178 THE UNIVERSITY 



(2) There is, on the other hand, some practical work. This is done 

 in the practice or experimental school, which is an ordinary primary 

 school, associated or not, as the case may be, with the normal. Its 

 organization is not everywhere the same. On the average, every nor- 

 mal student spends thirty days in the practice school, divided into 

 several periods according to a system of rotation. In certain schools 

 these days are subdivided into four weekly periods, during each of 

 which the pupil-teacher discontinues his studies and devotes his 

 entire time to the school of practice. In other schools he spends 

 only his afternoon in the practice school, devoting the morning to 

 the normal. Moreover, his period of apprenticeship is not always, 

 organized in the same way: in some cases he will have charge of all 

 the recitations; in others he will be present in certain classes and will 

 personally conduct only a few. In every instance, however, he has 

 the same duties as his instructor; he must instruct his class, keep 

 a notebook of his preparation, correct his pupils' exercise-books, etc. 



In this apprenticeship he has, as teacher and guide, not his pro- 

 fessors, who, with few exceptions, do not enter the training-school, 

 but the principal of this school, under the authority and control of the 

 head of the normal. This teacher shows his apprentice in the first 

 place by example how to manage a class and conduct a recitation; 

 then assists him by direction, criticism, and advice, in the actual 

 work of teaching. 



These are the essential features of the system. Doubtless the 

 results obtained depending, as is always the case, on the efficiency 

 of the men, are as satisfactory as we have a right to expect. But the 

 question may fairly be raised whether the organization itself leaves 

 nothing to be desired, and we shall see that a reform must be thought 

 out. 



The examinations for the elementary and higher licenses, which 

 all normal students have to pass, are not of a professional nature, 

 for at this stage an examination on the application of psychology 

 to education cannot be reckoned as a pedagogical test and the ele- 

 mentary license, which is all that is required of a public or private 

 school teacher, does not demand any such test. But no one can 

 be appointed full teacher in an ordinary public school unless he has 

 obtained a certificate of proficiency in pedagogy. Before attempting 

 an examination to gain this certificate a preliminary course of two 

 years' teaching is required. The examination embraces a thesis on 

 some educational subject, a criticism of the exercise-books containing 

 a month's work, questions on pedagogy, and, above all, as a prac- 

 tical test, the conducting of a class by the candidate in a primary 

 public school. The candidate is now duly qualified to teach. His 

 professional training is continued by actual practice, by a course of 

 reading, especially by the reading of some journal devoted to peda- 



