THE TEACHER.
1. Education, in antiquity, was entirely a matter of domestic concern. In countries where priestly or royal despotism prevailed, schools for the benefit of the sons of the great, and for the priests, were established. Moses, the Jewish lawgiver, was educated in a priestly school in Egypt, and Cyrus, at a seminary belonging to the Persian court. In Palestine, the Scriptures were taught in the schools of the prophets; and, at later periods, in the synagogues, and in the schools of the Rabbis, reading, committing to memory the sacred books, and hearing explanations of their meaning, constituted the chief exercises.
2. In the Grecian cities, boys and girls were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic in private schools; and, after having completed the primary course, those who aspired to higher degrees of knowledge, resorted to the instructions of the philosophers and sophists. This system was commenced as early as 500 years before the advent of Christ.
3. Two hundred years after this period, the Romans began to have primary schools for boys, in the cities; and, from the time of Julius Cæsar, who conferred on teachers the right of citizenship, they possessed the higher institutions of the grammarians and the rhetoricians. In the former of these, were taught the Latin and Greek languages; and in the latter, young men of talent were prepared, by exercises in declamation, for speaking in public.
4. Children, among the Greeks and Romans, were accompanied to school by slaves, who, from the performance of this duty, were called pedagogues; but, after slaves and freedmen had made acquirements in literature and science, they were frequently employed as tutors; hence the term, at length, came to imply a teacher of children, and it is still used in reference to this employment, although we usually connect with it the idea of pedantry.
5. Until the time of Vespasian, who commenced his reign in the year 70 of the Christian era, the schools were sustained entirely by private enterprise. That emperor instituted public professorships of grammar and rhetoric with fixed salaries, for the purpose of educating young men for the public service; and, in A.D. 150, Antoninus Pius founded imperial schools in the larger cities of the Roman empire. The most celebrated place for the cultivation of science, in the ancient world, was Athens; and, to this city, students from all parts of Europe resorted, even as late as the ninth century.
6. Christianity, by degrees, gave a new turn to education; and, in the East, it came gradually under the influence of the clergy. Schools were instituted in the cities and villages for catechumens, and, in some places, those of a higher grade, for the education of clergymen. Of the latter kind, that in Alexandria was the most flourishing, from the second to the fourth century.
7. From the fifth century, these higher institutions began to decline, and others, called cathedral or episcopal schools, seem to have taken their place. In these, besides theology, were taught the seven liberal arts—grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music; of which the three first were called the trivium, and the four last the quadrivium. The text-book employed was the Encyclopædia of Marcianus Capella, of Africa. This compendium was published at Rome, A.D. 470; and, although a meagre production, it maintained its reputation in the schools of Europe more than 1000 years.
8. The imperial schools established by Antoninus Pius, declined, and finally became extinct, in the confusion that followed the irruption of the barbarians; but their places were supplied by the parochial and cathedral schools just mentioned. These, however, were surpassed, in the sixth century, by the conventual schools, which were originally designed to prepare persons for the monastic life, but which soon began to be resorted to by laymen.
9. These schools were connected with the convents belonging to the order of St. Benedict, and served as the chief glimmering lights during the darkest period between ancient and modern civilization, in Europe. They flourished in Ireland, England, France, and Germany, from the sixth to the eleventh century. The teachers of these seminaries were called scholastici, and from them the scholastic philosophy derived its origin and name.
10. In the year 789, Charlemagne, king of the Franks, issued a decree for the improvement of the schools of his empire, and for increasing their number. Not only every bishop's see and every convent, but every parish, was to have its school; the two former for the education of clergymen and public officers, and the latter for the lower classes of people. This monarch instituted an academy of learned men, to whom he himself resorted for instruction, and whom he employed to educate his children, and a select number of the sons of the nobility and distinguished persons.
11. The encouragement which these schools had received from government was soon discontinued after the death of this monarch, and his school establishment declined like that of Alfred the Great, which was commenced in the ninth century, on a scale of equal liberality. The designs of the English monarch were frustrated by the invasions of the Danes.
12. In the mean time, the Jewish rabbis had schools in Syria and in Northern Africa, as well as in Europe, which contributed to the preservation of ancient learning. Arabian schools were also established, in the ninth century, by the followers of Mohammed, in their Eastern and African caliphates, and in their Moorish dominions in Spain. Through these institutions, the mathematical and medical sciences were again revived in Europe.
13. The cathedral and conventual schools continued, for a long time, the principal institutions for education in Europe; and from them proceeded many eminent men. By degrees the light of science began to shine more brightly; teachers of eminence appeared in different places, who collected around them a great number of scholars; and a new kind of schools arose, the heads of which assumed the name of rectores.
14. In Paris, several of these teachers gave instructions in various branches, but chiefly in rhetoric, philosophy, and theology. The schools thus collected under different masters, were, in 1206, united under one rector; and, on this account, the whole mass of teachers and scholars was denominated universitas. Universities, in other parts of Europe, arose in a similar manner, and some of them, about the same time. Those of Oxford and Cambridge, according to some writers, were established about the year 1200; and the two first of these institutions in Germany were founded at Prague and Vienna, the former in 1348, and the latter in 1365.
15. The division of the students into four nations was an essential feature in the early universities. It arose from the circumstance that the pupils coming from different countries, spoke different languages. Those whose language was the same or similar, would naturally associate together, and attend the instructions of the same teachers. This division into nations is supposed to have grown up at Paris, previous to the formal union of the several schools under one rector.
16. The first teachers, from whose exertions the universities originated, commenced their public instructions without permission from established authority. Subsequently, the state and university were careful to prevent all persons from giving lectures, who were not well qualified for the employment. Examinations were therefore instituted to determine the capabilities of students. Those who were found competent, received a formal permission to teach, accompanied with certain symbols in the spirit of the age.
17. The first academical degree was that of baccalaureus, the second, licentiatus; and the third magister. The last of these entitled the student to all the privileges of his former teachers, and constituted him one of the facultas artium—the faculty of the seven liberal arts, since called the philosophic faculty. The other faculties were those of theology, law, and medicine. The first of these was instituted at Paris in 1259, and the two last, in 1260. The faculties elected deans from among their number, who, with the procuratores, or heads of the four nations of students, represented the university. These representatives possessed the power of conferring degrees in the different departments of literature and science.
18. Among the public institutions of the early universities were the colleges, (collegia,) buildings in which students, especially those who were poor, might live together, under superintendents, without paying for their lodging. In some cases, they received their board, and frequently other allowances, gratis. These institutions were commenced at Paris; but here, as well as in other places, they did not continue the asylums of the necessitous only. In France and England, the buildings of universities are composed chiefly of these colleges, in which the students reside, and in which the business of instruction is mainly carried on.
19. The teachers in the universities were at first paid for their services by the students. At a later period, the magistrates of the town or city where the institution was located, made presents to eminent scholars, to induce them to remain. This practice finally led to the payment of regular salaries. From and after the fourteenth century, universities were not left to grow up of themselves as formerly, but were expressly established by public authorities or by the popes.
20. The inactivity and luxury of the clergy, had led to the neglect of the old seminaries of learning. The universities were therefore necessary, not only to revive the taste for science and literature, but also to form a new body of teachers. These institutions, however, at length became subject to undue clerical influence, since the monks obtained admission into them as teachers, and then labored to increase the importance of their several orders, as well as the power of the Roman pontiff.
21. The monks, also, connected, with their convents, popular schools, and undertook the education of the children in the cities. But their method of instruction was exceedingly defective, since the intelligent investigation of the subjects studied was little encouraged, and since the memory of the pupils was brought into requisition to the almost entire exclusion of the other faculties of the mind.
22. In the lower parish schools, the children were not permitted to learn to write, the monks being desirous of confining to the clergy the practice of this art, which was very lucrative before the invention of printing. The art was called ars clericalis; and, for a long time, the privilege of establishing writing schools for the children of citizens, was a matter of negotiation between the magistrates and the clergy.
23. But the citizens becoming, at length, more independent, the magistrates themselves began to superintend the education of youth. Trivial schools were established, in which the trivium, and reading and writing, were taught; but for these, as well as for the cathedral and parish schools, which had been neglected for some time by the higher clergy, itinerant monks and students were employed as teachers.
24. The elder pupils of the highest class frequently wandered from one school to another, under the pretence of pursuing their studies, sometimes taking with them younger scholars, whom they compelled to beg or steal, in order to supply their wants. As late as the sixteenth century, Luther complains that these vacantivi (or idlers) were the persons chiefly employed as schoolmasters in Germany.
25. A pious fraternity, called Jeronymites, consisting of clergymen and laymen, who lived together, and occupied themselves partly in mechanic arts, and partly in the instruction of youth, exerted considerable influence on education in general. They first established themselves in Italy, and afterwards in the Netherlands, on the Rhine, and in Northern Germany.
26. Much was done during the last half of the fourteenth century, and in the one hundred years that followed, to encourage the study of the ancient classics. The attention of literary men was turned to these interesting remains of antiquity by the arrival of many learned Greeks, who had fled from Turkish oppression, and who had brought with them the ancient writings.
27. These treasures of former civilization were unfolded to the modern world by the art of printing, which was invented in 1441; and the reformation, which commenced in 1517, also aided the advancement of education. The corporations of the German cities in which the reformed religion was received, founded seminaries, called gymnasia, and lyceums, with permanent professorships. A vast amount of property, belonging to the convents and the Church, was confiscated by the governments, and appropriated chiefly to the promotion of education.
28. The schools in the countries which adhered to the Roman Catholic religion, however, continued in nearly the same state, until the Jesuit schools arose, towards the end of the sixteenth century. These, on account of the ability with which they were conducted, soon gained the ascendency, and for a long time maintained their reputation; but they, at length, degenerated, and finally became extinct, on the suppression of the order of Jesuits in 1773.
29. Italy, Spain, and Portugal, have, for a long time, been inactive in relation to education, it being left entirely to the clergy, and the efforts of the people in their individual capacity. Much has been done in Austria, within fifty years, to advance this important interest. Under the late emperor, professorships were constituted, in the universities and cathedral seminaries, for the instruction of teachers; and gymnasia, common and Sunday schools, were established in almost every part of the kingdom.
30. The general organization of schools in France, in the eighteenth century, was similar to that of most other Catholic countries. The government did nothing for the education of the people at large; and the Church, which possessed a large proportion of the property of the nation, left the people in total ignorance; whence may have arisen much of the atrocity which marked the early part of the revolution.
31. During the popular reign, the education of youth was declared to be under the care of the state, and many schools, called polytechnic, were established. Napoleon, also, afterwards instituted several military schools, and contemplated the introduction of a system of general education. With this view, he instituted an imperial university, which was to have the supreme direction of instruction in France; but his designs were but partially carried into effect.
32. When the Bourbons were again restored to the throne of France, they, with the clergy, labored to restore the old order of things; and, to keep the common people from becoming dangerous, the Lancasterian schools, established in 1816, were abolished. Efficient measures, however, have been lately adopted by Louis Philip to establish schools of different grades throughout his kingdom.
33. In England and Ireland, although the middling and higher classes are comparatively well educated, no system of general instruction has ever been established for the benefit of the common people. Much, however, has been accomplished by charity and Sunday schools; the former of which were commenced in 1698, and the latter in 1812. Besides these, there are numerous charitable foundations on which many persons of limited means have been educated at the higher institutions.
34. In Scotland, more liberal provisions have been made for general education. The system was commenced in the reign of William and Mary, when, by an act of Parliament, every parish was required to maintain a school. The people have so far improved their privileges, that nearly all of the inhabitants of that part of Great Britain can read and write.
35. The government of Russia, during the last and present century, has directed some attention to the promotion of education. According to the decrees of the Emperor Alexander, schools of different grades were to be established throughout the empire; but these decrees have been yet only partially executed.
36. In no part of the world has the education of all classes of people been more encouraged than in the United States. This has arisen chiefly from the circumstance, that a remarkable proportion of the colonists were persons of education. This was particularly the case with those of New-England, where the instruction of youth, from the very beginning of the settlements, was made a matter of public concern.
37. The principle of making public provision for this purpose, thus early adopted, has never been deserted; on the contrary, it has become so deeply interwoven with the social condition of the people of New-England, that there are few families in that part of the Union, which are not within reach of a public school; and, in every state where the influence of the people from that section of the country is predominant, public schools have been organized by legal provisions, and a fund has been provided, by which at least a part of the expense of supporting them is paid.
38. In all the states in which these primary institutions are established by legislative enactments, they are kept in operation, in country places, between six and nine months of the year. A master is employed in the winter, and a mistress, in the summer: the former receives for his services from ten to fifteen dollars per month, and the latter, from seventy-five cents to two dollars per week, together with boarding. The teachers, however, during their engagement are compelled to reside in the different families of the district, their stay at each place being determined, with scrupulous exactness, by the number of children sent to the school.
39. From the low salaries received for these important services, and the short periods for which engagements are made, it is evident, that teaching a district school cannot be pursued as a regular employment. These schools are, therefore, supplied by persons who, during the rest of the year, follow some other business; or by students, who rely, in part or entirely, on their own exertions to defray the expenses of their academical, collegiate, or professional education.
40. These schools are, no doubt, institutions of great value; but, in the states where they have been established, they are evidently much overrated. They fail in accomplishing the ends for which they have been instituted, through the extreme tenacity with which the people adhere to ancient and defective methods of instruction, the frequent change of teachers, and the small compensation allowed for the services of competent instructors.
41. In the cities and populous towns or villages, the public schools are kept up during the whole of the year, and the system of instruction is generally better than that pursued in the country. In New-York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and in some other cities, the Lancasterian plan of mutual instruction, with many modifications, is preferred, principally on account of its cheapness.
42. Select-schools and private academies are, also, very numerous. These are located chiefly in the cities and populous towns, and are supported entirely by fees for tuition received from the parents or guardians of the pupils. These institutions do not differ essentially from those of a private nature in similar situations in other parts of the United States, where common schools are not established by law.
43. In the Southern states, wealthy families often employ private tutors. Sometimes two, three, or more families, and even a whole neighborhood, unite for the purpose of forming a school; and, to induce a teacher to commence or continue his labors among them, an adequate amount is made up beforehand by subscription. South of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the Ohio River, such engagements are commonly made for a year, as, in that section of the Union, the opinion prevails, that a teacher can do but little towards improving his pupils in a much shorter time.
44. The literary institutions which are next above the common schools, and which are established by legislative authority, are the academies, of which there are between five and six hundred in the United States. Some of these have been founded by the funds of the state in which they are located, some, by the union of a few spirited individuals, or by private bequests.
45. The course of instruction pursued in these seminaries of learning varies considerably from each other. In some of them, it is confined chiefly to the common branches of education; in others, the course is pretty extensive, embracing natural and moral philosophy, chemistry, belles lettres, and a sound course of mathematics, together with Latin, Greek, and some of the modern languages. One great object in these institutions is to prepare students for college. The teacher who has charge of an academy is called the principal, while the teacher who may aid him in his labors is denominated the assistant or usher.
46. The highest institutions of learning among us are the colleges and universities. Between these, however, there seems to be but little difference, since the course of studies is nearly or quite the same in both, and since the charters obtained from the legislatures grant to both similar powers of conferring honorary degrees. The whole number of these establishments in the United States is about eighty.
47. The principal teachers in the colleges are denominated professors, who confine their labors to communicating instructions in particular branches of literature or science. These are aided by assistants called tutors. The latter are generally young men, who devote two or three years to this employment, before entering upon the practice of a profession. The number of professors and tutors in the several colleges varies according to their amount of funds, and number of students.
END OF VOL. I.