Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform

by W. S. Monroe

The Church granted the petition, and Comenius settled in Saros-Patak, in May, 1650. He at once drew up a sketch of a seven-grade school, which he published a year later under the title Plan of a pansophic school. “In scope and breadth of view,” remarks a modern historian, “the scheme was centuries in advance of its time, while many of the suggestions which it contained are but imperfectly carried into effect at the present day.”

The Plan is a detailed course of study with specific directions for the application of the course for the use of teachers. In these directions he explains the great danger of overworking the children; and to avoid this, a rest-pause of a half-hour is provided after each hour’s instruction for free, spontaneous play. After each meal a full hour’s rest is granted. The pupils are to have eight hours of sleep; they are granted a half-holiday on Sundays and Wednesdays, with fortnight vacations at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, and a month’s vacation in the summer. This gave a school year of forty-two weeks, with thirty hours for school work in each week. The forenoon instruction was as follows: From 6 to 7 o’clock, religious instruction, including hymns, prayers, and Bible readings. From 7.30 to 8.30, theoretical exposition of the new subject-matter of the day’s lesson; and from 9 to 10, a practical treatment and review of the same. There was music (and mathematics) in the afternoon from 1 to 2; history from 2.30 to 3.30; and composition, with exercises in style, from 4 to 5.

The Plan requires that the seven grades of the school meet in separate rooms, and that a teacher be provided for each grade. In each class, the text-books must be adapted to the capacities of the children. The Vestibulum is the lowest class. Over the door of this room is the motto, “Let no one enter who cannot read.” The room is so decorated that the pictures illustrate the subjects taught in this grade; and, by means of these illustrations, the senses are trained. The pupils are taught short maxims containing the most important rules of conduct, a few common Latin words, the elements of arithmetic, the scales in music, and some short hymns and prayers. Writing and drawing are also taught, and special attention is given to the games of the children.

The Janual is the second class. The motto over the class-room door of this grade is, “Let no one enter who is ignorant of mathematics.” Provided the more common objects mentioned in the Janua cannot be readily obtained, pictures of these objects are hung on the wall. The text-books used are, besides the Janua, the Latin vernacular dictionary and the Janual grammar. In composition, the pupils are exercised in the structure of phrases, sentences, and periods; in religion, they learn the catechism; in mathematics, addition and subtraction and plane figures in geometry. There are more advanced exercises in music; and, as in the preceding grade, the teachers are urged to encourage the plays and games of the children.

The Atrial is the third class. Its motto is, “Let no one enter who cannot speak.” Here Bible readings, in abridged form and suited to the intelligence of the children, are begun. The text-book is the Atrium, together with a grammar of eloquence and a Latin-Latin dictionary. In arithmetic, the pupils master multiplication and division, and in geometry, solid figures. The musical instruction includes harmony and the rudiments of Latin verse. Famous deeds in Biblical narrative furnish the basis of the historic instruction. In composition there are exercises in style, consisting of paraphrasing and the transposition of sentences. Before the pupils are permitted to pass from this grade they must be able to read the Latin authors readily and to converse in the Latin fluently.

The Philosophical is the fourth class, with the motto, “Let no one who is ignorant of history enter here.” The walls are decorated with pictures illustrative of arithmetic, geometry, and physics, and connected with this class-room are a chemical laboratory and a dissecting-room. The religious instruction includes hymns, Psalms, an epitome of the New Testament, and a life of Christ. The text-book is called the Palace of wisdom; in it the genesis of natural phenomena are described. In mathematics, the pupils learn the rules of proportion; they begin the study of trigonometry; also statics, and instruction on musical instruments. Greek is begun, and the pupils study natural history through Pliny and Ælian. Comenius mentions that he does not consider Greek a difficult study; and he thinks it need cause the pupils no alarm, since an exhaustive knowledge of Greek is not required, and the difficulties of the study will be largely overcome by the use of rational methods of teaching.

The fifth class is the Logical. Over the door is the inscription, “Let no one enter who is ignorant of natural philosophy,” and the walls are covered with the rules of logic. The pupils have a Bible manual and a class-book on problems in philosophy. The problems include a survey of things that have been and may be discovered by man; a formal logic explaining the processes of reasoning, and a repertory of such philosophical problems as present themselves to the human mind. In arithmetic, the rules of partnership and allegation are studied; in geometry, mensuration of heights and distances and plane surfaces; in geography, a description of the earth; in astronomy, an account of the heavens; in history, a survey of mechanical inventions. For the formation of a literary style, such historians as Curtius, Cæsar, and Justin are read. The study of Greek is continued, and Isocrates and Plutarch are recommended for reading. Dramatic performances are introduced in the fifth class. Grammar, logic, and metaphysics are represented in conflict, but a reconciliation is finally effected through study.

The sixth is the Political class. Its motto, “Let no one enter who cannot reason.” Sallust, Cicero, Virgil, and Horace are read for style; provision is made for verse writing; attention is given to geography and the parts of astronomy dealing with the planets and the laws of the eclipses; the Bible is read through; more advanced topics in arithmetic and geometry are taken up; the special class-book studied deals with human society and the laws of economics; in Greek the pupils read from Thucydides and Hesiod. Dramatic performances are continued, the degeneration and moral downfall of Solomon being rendered.

The seventh and last grade of the course is the Philosophic. Its motto is, “Let no one enter who is irreligious.” The instruction is of an essentially theological character. On the walls are inscribed numerous mystic symbols illustrative of the hidden wisdom of the Holy Scriptures. The most devotional Psalms and church hymns are used in the school exercises. There are readings from the Scriptures, the works of the most inspired theologians and martyrs, and a résumé of Christian beliefs, duties, and aspirations, all written in the phraseology of the Bible. The text-book of the grade is ultra-religious in character. It includes (1) an account of the earthly and heavenly revelations of God; (2) a commentary for Scriptural reading; and (3) a detailed account of the mysteries of salvation. In arithmetic, the sacred and mystic numbers that occur in the Scriptures; in architecture, the sacred structures as exemplified by Noah’s ark, the tabernacle, and the Temple; in history, the general history of the Church; and in ancient language, Hebrew takes the place of Greek—this, that the students may be able to read and understand the Scriptures in the original text. Oratory is studied that those who become preachers may know how to address a congregation, and that those who engage in politics may know how to reason with their hearers.