— 2—

On looking more closely into this subject, we find quite another picture to that which Mr. Raydt puts before us in his book.„Wir dürfen nicht vergessen“, says Mr. Hugo Bar- tels in an article on Mr. Raydt's booki,„dass die englischen zwischen Volksschule und public school liegenden Anstalten zumeist auch nicht im entferntesten an jene von Raydt geschilderten Anstalten heranreichen, im Gegenteil oft alles zu wünschen übrig lassen.. Von der Industrie der Privatschulen liesse sich ein sehr wenig erfreuliches Bild entfalten.“

Having been myself, in 1878, for five months an Assistant Master at an English Pri- vate School, and, having read Mr. Raydt's interesting, but, in my opinion, too optimistic description of English schools, I think it well to publish, although a little late, my experiences and impressions of school-life in English Private Schools, which description I will preface by a consideration of English Elementary Schools, one of which I had the opportunity of visiting. In the interests of truth I think it a very essential point that the description of a school of the former category, in which the great bulk of the middle class receive their training, should be written by a person who has lived as a teacher at such a school for a prolonged period of time. In this capacity one has, of course, much better opportunities of becoming acquainted with the proper life of a school than when living there for several days as a„Reporter“, so to speak. It is but natural that the good sides should be held up prominently before the passing foreigner, and the bad sides concealed as much as bossible. 1 In the preparation of this essay I availed myself of the following publications:

Wiese,„Deutsche Briefe über Englische Erziehung“, described by Direktor Baumann of Brixton, London, as„eine treffliche, wenn auch jetzt nicht mehr ganz naturgetreue Darstellung des englischen Schulwesens.“

Karl Hillebrand,„Aus und über England“, 1876;.

Korell,„Ueber Englische Erziehung“ and Hummel,„Eine englische Schule““,(Päda- gogische Jahrbücher von Masius und Fleckeisen, 1877);

Brennecke,„Alt-England,“ 1888;

Baumann,„Die Verhältnisse der Lehrer in England,“(Central-Organ für die Interessen des Realschulwesens, 1883);

„In Ausland,“ Mitteilungen des Vereins Deutscher Lehrer in England, 1889 and 1890;

„NæuCode,“ 1890— 91, by Thomas Heller;

Parliamentarg Papers, and last, but not least:

Reichardt,„Der deutsche Lehrer in England“, 1883.

The Saturdayg Rerien of the 22 vd December, 1883, says of the latter work:„Herr Reichardt's pamphlet contains many statements respecting the internal arrangements of. English middle class schools, and the abuses of the agency system, which are worthy of serious consideration.“

After having written the above, I found in the„Zeitscherift für das Gumnasial- Wesen“, Herausgegeben von Kern und Müller, Heft Juli-August, 1890, Page 502— 510, an essay bearing the title:„Verdienen Englische Schulen als Vorbild für deutsche Schulen hingestellt zu werden?“ The author is Mr. Weber of Steglitz, near Berlin, who acted for some time as Assistant Master in England, and having undergone very dreary pedagogical experiences in English schools, he decidedly answers the above question in the negative..

Any observant foreigner who has lived in England, even if only for a short time, must have been struck with the great self-consciousness of the Englishman, which quality is already developed, in a high degree, in the little boy. The Englishman is proud of his language, of his country, of its riches, and of its institutions. As a consequence it is a common fault with him to depreciate other nations and to overrate himself and his own people. To this national self-reliance he adds a great love of individual liberty and self- dependence. He will not under any circumstances be deprived of them, either by the State

Im Ausland, November 1889.