THE GERMANS AT SCHOOL 607 



be carried on without any reference to instruction, the scholars are dis- 

 burdened from every educational responsibility, and the progress of 

 knowledge becomes the only goal. At the same time the number of 

 technical schools on the level of the universities has been increased to 

 twelve, since those of Danzig and Breslau have recently come into 

 existence, and Germany's famous mining schools, forest schools, agri- 

 cultural schools and veterinary schools show the same signs of flourish- 

 ing life. 



The greatest change, however, in the academic life of the nation has 

 come through the new regulations which link the university with the 

 schools. The American schools have usually left a certain freedom in 

 the choice of studies within a single institution. In the same high 

 school the boy can take a classical course or a more realistic course. 

 Germany has always had separate schools for the different schemes of 

 preparation. The higher schools which engaged the boys to the nine- 

 teenth or twentieth year have always been of three types, the Gymnasium 

 which puts the chief emphasis on Latin and Greek, the Eeal gymnasium 

 which omits the Greek and emphasizes modern languages and the 

 Oberreal gymnasium which has very little Latin but much natural 

 science. They correspond roughly to the American high school and a 

 modest American college or the first two or three years of the best col- 

 leges. The tradition allowed only those who had the certificate of the 

 Gymnasium to take up the study of law, medicine, divinity and philol- 

 ogy. The university study of natural sciences and of modern languages 

 besides a number of practical callings were the only goals accessible to 

 those who came from the other two types of schools. Long struggles 

 which excited all Germany led to the abolition of this monopoly by 

 classical education. With the year 1902 the great modern school re- 

 form began and every year has brought new advance. To-day prac- 

 tically every boy who has passed through a school of any one of the 

 three types finds the doors of the university wide open, whatever pro- 

 fession he may choose. It may be too early to judge whether only ad- 

 vantages will follow in the train of this reform. There are not a few 

 who are afraid that the realistic schooling of the future lawyers and 

 government officers may be a danger for the idealistic character of the 

 national life, and there are many who believe that even the physician 

 needs to read his Plato in school time more than to begin at once with 

 the chemical laboratory. But in any case the great change has brought 

 fresh air into the academic halls. The second great change was the full 

 admission of women. For a long time they had the permission to at- 

 tend lectures but no academic rights equal to those of men could be 

 acknowledged for the women students until they should bring to the 

 entrance door of the university the same certificate as the boys were 

 expected to bring from their schools. The real advance of the women 



