When given an opportunity--a common occurrence--the pupils enter into the rehearsal of historic events with enthusiasm. Every mind in the room is active. They are awake to the situations and are familiar with the scenes and literature connected with the several stages of development. Replies given in response to questions from the teacher are nearly always in the form of narratives, sometimes occupying ten or fifteen minutes.
General history or history of any foreign country is entered into in a spirit similar to that characterizing the consideration of their own. On one occasion I listened to a review on American history. Among the characters taken up were Grant, Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Lincoln. The pupils discussed Uncle Tom's Cabin with familiarity, Lee was considered as "The Napoleon of America," but Lincoln was the one to whom most of the class period was devoted. At the close of the hour the teacher announced a lecture on "Abraham Lincoln" for the following Sunday evening in the Working-Men's College (_Arbeiderakademi_)[24] of which he was the director. This incident illustrates the way in which they correlate the work of different educational organizations, and shows their interest in the important events connected with the history of other nations.
_Class I._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. Norway and Sweden. Review.
_Class II._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. From "The Central European Mountains and Rivers" to "Asia." Studied and reviewed.
_Class III._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. The foreign continents. Studied and reviewed.
_Class IV._ (Two hours.) Arstal's Geography. Repeated or reviewed in its entirety.
Two books are used in the study of this subject. One is made up entirely of well designed, carefully drawn, and thoroughly reliable maps, printed on a good quality of paper. The other is a text giving a good logical statement of what the course is calculated to include. The teacher must provide the major portion of the information by his own initiative and through cooperation of pupils. Illustrative material (_Anskuelsesmidler_) is provided in great abundance and in diversified variety.
An effort is made to impart to the pupils a satisfactory appreciation of the conditions prevailing in the countries considered. Their colonization, commerce, products, topography, political subdivisions, cities, population, river and mountain systems, climate, etc., are all carefully studied. The course begins with the geography of Norway. Next foreign lands and conditions are taken up and compared to situations at home. When the various countries on the globe have been kept for a time before the eyes, a thorough review is given which occupies the greater portion of the last year in the middle school course.