Education -- Norway; School management and organization -- Norway
The course in history is very rich and its study is entered into with
animation. The teacher is usually a master in the subject and he makes
the work of great profit. A considerable amount of the class period is
devoted to a vivid and analytic introduction of the work to be done at
the next meeting of the class, preparation for which shall be made in
the meantime. Problems are presented and purposes are indicated so that
the preparatory study may be done with some definite end in view.
All facts of history are placed in appropriate settings and perspective,
correlated into a unity, and given vital meaning. Maps, charts, and
pictorial illustrations are provided in abundance and used constantly.
Frequently historic scenes near at hand or known to the pupils are
pointed out, minutely described, and visited.
Teachers appeal to the sentiment of pupils with the aim of begetting
loyalty for the fatherland in the hearts and minds of the young. I have
heard instructors grow eloquent as they warmed up on phases of Norway's
history, and have noted the flushed cheeks and snapping eyes of the
children that bespoke the national pride of the young hearts as familiar
words, slogans, and songs of their heroes were quoted.
When given an opportunity--a common occurrence--the pupils enter into
the rehearsal of historic events with enthusiasm. Every mind in the room
is active. They are awake to the situations and are familiar with the
scenes and literature connected with the several stages of development.
Replies given in response to questions from the teacher are nearly
always in the form of narratives, sometimes occupying ten or fifteen
minutes.
General history or history of any foreign country is entered into in a
spirit similar to that characterizing the consideration of their own. On
one occasion I listened to a review on American history. Among the
characters taken up were Grant, Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Lincoln.
The pupils discussed Uncle Tom's Cabin with familiarity, Lee was
considered as "The Napoleon of America," but Lincoln was the one to whom
most of the class period was devoted. At the close of the hour the
teacher announced a lecture on "Abraham Lincoln" for the following
Sunday evening in the Working-Men's College (_Arbeiderakademi_)[24] of
which he was the director. This incident illustrates the way in which
they correlate the work of different educational organizations, and
shows their interest in the important events connected with the history
of other nations.
_Geography_
_Class I._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. Norway and Sweden. Review.
_Class II._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. From "The Central European
Mountains and Rivers" to "Asia." Studied and reviewed.
_Class III._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. The foreign continents.
Studied and reviewed.
_Class IV._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. Repeated or reviewed in its
entirety.
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