Prussian Education System
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Prussian education system The Prussian education system refers to the system of education established in Prussia as a result of educational reforms in the late 18th and early 19th century, which has had widespread influence since. It is predominantly used as an American political slogan in educational reform debates, since it was adopted by all American K–12 public schools and major universities as early as the late 18th century, and is often used as a derogatory term for education in the service of nation-building, teaching children and young adults blind obedience to authority, and reinforcing class and race prejudice.[1] The actual Prussian education system was introduced as a basic concept in the late 18th century and was significantly enhanced after Prussia's defeat in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars. The Prussian educational reforms inspired other countries and remains important as a biopower in the Foucaultian sense for nation-building.[2] Compulsory education on the Prussian example was soon mirrored in Scandinavia, and United States started to adopt the Prussian example. Early American adopters include Daniel Coit Gilman, who set up The General Education Board, later renamed The Rockefeller Foundation, and first president of Johns Hopkins, John Dewey at the University of Chicago, James McKeen Cattell at The University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, Henry Philip Tappan at The University of Michigan, James Earl Russell at the New York College for the Training of Teachers, and many more. France and the UK failed to introduce similar systems until the 1880s. Johann Julius Hecker memorial in The term itself is not used in German literature, which refers to the primary aspects Berlin honors him founding the first prussian teachers seminary in 1748, of the Humboldtian education ideal respectively as the Prussian reforms; however, Heckers bust thrones over a future the basic concept remains fruitful and has led to various debates and controversies. teacher in classical regalia and Twenty-first century primary and secondary education in Germany and beyond still posture embodies the legacy of the Prussian education system. Contents Origin Outreach Drivers and hindrances Interaction with the German national movement Interaction with religion School Museum in Reckahn, Political and cultural role of teachers Brandenburg an der Havel quoting Mark 10:14 at the entrance. Founded Spread to other countries by Friedrich Eberhard von Rochow in Examples 1773, Reckahn was the firstone- United States room school with two age-related Policy borrowing and exchange classes in Prussia. Drill and serfdom Legacy of the Prussian system after the end of the monarchy Legacy of the Prussian System after 1945 Current debates referring to the Prussian legacy References Further reading Primary sources Origin The basic foundations of a generic Prussian primary education system were laid out by Frederick the Great with his Generallandschulreglement, a decree of 1763, authored by Johann Julius Hecker. Hecker had already before (in 1748) founded the first teacher's seminary in Prussia. His concept of providing teachers with the means to cultivate mulberries for homespun silk, which was one of Frederick's favorite projects, found the King's favour.[3] It expanded the existing schooling system significantly and required that all young citizens, both girls and boys, be educated by mainly municipality-funded schools from the age of 5 to 13 or 14. Prussia was among the first countries in the world to introduce tax-funded and generally compulsory primary education.[4] In comparison, in France and Great Britain, compulsory schooling was not successfully enacted until the 1880s.[5] The Prussian system consisted of an eight-year course of primary education, called Volksschule. It provided not only basic technical skills needed in a modernizing world (such as reading and writing), but also music (singing) and religious (Christian) education in close cooperation with the churches and tried to impose a strict ethos of duty, sobriety and discipline. Mathematics and calculus were not compulsory at the start and taking such courses required additional payment by parents. Frederick the Great also formalized further educational stages, the Realschule and as the highest stage the gymnasium (state-funded secondary school), which served as a university-preparatory school.[6] Construction of schools received some state support, but they were often built on Bruns-Memorial in Reckahn, "He was private initiative. Friedrich Eberhard von Rochow, a member of the local gentry and a teacher" former cavalry officer in Reckahn, Brandenburg, installed such a school. Von Rochow cooperated with Heinrich Julius Bruns (1746–1794), a talented teacher of modest background. The two installed a model school for rural education that attracted more than 1,200 notable visitors between 1777 and 1794.[7] The Prussian system, after its modest beginnings, succeeded in reaching compulsory attendance, specific training for teachers, national testing for all students (of both genders), a prescribed national curriculum for each grade and mandatory kindergarten.[8] Training of teachers was increasingly organized via private seminaries. Hecker had already in 1748 founded the first "Lehrerseminar", but the density and impact of the seminary system improving significantly until the end of the 18th century.[9] In 1810, Prussia introduced state certification requirements for teachers, which significantly raised the standard of teaching.[10] The final examination, Abitur, was introduced in 1788, implemented in all Prussian secondary schools by 1812 and extended to all of Germany in 1871. Passing the Abitur was a prerequisite to entering the learned professions and higher echelons of the civil service. The state-controlled Abitur remains in place in modern Germany. The Prussian system had by the 1830s attained the following characteristics:[11] Free primary schooling, at least for poor citizens Professional teachers trained in specialized colleges A basic salary for teachers and recognition of teaching as a profession An extended school year to better involve children of farmers Funding to build schools Supervision at national and classroom level to ensure quality instruction Curriculum inculcating a strong national identity, involvement of science and technology Secular instruction (but with religion as a topic included in the curriculum) Outreach The overall system was soon widely admired for its efficiency and reduction of illiteracy, and served as a model for the education systems in other German states and a number of other countries, includingJapan and the United States.[12] The underlying Humboldtian educational ideal of brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt was about much more than primary education; it strived for academic freedom and the education of both cosmopolitan-minded and loyal citizens from the earliest levels. The Prussian system had strong backing in the traditional German admiration and respect for Bildung as an individual's drive to cultivate oneself from within.[13] Drivers and hindrances Major drivers for improved education in Prussia since the 18th century had a background in the middle and upper middle strata of society and were pioneered by the Bildungsbürgertum. The concept as such faced strong resistance both from the top, as major players in the ruling nobility feared increasing literacy among peasants and workers would raise unrest, and from the very poor, who preferred to use their children as early as possible for rural or industrial labor.[3] The system's proponents overcame such resistance with the help of foreign pressure and internal failures, after the defeat of Prussia in the early stages of the Napoleonic Collegium Fridericianum in Königsberg Wars. After the military blunder of Prussian drill andline formation against the levée en masse of the French revolutionary army in the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806, reformers and German nationalists urged for major improvements in education. In 1809 Wilhelm von Humboldt, having been appointed minister of education, promoted his idea of a generic education based on a neohumanist ideal of broad general knowledge, in full academic freedom without any determination or restriction by status, profession or wealth. Humboldt's de:Königsberger Schulplan was one of the earliest white papers to lay out a reform of a country's educational system as a whole.[14] Humboldt's concept still forms the foundation of the contemporary German education system.[15] The Prussian system provided compulsory and basic schooling for everyone, but the significantly higher fees for attending gymnasium or a university imposed a high barrier between upper social strata and middle and lower social strata.[16] Interaction with the German national movement In 1807 Johann Gottlieb Fichte had urged a new form of education in his Addresses to the German Nation. While Prussian (military) drill in the times before had been about obedience to orders without any leeway, Fichte asked for shaping of the personality of students: ""[17] The citizens should be made able and willing to use their own minds to achieve higher goals in the framework of a future unified German nation state.[18] Fichte and other philosophers, such as the Brothers Grimm, tried to circumvent the nobility's resistance to a common German nation state via proposing the concept of a Kulturnation, nationhood without needing a state but based on a common language, musical compositions