Few are the instances where the physical development of the children is so effectually provided for as among the Norwegians. Gymnastics is a regular feature throughout the entire course of study until the completion of the gymnasium. In addition to this the universal rule of requiring the pupils to go into the open air during the intermissions which follow every class meeting has its good effects. Athletic sports also have recently become more important features of school life. Fortunately they have not reached a point of specialization where their values are open to question.
Buildings and grounds are constructed and laid out with the physical welfare of children in mind. As a consequence we find gymnastic halls well equipped and grounds supplied with the advantages most essential in the accomplishment of the desired end, viz., a strong and vigorous body in which to develop a sound mind. Their school grounds are small, making a crowded condition the rule in the larger schools. Strange as it may seem, the same unfortunate condition prevails almost universally in our own land where there appears to be little excuse for congestion. However, the size of the grounds is perhaps a matter of minor importance, especially when compared to their use. Space and equipment may be regarded as incidental; use is the all-important part. Our grounds are not used. We rarely have but one, if any, intermission except the noon hour, the greater portion of which is occupied in going for the midday meal. The results of the Norwegians' enforced, frequent, and regular use of the playgrounds are in evidence on every hand. Robust, vigorous, buoyant, active, healthy, sound, alert, and the like adjectives are the appropriate ones to use in speaking of the physiques of their pupils.
Were the influences of bodily conditions upon mental growth and activity fully appreciated, the schools would doubtless make a sudden shift toward providing adequately for physical education. Physical development has been regarded with considerable favor for some time, but it has usually been a secondary affair when it should have been introduced as a vital feature. Educational systems should provide for the training and development of the physical as well as the mental life. They are dependent upon each other and are in fact two phases of the same life It is obviously wasteful to seek to develop the one without regard to the other, or to attempt the cultivation of one at the expense of the other.
Vocal Music
Music is among the most potent factors in developing national spirit and loyalty. Plato wrote: "Any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole state, and ought to be prohibited.... When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them."[28] Napoleon stated that if he might write the nation's songs he cared not who might write its laws. Music in the better forms has moved individuals and nations to great accomplishments, and its efficacy is generally recognized. As a means of education, however, it receives far too little attention.
The quality of music sung in the schools of Norway has some points of superiority. One feature in making it a powerful contributor in developing loyal and competent citizens is the use they make of the best compositions from their own writers. Their poets and musicians have furnished large amounts of excellent productions. They sing of their heroes and of their national ideals and achievements. The spirit in their songs reflects the soul of their fatherland. The influence upon the lives of the pupils contributes to solidarity of the nation and to love for its institutions.
Contrast this with the results of the rattle of rag-time and jigs. Too much of our public school, Sunday school, and church music has been of this order. Public school music and education along this line are matters deserving more attention than they receive. Recent introduction into many schools of victrolas with records of masterpieces produced by the leading artists of the world point to a recognition of the educative value of the better quality of selections. To hear the same productions direct from the soul of the artist would be many times as effectual as any mechanical reproduction, but this is beyond the reach of the masses. Present indications give assurance that the near future will see music more nearly occupying its legitimate place in our educational provisions.
LINES OF INSTRUCTION IN THE GYMNASIUM
In the second and third years of gymnasial work three courses of study are open, viz., Real, Language-History, and Language-History with Latin. Here pupils get their first experience in electing the line of work wherein their study shall center. This seems a rather fortunate provision, for by this time likes and dislikes for certain subjects of study, special aptitudes along specific lines, and choice of life work are coming into the foreground of consciousness. The pupils' likes and aptitudes working together influence their decisions concerning life's activities. Again the disposition and nature of individuals render one line of study more attractive and beneficial than either of the others. There are, indeed, many influences at work upon pupils of such age which make it appear highly advisable to follow some particular line of study.