TABLE V.

SHOWING THE NUMBER AND CONDITION OF THE CLASSES FOR ADULTS, FOR YOUNG girls, AND FOR YOUNG APPRENTICES IN FRANCE, IN 1843.

Number of communes in which there are Adult Classes,

Number of Adult Classes,

for Men,

"Women,

Number of persons who frequent them,

for Men,
"Women,

Number of Classes directed by

Schoolmasters belonging to a Religious Society,
Schoolmistresses,

Number of Adult Classes in which are taught

Moral and Religious Instruction,

Reading,

Writing,

Arithmetic,

System of Weights and Measures,

Linear Drawing,

Vocal Music,

Resources of these Classes,

Sums furnished by the Communes,

Departments,

"L State,

TABLE VI.

46

6,266

168

9,451

SHOWING THE NUMBER AND COURSE OF INSTRUCTION IN THE NORMAL SCHOOLS OF

FRANCE, IN 1843.

Number of Normal Schools thoroughly organized,

Number to which a garden is joined for the purpose of teaching the pupils the culture of trees,

Number of Professors in these schools,

TABLE VII.

SHOWING THE STATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN 1843.

Number of Colleges. Royal, : : :
Communal,

46

66

Number of Scholars in Colleges.

: : :

:

:

:

: :

46)

: :

: : :

:

:

: 312

Number of Institutions of Secondary Education,

Boarding Schools

Private Establishments

Public and Private

Number of Scholars in the Institutions which follow the

course of a College,

Number of Scholars in the Institutions which do not fol

low the course of a College,

Number of Secondary Pupils,

Population of the Departments, 1842,

6,066)

31,316

25,250

69,341

34,194,875

Proportion in each Department between the population and the total number of establishments of Secondary Education,

1 estab. for 24,887

Number of Scholars in establishments of Secondary Education,

1 " "( 493

Number of Young Men between eight and eighteen in each Department,

Proportion between the total number of Young Men between eight and eighteen, and the total number of pupils in Secondary Establishments in each Department, 1 school for 45 young men,

.

CONDITION OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION

IN THE

DEPARTMENT OF TARN, DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR 1849-50.

THE most satisfactory insight into the practical working and actual results of a school system, can be obtained, not by looking to any general summary applicable to the whole State, but to the operations in detail, of a particular school, or of the schools of a neighborhood, or of some of the larger and yet subordinate divisions of the State. For this purpose we select for publication a report on the condition of primary education, by M. A. Domergue, the governmental inspector for the department of Tarn-one of the 86 territorial and civil divisions of the State. Tarn belongs to the old province of Languedoc, and in 1850 had a population of 330,000, distributed through 79 arrondisements, 20 cantons, and 300 communes. In 1828, when M. Charles Dupin projected his intellectual map of France, the department of Tarn was represented by a black spot, to indicate its low state as to schools and education. The report does not cover the whole ground, but shows the progress which has been made in one of the most backward portions of France since the new system went into operation.

Primary instruction includes the elementary and superior, the communal and private schools. Some of these are attended exclusively by boys, some by girls, and some by infants, while others are common* schools; that is, attended by both boys and girls. There are also classes for adults, a primary normal school for masters, and another for schoolmistresses.

BOYS' SCHOOLS.

There are altogether in the department 309 communal and 40 private schools. This gives a total increase of 8 schools over the year 1848. But there have been at the same time an increase of communal and a decrease of private schools. This result is doubly advantageous; for, with few exceptions, the public schools are superior to private schools, both as regards instruction and discipline.

With respect to the mode of instruction, the 349 boys' schools are thus divided:-Schools directed according to the mutual mode, 12; simultaneous, 261; individual, 21; mixed+ mode, 55; total, 349. This last mode is the best that can be employed in the schools which have more than 50 pupils; it demands, on the part of the master, indefatigable zeal, but it gives, in exchange, most beneficial

results.

There are 314 schools exclusively devoted to Roman Catholics, and 18 to Protestants, whilst 17 schools receive children belonging to both. The directors of these 17 schools are all Roman Catholics.

Civil State of the Teachers. Of the 349 instructors, 336 are laymen, and 13 belong to religious societies. There are also employed in the schools 49 assistantbrothers. Of the 336 lay teachers, 117 are bachelors, 196 are married, and 23 are widowers.

Schools where boys and girls are taught together, are generally termed in this country mized schools. Common schools are public schools in our school nomenclature. †This is a combination of the mutual and the simultaneous.

Number of Pupils, &c.-The communal schools receive 11,882 boys; the private schools, 1,981; in all, 13,863. If to this number we add 217 boys who attend the common schools, we shall have a total of 14,080 boys, thus showing an increase of 807 over the year 1848.

Besides the 13,863 boys admitted into the 349 schools, there are also taught, by the masters of the common schools, 1,234 girls.

Of the 14,080 boys, 7,943 pay a school fee, which varies from fivepence to twenty pence a month; 6,137 are instructed gratuitously. The number of gratuitous pupils it is hoped will increase; for the 24th article of the law of the 13th March, 1850, states that "primary instruction ought to be given gratuitously to all children of those families who are not in a condition to pay for such instruction."

Moral and Political Conduct of the Teachers.-The conduct of our instructors is generally very good. With some exceptions, happily few in number, they have all learned that they ought to confine themselves exclusively to the discharge of the duties belonging to their profession, and not to engage in political or municipal discussions.

We can not speak so satisfactorily of the capacity of our teachers. Besides those who have been educated at the Normal School, and whose schools are of a superior order, there are a hundred instructors who were breveted immediately after the promulgation of the law of June 28th, 1833. These know, in general, very little; they are ignorant of good methods of teaching, and their schools are conducted with little order and regularity. But they have rendered services, and although they are not at the top of their profession, yet it would be unjust to hurry on their superannuation. The law which assures to instructors a minimum salary of 600 francs ($125,) will enable us to demand of them more zeal and assiduity. They will not require to seek, in labors foreign to their profession, an increase of pay to assure the daily existence of themselves and their families, But 19-20ths of the instructors of this department will not be able to claim more than the fixed minimum allowance. It is to be regretted that we can not, by means of salaries increasing progressively in proportion to the services performed, excite the emulation of teachers and establish a system of promotion advantageous to the cause of education.

GIRLS' SCHOOLS.

There are in the department 54 communal and 163 private schoolmistresses. The increase on 1848 is 18 in number.

The communal schools receive 3,669, and the private schools 5,662 pupils; in all 9,331. When compared with the numbers attending school in 1848, there is a decrease of 151 pupils. If we add to the above number 1,234 girls who are taught in the common schools, we shall have a total number of 10,565 girls receiving elementary instruction.

Of the 9,331 who are taught by schoolmistresses, 6,674 pay, and 2,657 are educated gratuitously.

Of the 1,234 who attend the common schools,† 941 pay, and 293 receive gratuitous instruction.

The communal masters alone receive pupils who pay nothing; the private teachers receive none. All the schoolmistresses, on the contrary, whether communal or private, admit gratuitously a great number of children.

There is no need to direct your attention to the fact, that the zeal and the devotion of our schoolmistresses are not sufficiently recompensed. Every one is fully convinced of the salutary influence which the education of females exercises upon the morality of a country. We ought, therefore, to find some means of properly rewarding our schoolmistresses for the eminent services which they have rendered. It is necessary, above all, to encourage the establishment of girls' schools, in order to diminish, as much as possible, the number of mixed schools, which, in spite of the most careful superintendence, present results most unfavorable. As a proof of the low estimation in which these mixed schools are held, take the following facts: In those communes which possess a girls' school, the mean number of

* By a recent law a retiring pension is granted to teachers in proportion to their length of service.

t These common or mixed schools are conducted by masters.

pupils attending is 64 per commune; whereas, in the communes having no girls' school, but, on the contrary, a boys' school open to girls, the mean number is reduced to nine.

There are 189 communes entirely without schoolmistresses; that is to say, in 189 communes of the department the girls are either wholly deprived of instruction, or receive an education which, from being given by a man, is not at all in harmony with the duties imposed upon the sex by society.

From these considerations, I have the honor of proposing to you to ask of the general council the sum of 2000 francs, to be appropriated thus-1000 francs among private schoolmistresses, many of whom find it difficult to live, and 1000 francs to be divided among the poorest of the communes which shall make sacrifices to establish communal schools for girls.*

Children attending the Schools.—Out of 1000 inhabitants, 68 children, on an average, attend the primary schools. In 1839, there were only 55 out of 1000: the progress, then, is real. We are, however, below the average which, for the whole of France, is about 92 in 1000; while some of the departments, such as that of Doubs, count 176 pupils out of every 1000 inhabitants. The number of children between 6 and 14 years of age, who do not actually attend the primary schools, may be reckoned at 20,000. Many of these have already left school, carrying with them notions the most imperfect, which they will very soon completely forget. The great majority are condemned to absolute ignorance.

School Houses. The law of 28th June, 1833, compels communes to provide suitable buildings which shall serve both as school-rooms for the children, and dwelling-houses for the masters. The law of 15th March, 1850, has preserved this obligation. Communes are also advised to become the owners of schoolhouses; and in 1848 they possessed 86 school-houses, while at the present day they have 99. About 15 new school-houses may be reckoned which shall be completed during the next year. Every where, in the course of my inspection, I have ascertained that the places rented by the communes to serve as schools and teachers' residences are unhealthy, badly ventilated, insufficiently lighted, inconvenient, and inadequate; whilst some are in a completely dilapidated condition.

Purchase of Books for the Poor.-Rural schools are entirely without good books. Poverty prevents many parents from purchasing such books as are necessary for their children, or it makes them select, not those which the teacher indicates to them, but those which itinerant booksellers sell them at a very small cost, Serious inconveniences result from this state of things. I believe that it is necessary to provide in the budget a grant of 500 francs for the purchase of books for poor scholars.

Assistance to Old and Infirm Teachers.-The aged instructors have spent their strength in the career of primary instruction-an office, up to the present time, so badly remunerated. They are now worn out, and will suffer all the horrors of poverty, unless the department render them assistance. I solicit for them an allowance of 500 francs. This sum will annually diminish, and, finally, will disappear from the departmental budget; since the new law in reference to educa tion assures to instructors a retiring pension in proportion to a duration of their services.

Infant Schools. The department contains 9 infant schools for boys and girls, containing a total of 1001 children.

Normal School. The excellent condition of this establishment continues to deserve the praises which have been bestowed on it by the general council of the department, the academic authorities, and the general Inspectors of the University.

The satisfactory results which it is permitted me to state, are owing to the unbounded devotion and untiring zeal of the director of the school; to the strict discipline which he maintains with vigor; to his constant presence at all the exercises of the house; to the religious punctuality which is every where manifest, and which is the best precept on order and regularity which it is possible to give to our future instructors.

Every commune is obliged by law to support at least one primary school, either of its own, or in conjunction with neighboring communes.