than spiritual and lifegiving. That this great misfortune is the case in some of the secondary schools of Norway is an indictment which cannot be denied.

However, in the primary schools the instruction is fruitful and important. As a consequence of these conditions the statement is common among many that in looking back over the years of religious instruction they recall numerous happy instances of earnest, heartfelt prayer and Bible stories accompanied by intense feeling on the part of the teacher.

Other experiences reveal the fact that some of the teaching profession had not the sincerity and feeling back of their instruction required in order to give vitality and meaning to the lessons presented.

The entire question of instruction in morals in our public schools is one of pressing importance. It is being agitated in many lands today and a solution is sorely needed. Were all cla.s.ses of society united as to what should be included in this instruction the matter would adjust itself very readily. However, social conditions in a single nation are more or less diverse, and between different nations still greater breaks are to be found. In fact the ideals and conceptions of society are so varied that no one present system would suffice for all. Could a code of ethics be formulated which would meet universal approval then its adoption and use might be hoped for. Until then each nation must necessarily follow the plan which seems best adapted to its social requirements. As already stated, the people of Norway are nearly all adherents to the Lutheran creed so there are very few dissenters from the common rule. Provision is made in the law that those who do not adhere to the state church and object to receiving instruction in this particular line may, upon request of parent or guardian, be excused from such instruction.[23]

_Norwegian_

_Aim._ It is the aim of the instruction in Norwegian to further the mental development of children, especially their linguistic ability. In this course of activity they should acquire:

(1) Efficiency in apprehending and a.s.similating what they hear or read, confident readiness in reading, plain articulation, and correct and natural accentuation.

(2) Efficiency in expressing themselves orally and in writing without making any serious errors in the common usage of language or the rules of composition.

(3) Efficiency in the use of the grammar of the mother-tongue which is necessary for the above measure of attainments.

_First Division_

_Cla.s.s I._ (Boys twelve hours, girls eleven hours, weekly.) A suitable number (twelve or fifteen) of interesting children's stories are told and utilized for the special purposes of widening the circle of the children's imagination and developing in them ability in observation, conception, and expression. An effort is made to render the general contents of the stories lucid through explanations, while the features arousing special interest in the minds of the pupils are made the objects of more detailed conversation. An effort is made to train the children in correct, free, and easy expression in connected sentences, and to develop in them the ability to rehea.r.s.e their stories freely and connectedly.

_Reading._ The aim is ability to read the primer (_ABC-en_) with a.s.surance and in a clear tone, properly articulating and accenting each word and syllable.

_Written exercises._ The object of the written work is to teach the children to write words and simple sentences which have just been read orally or have been seen in the primer or on the blackboard.

_Cla.s.s II._ (Boys ten hours, girls eight hours, weekly.) Twenty or thirty of the most interesting and valuable selections (prose and poetry) contained in the reader are made the objects of special and thorough treatment. Comments, questions, elucidating explanations, and conversations are means employed in securing a vivid appreciation of the contents and in developing ability in their easy rehearsal. The other pieces are treated in a more cursory manner, only the larger views and the more general understanding of them being attempted.

Special attention is given to having all readings slow with loud, plain, and correct articulation and proper accentuation. Habitual mistakes are carefully eliminated. Story telling is also a feature of the year's work.

_Written exercises_, made up of sentences and short parts of readings, conversations, or stories are given frequently and for short periods.

Here the names of letters and spelling are attended to with great care.

_Cla.s.s III._ (Boys eight hours, girls seven hours, weekly.) Twenty or thirty paragraphs from the reader are given special attention--the remainder cursory. The plan of work is about the same as for Cla.s.s II.

Considerable attention is given to the rehearsing of the reading lesson by the pupils. Some reproductions are to be quite detailed and exact though they are not to be given in the exact words of the text. Still other selections receive more general treatment. A few of the most pleasing poems should be memorized. Greater readiness in slow and even reading with loud and clear expression and proper natural accentuation should be sought.

_Written exercises._ Selections from the language work giving special and rather extended attention to spelling, punctuation, and grammatical constructions and forms. The teacher sets examples of correct punctuation, etc.

_Second Division_

_Cla.s.s IV._ (Five hours weekly.) A select number (20-30) of pieces from the reader treated as in the former cla.s.ses, though more exhaustively; and, in addition, quite a wide range of selections chosen for more cursory reading. A considerable amount of information regarding the topics treated and explanations of literary expressions should form important parts of the instruction in this cla.s.s. Here, as in both preceding and succeeding cla.s.ses, it should be the aim to have the children make their meanings plain when conversing upon the selections read, at least to the degree of their ability and development. Parts of former conversations on various topics should also be recalled and woven into their discussions.

_Written exercises._ These shall include features previously studied, and introduce more detailed and finer discriminations in grammatical usages and forms.

_Cla.s.s V._ (Boys four hours, girls five hours, weekly.) Exhaustive study of a few selections and cursory reading in large quant.i.ties as before.

Careful and abundant training in oral expression. Specific and detailed rehearsal of topics discussed in which an increasing amount of knowledge gained through study, experience, and thought is utilized. Short stories are read. Poems are memorized. Progress in clear and distinct articulation and easy and natural emphasis in harmony with refined speech is continuously a requirement.

_Written exercises._ A continuation of former exercises and a considerable amount of copying, or the writing of abstracts of lesson content, especially during the second half year. Orthographic, grammatical, and rhetorical forms are entered into more exhaustively and their niceties urged. Through continued practice in preparing and writing compositions, extra work in copying, and special study of orthography and punctuation, the children, by the close of this their fifth year of schooling, should be quite capable in punctuation as well as spelling, though they should not be expected to spell and punctuate independently with accuracy.

_Third Division_

_Cla.s.s VI._ (Boys five hours, girls six hours, weekly.) Reading from a selected portion of the reader. Conversations, information, explanations, and linguistic elucidations are to be entered into according to necessity. Increasing stress is here laid on the work of drawing out the thoughts, ideas, and knowledge of the pupils, and of inciting them to more independent, intellectual effort.

_Written exercises._ Continued as previously though introducing larger amounts of independently selected forms of expression and insisting on greater accuracy in punctuation. Letter writing is added.

_Cla.s.s VII._ (Five hours weekly.) Selections from the reader and supplementary reading from recommended books calculated to awaken, develop, and educate. Special attention given to the most important authors.

_Written exercises._ Compositions on topics of interest, letter writing, business correspondence including applications, invoices, advertis.e.m.e.nts, and telegrams.

The methods employed in presenting the mother-tongue are quite plainly set forth in the foregoing outline. Though the content is not so specifically defined, the general lines are indicated in such a way as to give very adequate insight thereinto. Some of the methods of presentation seem somewhat c.u.mbersome and rather antiquated. This impression is due chiefly to terminology. The actual work in the schoolrooms is flexible, free, and, as a rule, attractive. The lat.i.tude granted to the teachers in all their work admits of almost unlimited individual initiative. Many of their teachers are quite expert in the most modern methods.

The utilitarian idea which pervades every phase of their school work is especially noticeable in the teaching of their own language. In harmony with this idea, let me call attention to the fact that, from the first, constant use is made of every attainment in both oral and written form.