Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 79.djvu/613

Rh there are three hours of gymnastics, two hours of drawing and one hour of singing. For the friends of women's progress, however, the chief accent of the system lies on the Studienanstalt. It is a school of six classes demanding six years' work open to those who have passed the first seven classes of the higher girls' schools. The three highest classes of the girls' school are then skipped, and instead of them the six years' course undertaken. This, however, is again divided into three separate schools corresponding to the Gymnasium, the Real gymnasium and the Oberrealschule of the boys. In the Gymnasium course during those six years the girls have three hours a week German, six hours a week Latin, at first three, later two hours French, in the first two classes three hours a week English, in the last four classes eight hours a week Greek. Through all the years there is history two hours, mathematics first four, later two hours, religion two, geography one, gymnastics three and drawing three. In the Real gymnasium the girls have no Greek whatever, but throughout six hours Latin, three hours French, three hours English and somewhat more mathematics and natural science than in the Gymnasium course. Finally in the Oberrealschule Latin too is omitted while both French and English are increased to four hours a week, mathematics to five, natural science to four and German also to four. This new plan adapts itself most successfully to the various needs, and the only danger lies in the fact that inasmuch as these three last types of schools open wide the way to the professional studies of the universities the number of academically trained women may soon by far surpass the demand of the community.

This vivid activity in the direction of liberal changes through governmental initiative does not exclude an abundance of efforts to break new educational paths. For instance much interest is centered nowadays on the so-called reform schools. They aim toward postponing the decision for a particular type of school as late as possible. The usual schools are different from the start. The classical schools begin with their Latin in the lowest classes. The reform school systems, of which the model was the city school system of Frankfort, have a common foundation for all schools, reminding one in this respect of the American principle. The much-discussed Frankfort plan in the first three classes gives to all the pupils in common five hours German, six hours French, two hours geography, five hours mathematics, two hours of natural science, two hours of writing, three to two hours of religion, three hours of gymnastics, two hours of drawing and two hours of singing. Only with the fourth class does the bifurcation begin. In the classical course the fourth class begins at once with ten hours Latin and the sixth class with eight hours of Greek, while in the realistic course the Latin is started in the fourth class, with eight hours going down to six, and the English begins in the sixth class with six hours.