Furnished for the Annals of Education by LowELL MASON, Professor in the Boston Academy of Music.

Slowly.

a, Stable-b, Dormitory-c, School and Dining Room-d, Piazza-e, Banks of Earth.

c, School and Dining Room-e e, Banks of Earth-f, Kitchen-g, Weaving Roomh, Loft for Hay, &c.

AMERICAN

ANNALS OF EDUCATION

AND INSTRUCTION.

JUNE, 1835.

SCHOOL COLONY OF MEYKIRCH,

CONNECTED WITH THE INSTITUTION OF FELLENBERG.

COLONIES have been planted, and settlements made for the working of mines, the establishment of manufactories and trading houses, and the promotion of civilization and religion among pagan nations; and these efforts have been successful. But we know of no effort in our own country, to avail ourselves of this economical, and enterprising plan, to promote the common education of the indigent and the neglected.

In the first volume of the Annals,' we gave the following account of an effort of this kind which was made by Fellenberg, in connection with the establishment at Hofwyl. To many of our readers, it is unknown; and we believe all will be gratified in having their recollections revived on the subject, at a moment when so many plans are in agitation for the education of the destitute.

The frequent failure of attempts to establish Agricultural Schools on the plan of Hofwyl, led him to believe that the difficulty of finding a suitable locality, and persons capable of directing it, was greater than he had imagined. He therefore resolved to establish a colony of children, under proper superintendence, on a piece of uncultivated land, and leave them to earn their own subsistence by their labors; employing the hours necessary for repose from bodily fatigue, in giving them appropriate instruction. He thus hoped to provide for their practical and intellectual education, with only the capital necessary to establish them, and the

244

Establishment of the Colony.

aid of a low price paid by such pupils as might be sent by parents who were not in a state of poverty. About fifteen acres are devoted to this colony. In the climate of Berne, (which is far from being favorable,) this is deemed sufficient, in connection with the various branches of industry which will be introduced, to support a school of thirty pupils. This he considers as the extent to which such an establishment should be carried.

'It was not until the summer of 1827, after seven years' perseverance in seeking a suitable place and proper teachers, that he succeeded in beginning the establishment. It was opened with six pupils.

The boys who formed the colony were detached from the. School of Hofwyl, and established, like Robinson Crusoe on his island, on the side of a mountain, favorably exposed, but poorly cultivated. Hofwyl serves, in place of the ship of Robinson, in furnishing them supplies, until they are able to provide for their

own wants.

They found nothing on this mountain but a shed, which served as the nucleus of the house they were to build for themselves. The plan and materials of this building were prepared before hand; yet their labors in its construction attached them to it as their own work.

It was at the moment in which they were occupied with the completion of this building, that I first visited the Colony. There were traces of those imperfections which attend first efforts, and which, in needing to be corrected, serve as a lesson of experience and patience. They were engaged in extending the wings of their building for the accommodation of their animals-in digging a cellar, or rather a basement story, which would provide room for their dairy and vegetables during the winter, and also for one or two looms, as means of employing their hours of leisure. Their common bed, for the time, was a large space filled with straw, and covered with an immense sheet, on which they reposed side by side. Their food consisted almost exclusively of potatoes, with the milk of their cow, and bread sent from Hofwyl. Their dining room was furnished with slates and books, which indicated that it served also as their school room. Two or three hours in a day were devoted to instruction. A pupil of Vehrli watched continually over their moral conduct, and an improved system of agriculture, which they are required to bring into operation upon uncultivated land, served as a course of practical education. It was delightful to see, in the midst of this solitude and comparative privation, the cheerfulness and activity which pervaded the whole mass of the pupils, as well as the spirit of fraternal kindness which seemed to reign toward each other, and toward their leader.