Page 10 - To Dragma November 1924

6 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

physics. She must know the nature of the sediment of the
Amazon river, and the topography of northern Minnesota. She
must be able to talk English, German or Spanish, and be able to
discuss foreign literary history intelligently.

I f she passes her examinations successfully, she may go back
to the lycee f o r another year of more advanced theoretical study,
this is her year "de philosophic" Again she goes back to the
Sorbonne f o r examinations with a four to three chance of flunk-
ing out in the competition. I f she passes, she's educated, b'gosh!

Training f o r teachers is somewhat different. I f it is necessary
for a French girl to teach she may begin her preparation f o r
entrance into the Ecole Normale Superieure de Sevres at the end
of the fourth f o r m when she is sixteen or seventeen years old.
The French government has a very neat system all its own where-
by it pays the tuition and board of all students enrolled in its
normal schools. Every prospective teacher is educated at the ex-
pense of the state, is guaranteed a position upon completion of
her work, and must sign a five or six year contract to teach.
There are two normal schools in France that train women f o r lycee
and university teaching. The one at Sevres, just outside of Paris,
accommodates eighty pupils, and admits eighteen each year into
its freshman class. The Lycee de Jeunes Filles at Versailles is
the best preparatory school. I took many classes there with
flocks of girls studying f o r Sevres. Each year there are about
two hundred that take the entrance examinations f o r admit-
tance to Sevres. A t the end of three years of work the candidate
comes up along with other men and women who have been study-
ing in the universities (Sorbonne, Strassbourg, College de
France, etc.) f o r the "Licence." I f she is successful, she imme-
diately takes a position in the provinces, and strives to get to
Paris as soon as possible. Professional success is measured by
how quickly the teacher obtains a position in Paris or Versailles.
Only a word more—the "doctorat" is a purely honorary degree i n
France that is usually bestowed somewhat later for outstanding
achievement. A n d well it might be, f o r the candidate by this
time has well nigh become a nervous wreck.

I f I've painted French education as a horrible mill of com-
petitive examinations, it is only because I wish by exaggeration
to bring out the difference in the French and American con-
ceptions of educational systems.