mand. This demand for graduated teachers for gymnasiums, towards the middle of the third decade of our century, became so large, that every candidate for higher teachership, immediately after passing the examination, sometimes on the ground of his testimonial only, received a regular appointment in the province, even as class-professors. At this time the superior officers of the Department of Instruction had remarked that one single trial-lesson (as prescribed by the regulations) was not sufficient to enable them to obtain such a knowledge of the practical usefulness and talent for teaching of a candidate, as was desirable and necessary to a just estimation of those who applied for the position of teacher. For this reason, the Department, Sept. 24th, 1826, caused the introduction of a pedagogic trial-year, according to which, all candidates, qualified by attainments, should hereafter, for at least one year, practically engage in teaching at a secondary school, and thus prove their fitness, before they could be regularly commissioned as teachers of science. The choice of the school should be left to the candidate, but in no school more than two at a time should be admitted, and no candidate be charged with more than eight lessons per week, and in extraordinary cases, to fill a temporary vacancy, at the highest with six lessons more; these lessons were generally given without any remuneration. The selection of classes, in which the candidates should give their lessons for six months or for the year, was reserved to the directors, and these, as well as the class professors, should frequently attend the instructions by the candidates, and amicably discuss their manner of teaching with them. In order to acquaint themselves with the organism of the entire school, and to gain a view of the art of teaching of experienced teachers, the candidates were expected, during the first months of their trial-year, to visit the different classes during those hours of the day when they themselves were not engaged with teaching, and that they might practice the art of pedagogic discipline, some rude, idle, or ill behaved scholars of the classes in which they were to teach, should from time to time be placed under their special supervision. In all other respects the candidates should be considered regular teachers, and at the expiration of the trial-year should receive a testimonial on the skill in teaching they had acquired, and on their practical usefulness, signed by the director and the class-professors. Since 1832, the candidates receive a testimonial as to the trial-year only, which, since 1844, is signed by the director alone; a detailed certificate is sent to the Department of Education, and since 1858 to the school-collegium of the province.

This arrangement, which coincided with the period when higher schools were amply provided with teachers, gave a desirable support to qualified candidates, and at the same time the opportunity for practice in their profession, but to directors it gave an additional duty, and to the schools a burden often injurious. The directors, already constantly engaged, with few exceptions did not trouble themselves much about these passing pedagogues, and the class-professors not at all; thus the

trial-year was beneficial only as a process of refining by which talented teachers were separated from incapable ones.

Minister von Eichhorn issued, April 3d, 1842, a new instruction on the trial-year, according to which "the candidate should at first, by visiting classes, conversing with directors, class-professors and other teachers, gain a view of the organization of the school; 2, for a long time visit those classes in which he is to teach, and make himself familiar with the manner of teaching of him whose place he is to take, and with the progress of the pupils; 3, in the selection of subjects for teaching, regard must be had chiefly to his testimonial; 4, he should not be employed all the year in the same class, but an opportunity must be given him to try his ability in other and higher classes, even if only in shorter lessons; 5, the teachers, represented by the candidate, must consider themselves all along as the proper teachers of the subject or the class, and in the commencement be present in all the lessons given by the candidate, and at the end of a lesson make suitable suggestions to him; and as soon as he can be intrusted with the sole care of the class, attend his lessons at least once a week."

Wherever this arrangement was executed with vigilance, it operated most favorably, and while under the previous rules part of the candidates were lost to the profession, by these latter every one, with few exceptions, became a well-experienced schoolman. The scholars were not given over any longer to unsafe experiments of new comers, and the young teacher gradually acquired the necessary authority, under the patronage of his guide, and the confidence and method, so important to independent teaching. A great number of teachers, some of whom are now directors, have thus qualified themselves for the profession. The superabundance of candidates for higher teachership until 1848, rendered the execution of this measure easy, as each candidate estimated it a special favor to be permitted to begin his trial-year directly after the examination, and proved grateful for the permission to teach longer without any remuneration until regularly commissioned. For foreign candidates, it was rendered very difficult to be employed at secondary-schools; the circular of May 28th, 1851, made the examination and trial-year depending upon the consent of the Department of Instruction, and circular of January 27th, 1852, prescribed that after examination and trial-year, none should be engaged at secondary-schools except by permission of the department. But after this time a great change took place in the relations of teachers in Prussia. In many places great zeal was manifested for establishing and extending schools; many teachers resigned on account of age or because they had committed themselves in politics; the favorable prospects for young men in industrial pursuits took away many disciples from the profession of teacher. Thus it happened that the candidates for teachership, not long before in abundance, were in a few years all engaged; so that not only examined candidates were employed as regular teachers, with salary and a full number of lessons, but non

examined also, under the promise, it is true, to pass their examination within a year, which was however not exacted on account of the want of teachers. This want was in part remedied by facilitating the employment of foreign candidates; and in consequence of the cabinet order of Jan. 27th, 1862, a great many from the North-German States filled vacant positions, so that the employment of non-examined candidates was rarely tolerated, while that of candidates on trial was greatly favored, it being ruled by rescript of Feb. 14th, that they should not teach any longer beyond the lessons for their practice, without receiving compensation, but should have a competent salary, and that all regulations with regard to their exercises in teaching, under supervision and information, should be strictly adhered to.

The trial-year may be held at gymnasiums and real-schools, but only exceptionally at progymnasiums and secondary burgher-schools. The members of seminaries for high-schools are dispensed from it. In fixing the amount for pension, it is not counted as a year of service.

Assistance for travel to foreign countries is only given by the French gymnasium of Berlin, which has two stipends for the education of candidates in the French language.

V. PLAN OF INSTRUCTIONS.

The plan of instructions of Prussian gymnasiums, as elsewhere, has, in the course of time, been subject to many modifications, and we can here only enter nearer upon that by which a uniform order of instruction has gradually been effected.

The requirement for maturity-examination necessarily prepared the way to uniformity in the plan of instructions preparing for it. The Department for Public Instruction concluded, in 1810 at first, to introduce a general plan of instruction, which the Catholic schools should also adopt, and by gradually executing this plan, a ministerial rescript of Nov. 12th, 1812, prescribed that all classical schools which possessed the privilege of qualifying for the university, should adopt the name of gymnasium. Prof. Süvern was intrusted with arranging a general plan of instruction; this plan, submitted to Fr. A. Wolf for his opinion, was modified at different times, then fixed upon to be, in its main points, a guide in the administration of schools, but never published or brought into use generally. The order of instruction of the different gymnasiums, from the individuality of these schools and their directors, maintained great variety for a much longer period, and it was thought a special proof of skill of the directors, in which manner the plan of instruction was laid out by them, wherein they had to give to local circumstances, to the demands of the times, to the need of the institute, to the capacity of the powers for teaching, that consideration which alone, with a just and sensible direction, can be beneficial to schools.

Great credit is due to Bernhardi, the director of the Frederic Werder gymnasium of Berlin, by the publication, in 1812, of the plan of instruc

tion of the programme for 1812, the second chapter (part one) of which treats on the organization and subjects of instruction. In this he thus speaks of the degrees of instruction in the gymnasium: "Though the gymnasium is a school for classics, and its organization of instruction must tend to this object from the lowest class, yet consideration must be had, in the present condition of school matters, that those also who intend to become tradesmen, mechanics and artists, in the widest sense of these words, should be thoroughly and completely prepared for such vocations. For this purpose, all of the eight classes should be divided into three degrees of education, of which the third and lowest had for its object the practical education for the lower civil vocations; the second more chiefly for the higher civil professions, and the first to impart the required knowledge to future students of the learned professions." On this principle he based the organization of his school, and under the increasing influence he acquired over the whole direction of matters of instruction, his plan became the model for all Prussian gymnasiums.

The same principles pervaded the order of instructions of 1816, (unpublished,) according to which, gymnasiums have the object "not only to assist their pupils in acquiring that measure of classical and scientific education necessary to understand and profit from systematic lectures on the sciences at universities, but also to furnish them with the ideas and sentiments of the highest individual culture. The lower classes give to those also who are not destined for the learned professions, an opportunity to prepare themselves for other vocations which require more knowledge than can be furnished by elementary schools and inferior burgher-schools." Every gymnasium, after the plan of Bernhardi, was to consist of six classes, with three degrees of instruction; in each of the lower classes, sixth, fifth and fourth, the scholars should spend one year; in the middle classes, third and second, two years; in the first class, three years; that is, at an average, from the ninth to the nineteenth year. The branches of instruction were thus distributed: Latin in the sixth and fifth, each six lessons, in the other classes, eight lessons; Greek in the fourth and third, five lessons each, second and first, seven lessons; German in the sixth and fifth, each six lessons, upper classes, four lessons; mathematics, six lessons; natural science and religion, each two lessons; history and geography, each three lessons; drawing, obligatory to the third, and penmanship, obligatory to the fifth; the total number of lessons to be thirty-two, outside of those for Hebrew, singing and gymnastic exercises. To the French language no place was given, "because the general object of teaching languages in schools was completely attained by the three classical mother languages of Europe, the Greek, Roman, and German." This exclusion was attributable in a great degree to the then existing hatred of the French, through which also parents asked to have their children excused from learning a language which in fact was never struck from the plan of instruction, and remains to this day part of the maturity-examination. The increase of lessons in German is also

connected with the demand of the time; a revived national spirit and the increased study of ancient German literature were infused into gymnasiums. Remarkable is this expression: "The Prussian State is Christian; therefore Christian must be all religious instruction in its public schools, and no room should be given to universal religion."

Instruction in gymnastics, "so important to national education, since the harmonious development of mind and body is eminently necessary for every one, should not be ignored at any school." Notwithstanding this announcement, the reactionary movement of 1819 banished gymnastics for a long period from all public institutions.

Though the plan of instruction mentioned above, afforded but little scope to ancient classical languages, and attributed more importance to modern science, yet not enough had been done to satisfy the constantly increasing utilitarianism, and demand for modern languages, particularly for the English, and wherever burgher or real-schools, beside the gymnasium, did not exist, many concessions had to be made to the pressure of modern ideas by dispensations from the study of the Greek language, or to increased demand in the study of real-science, not rarely requiring the extreme efforts of the pupils. Beyond solitary attacks in periodicals and newspapers against the gymnasiums, the provincial board of Silesia and Prussia petitioned repeatedly for modifications in the plan of instruction of gymnasiums, and in favor of converting some of them into secondary burgher-schools. The Diet of Silesia, Dec. 30th, 1831, in the order of prorogation, received a memorandum of the Department for Instruction, on the studies at gymnasiums of young men who did not intend to enter one of the learned professions. In this the significance of every branch of instruction is pointed out. "It is a proposition void of all foundation," it says in the introduction, “that instructions at gymnasiums should be calculated for a course at universities only, and not in aid of the development of every mental faculty. The subjects taught at gymnasiums, in the order and proportion of progress in the different classes, form a foundation to all superior culture of men, and the expe rience of centuries, the opinion of experts, speak in favor of the usefulness of all studies, within the sphere of instruction of gymnasiums, for the development and invigoration of the mind and the abilities of youth.

An article written by Lorinser, counselor of the medical faculty, noticed beyond its merits, for exaggerations and superficialities, called forth a great many replies; and each teacher of a gymnasium was requested to give his opinion in writing, and it gave occasion to the circular of Oct. 24th, 1837, prepared by Joh. Schulze. From all reports of the provin cial school boards, the department had satisfactory proof that the condition of the health of youth at the gymnasiums was generally entirely satisfactory, and that no reason existed for the accusations of Lorinser, However, the dispute led to the following general plan of instruction: