Page 51 - 1916 February - To Dragma

1 3 0 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI s
t
the work, and require "stories" on the subjects discussed. The t
children have something they want to t e l l about, and i n many cases
they tell i t extremely well. I believe that although the time f o r w
regular work is shortened, the special work vitalizes it sufficiently a
to make up f o r lost time. w

Another criticism is that the frequent change of classes causes s
too much confusion. O f course there w i l l be confusion—but w h y g
expect a normal healthy boy to sit still for several hours i n silence? a
The change f r o m one class to another gives the children an oppor- a
tunity to relax and stir about. w

Whatever the criticisms of the system may be, there are compen- i
sations, after a l l . The enthusiasm of the children (they surely are i
alive!), the spontaniety w i t h which class work is carried on, the w
friendly relations between pupils and teachers, and the freedom of s
the teacher to develop her own ideas—are strong points i n its favor. S
h
T H E EDUCATIONAL ATMOSPHERE IN LUZERN p

H E R M I N E HATFIELD, Z '19 h

Our party of five wide-awake American girls arrived in Luzern l
just in time for the Fourth of July celebration in 1914 given for b
the American tourists. Several thousand of our wholesome, enthusi-
astic Americans surged along the promenade in true American fash- u
ion. T h e magnificent battle of fireworks waged i n the air between t
the hotel gardens and the boats out on the lake, together with the w
American popular and patriotic music produced by bands and orches-
tras on the hotel balconies, made us i n love w i t h ourselves and our s
America. Yes, we were more patriotic that year i n Luzern than dur-
ing a l l the previous years of our lives. a
s
We spent the year in a private home studying with a private tutor,
so d i d not see much or any school l i f e . We wanted to visit the t
public school, but f o u n d that to be impossible. Even teachers are
not admitted without special permits. The school authorities do
not approve of anything that might distract the minds of the pupils.
Thus we got the impression of a strict and rigid school system.
Then when we saw l i t t l e tots t r u d g i n g along about seven-thirty ffl
the m o r n i n g w i t h their school packs on their backs, we were sure
that we were glad to have been born i n America. S t i l l we wondered
at the amount those Swiss children learned and were sorry we
weren't Swiss. They learn to knit their stockings i n the first grade,
and begin their first f o r e i g n language at about nine years of age-
O n the very first day of their schooling, however, they begin to learn
German, a language unknown to them f o r the Swiss German dialect
is used almost entirely i n the homes of the middle and lower class.