264 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EDUCATION. 
Here is what has been done in France about our school curriculum, or, 
as we call it, new programme d’études primaires. 
For time’s sake, I shall not preface it by a short sketch of our educa- 
tional reforms in general, which I think are pretty well known. After the 
'mportant bills which do so much honor to the republican government, 
and by which all necessary schoolhouses and training colleges, even of 
the higher order, were created, and education was made free, unsectarian, 
compulsory, after the example of America, our educators and school 
authorities had to face the theory problem of the curriculum. 
I must say that they took great pains over it ; and here I think it is not 
>ut of place to describe shortly, to those who are less familiar with our 
modern French institution, a most important one in regard to educational 
matters : I mean our Conseil Supérieur de instruction publique, a kind 
sf semi-elective council of advisers of the Minister of Education, whose 
orincipal function is precisely to prepare or revise school programmes, 
school curricula of all grades. 
This assembly, which is unique, as far as I know, in the world, 18 most 
liberal and representative in its composition. It was created by a law 
(1880), and includes, besides nine high functionaries of the education 
department appointed by the head of the state, forty-five members 
elected by the universities, learned societies and schools and colleges of all 
grades. The elementary teachers themselves elect six representatives in the 
council, which is really a parliament of education, and perhaps the only 
one in Europe. 
Now, it is those gentlemen, presided over by the Education Minister, who 
sat together and slowly, carefully elaborated our curriculum, which is surely 
aot perfect, but which was the object of much thinking and talking over. 
[ need not say that it goes much beyond the three »’s. The lucky 
phrase which the legend attributes to a well meaning, if not well spell- 
ing London alderman, is not known in France; but we have also the 
equivalent, viz., reactionary advocates of the so-called strict minimum, 
which means the unprogressive school politicians of the type of those 
whose faces and secret motives Colonel Parker unmasked the other day 
with such power and eloquence. 
But happily their voice did not prevail in the Council Supreme. 
On the contrary, the programme they adopted was a very comprehen- 
sive—perhaps a too comprehensive—one. 
It embraces morals and civics, reading, language (with object lessons, 
of course), arithmetic, geometry, elements of natural science, elements of 
national history, geography, writing, drawing, singing, and gymnastics, 
with the addition of manual work graduated so as to continue what was 
already begun in kindergarten (cardboard, sloyd in small schools, bench 
and metal work in large ones) and also elements of commercial tuition and 
elements of agriculture.