to be examined whom the teachers consider unfit, they are to be earnestly solicited to desist from their intention and rather study for another year. The examination is oral and written, is very thorough, and embraces all the subjects taught during the whole course. After having passed this final examination successfully, the student receives a certificate to such effect, without which it would be impossible for him to enter the university or any other higher institution of learning.

BOARDING.

With but very few of the secondary schools, boarding-houses for the students are connected, and they, therefore, board here and there in the city. Every student, on entering a secondary school, must be placed by his parents and guardians under the supervision of some responsible resident of the city, known to the rector, who has to watch strictly and conscientiously over his private studies and his conduct out of school-hours. On entering the school, students must give the rector the number of their residence, and must notify him whenever they change it. Students are on no account allowed to live at a hotel or inn of any kind.

RELIGIOUS EXERCISES.

In most secondary schools, the students are obliged to attend church regularly, accompanied by their teachers; Protestant students attending preaching every Sunday, and Catholic students, besides this, going to mass every day before school commences.

In most Protestant schools, morning-prayers common for the whole school are held by the rector or one of the teachers, generally consisting of the singing of a hymn at the beginning and the end, the reading of a passage of Scripture, and a short prayer. In many schools, a short religious service is held by the rector, on Saturday, before the duties of the week close. There are no

general binding regulations with regard to these religious exercises, but it is left to local option.

DISCIPLINE.

Punctual attendance at school is required, only sickness being a cause for staying away, and even then the teacher has to be notified immediately. Students are obliged to be cleanly and gentlemanly in their habits in and out of school, and to show due respect to their teachers and superiors. They are not allowed to visit restaurants, theaters, or any other public places of amusement, unless accompanied by their parents or guardians, or those responsible persons under whose care they are placed during their stay at the school. They are likewise forbidden to get books from any circulating library, as the students library supplies all their wants in this respect.

PUNISHMENTS.

Corporal punishments are, as a general rule, not permitted; only in the three lower classes they may be applied in extreme cases, and the rector must in every case be informed of it on the same day. The first degree of punish

ment consists in a reprimand, gentle or severe, according to circumstances either private or public. The second degree is "being kept in" after schoolhours, always under the supervision of the teacher. The third degree is imprisonment in the Carcer, (the school-lock-up,) not to exceed six hours at a time, and never to be spent in idleness, but always employed with some written exercises. This punishment can only be inflicted after the case has been discussed in the teachers' conference. The fourth degree is the so-called consilium abeundi, (i. e., a notification before the assembled teachers' conference that the student has to leave the school.) In milder cases, the parent or guardian is notified to remove his son or ward from the school within a certain time, and, if he does not comply, the scholar is expelled. The fifth and last degree is the public expulsion (Relegation) in the presence of the whole school.

VACATIONS.

The regulations with regard to vacations of course vary greatly in the different states, but as a general rule the total sum of the vacations is not to exceed ten and a half weeks per annum, mostly distributed in the following manner: two weeks at Easter; five days at Whitsuntide; four weeks in midsummer; ten days at Michaelmas; and two weeks at Christmas. In many schools, it is customary to set a certain amount of vacation-lessons, concerning which the students are examined on their return to school.

EXPENSES.

The expenses of a student in one of the secondary schools are, first, the cost of board and clothing, these of course varying according to location and style of living; secondly, the cost of text-books, which, of course, also varies in the different states of Germany, the text-books to be used being prescribed by the ministry of public instruction; and, lastly, school-fees, varying in Prussia from 39 Prussian thaler (about $27.11) to 6 Prussian thaler, (about $4.17) per annum. These fees, which are exclusively for tuition, also vary in the different classes, being usually greater in the higher classes. Every student is, besides this, obliged to pay a certain small amount annually toward the library-fund, the physical apparatus, &c.

SCHOOL-PROGRAMMES.

A peculiar feature of German educational literature are the school-programmes, published annually by the gymnasia and the real-schools. It is an ancient and time-honored custom that every year the rector or one of the teachers writes a scientific essay on a subject chosen by himself. Many of these essays possess the highest literary merit, and have frequently been the debut of prominent authors before the public. Many authors publish a collection of their essays in book-form. Some of them are of considerable length, and embrace the most varied subjects, as the following table for the year 1872 will show:

TEACHERS, THEIR QUALIFICATIONS, DUTIES, SALARIES, AND PENSIONS.

At the head of every secondary school there is a director, usually called rector. He is appointed from among the number of teachers by the ministry of public instruction, usually for life or till called to some other place. He has the general supervision of the whole school, and presides at the teachers' conferences, but in most cases takes some of the classes himself in order to make himself personally acquainted with the students.

Persons who wish to become teachers in secondary schools must, as a general rule, have gone through a complete university-course, and, if possible, have attended one of the pedagogical seminaries connected with most universities. To secure a teacher's place in a secondary school, they must pass a rigorous examination before a committee of competent persons specially appointed for this purpose. Their names are then kept on a list, and they receive appointments, whenever a vacancy occurs, in the order in which they have passed the examination. In every secondary school there are so-called technical teachers, i. e., teachers of singing, drawing, gymnastics, in some cases, also, French and English, who have not to undergo the above-mentioned examination, but merely to prove that they are qualified to teach their respective subjects. For the elementary classes frequently connected with secondary schools there are elementary teachers, who must possess the qualifications usually required from such.

The maximum number of hours per week for each teacher is generally the following: the rector, 16; teachers, 24 to 22; technical and elementary teachers, 28.

It is desired that in every study the teacher avoid a mere dry, mechanical method, the mere hearing of recitations; and that, without neglecting this, as well as without constantly referring to his text-book, he give to his lessons the character of lectures, so as to infuse a certain degree of enthusiasm into his hearers.

The salaries of teachers vary greatly, but it is safe to say that they seldom exceed for the director 3,000 Prussian thaler ($2,085) per annum, and for the teacher between .1,000 and 2,000 thaler, while the lowest salary is about 400 or 500 thaler.

Men who devote themselves to the service of the secondary schools in Germany usually remain in that service during life, or as long as their state of health permits; and that they may give themselves exclusively to their impor

tant duties without anxiety respecting age or sickness, pension-funds have been established in most states of Germany. The pension-regulations vary in the different states; but as a sample we give those of Prussia: after a service of 15 to 20 years, the pension is four-sixteenths of the salary; after 20 to 25 years, six-sixteenths; after 25 to 30 years, seven-sixteenths; after 30 to 35 years, eight-sixteenths; after 35 to 40 years, nine-sixteenths; after 40 to 45 years, tensixteenths; after 45 to 50 years, eleven-sixteenths; and from 50 years on, twelve-sixteenths.

APPENDIX I.—SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR FEMALES.

The secondary schools for females, usually called "Höhere TöchterSchulen," (higher schools for daughters,) vary much in their origin, their manner of supporting themselves, and their course of instruction. Most of them are private institutions, and some are managed by corporations or societies. It seems absolutely impossible to obtain any reliable statistics for the whole of Germany. According to Mushacke there are (1872) in the kingdom of Prussia 260 secondary schools for girls, some of them boardingschools; but it is supposed that this figure is too low. The character of these schools is, besides, so varied that it is exceedingly difficult to determine which to count in and which not. Connected with some of these schools, there are normal schools for female teachers.

In order to give some idea of the course of instruction in these schools, we give the one of the Royal Augusta School, at Berlin, (530 scholars and 16 teachers-11 males and 5 females-in 1872,) and of the municipal Louisa School in the same city, (500 scholars and 16 teachers-12 males and 4 femalesin 1872.) It will be seen from these statistics that the majority of the teachers in these schools are gentlemen. The same is the case in all the secondary schools, as also in the primary, throughout the whole of Germany.

The course of instruction in the Royal Augusta School for young ladies in Berlin is the following:

The course in the municipal Louise School for young ladies in Berlin is the following:

Studies.

Classes and number of hours per week.

VII,6. VII, a. VI, b. VI, a. V, b. V, a. IV, b. IV, a. III, b. III, a. II, b. II, a. I, b. I, a.

APPENDIX II.-CONFERENCE OF EDUCATORS TO DISCUSS THE QUESTION OF SECONDARY INSTRUCTION.*

In October, 1873, a conference was held in Berlin, presided over by Dr. Falk, the Prussian minister of public instruction, in which twenty-five prominent Prussian educators, mostly directors of gymnasia and real-schools, participated. The object of this conference was merely to discuss questions of secondary instruction, and to gain a basis for future action. No resolutions. whatever were passed, and no vote was taken on any question. It was merely an expression of individual opinions on the question of secondary education. The questions discussed were the following:

(1) In consequence of the gradual development of secondary instruction in Prussia, the following grades of secondary schools are in existence: gymnasia; pro-gymnasia; real-schools of a higher and a lower grade; and higher burgher-schools, with and without instruction in Latin.

A large number of these institutions have an elementary class, preparing pupils for the secondary school.

(a) Are any of the above-mentioned grades of schools superfluous, or does t seem advisable to retain them all, provided some change be made in the name and course of instruction of some of these schools?

(b) Is there any any necessity for maintaining the position of the realschools between the gymnasia and the technical institutions?

From the protocol (minutes) of a conference held, on various questions respecting higher (secondary) instruction, at the Prussian ministry of instruction, October, 1873.