The "language letters," as they were called, were prepared with great care, native teachers of two nationalities cooperating to avoid possibility of error, and every effort was made to present the lessons not only with the utmost clearness, but with absolute correctness. The success of the system was remarkable, and it was widely commended and repeatedly imitated. At least once (in 1865) an unauthorized edition of the letters was published in this country, but it met with no success, for even with the text of the letters accurately copied there was still lacking the vital part of the instruction, namely, examination of the pupils' work and suggestions by the living teachers. In this country correspondence schools have come into being and have grown in such a way as to make it probable that we should have had them even if there had never been a Toussaint-Langenscheidt method. Certainly the early conscious imitations, more or less fraudulent, came to naught, like the edition of the letters in 1865, and never had any influence in leading to the development which we have seen in the last twenty years. Without doubt the men who took up and popularized the correspondence work in the United States were well acquainted with what had been done by the Germans, and they used many of the ideas which had proved fruitful abroad, but they did not set out with the determination to establish a correspondence school. It was practically forced upon them, and its perfection came through natural development and in a remarkable and interesting way. It was from the Methodist camp meeting that the American correspondence school grew, and it may be profitable to trace the steps which led to the transition. "Camp meetings" are said to have originated in the sparsely settled regions of Kentucky during the closing years of the eighteenth century. A religious revival conducted by two traveling preachers on the Red River was so successful that the crowds attracted became too great to be accommodated by any building in the settlement, and the meetings were held out of doors. People attended from far and near, and many of those who came from a distance remained for several days, living in tents, no other accommodations being available. After the initial successful meeting, others were held on the same plan, the camping feature being more pronounced. In time, camp meetings became common, and are still a favorite mode of worship in the rural portions of the South and West, and, to a less extent, in the East. Certain localities are specially favored as "camp-meeting grounds," and are utilized for years in succession, until they attain considerable local celebrity. It is not unusual for the attendance upon them to reach several thousand, most of those present living during the week or two of the continuance of the meeting in tents or temporary buildings. Such a place was Fair Point, N. Y., upon Chautauqua Lake. For several years the Methodists of the Erie Conference had held a camp meeting there, its exercises differing presumably in no essential particular from those of other camp meetings all over the country. To the meeting of 1873 came Rev. J. H. Vincent and Mr. Lewis Miller, the one an enthusiastic Sunday-school worker, full of energy and of ideas, and the other a substantial manufacturer of agricultural machinery, interested in educational and religious work. These men were imbued with an idea, first advanced by Mr. Silas Farmer in 1870, of a Sunday-school institute upon the camp-meeting plan, and Fair Point seemed to them the ideal place for its initiation. The managers of the Chautauqua Camp Meeting Association readily fell in with their plans, and in due time "The Sunday-School Teachers' Assembly" was instituted, the first meeting being held in 1874. The idea at first was the normal training of Sunday-school teachers only, the intention being "to utilize the general demand for summer rest by uniting daily study with healthful recreation, and thus render the occasion one of pleasure and instruction combined." Though begun under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church the assembly broke away from strict denominational lines soon after its organization, the similarity of the Sunday-school work of the several Protestant denominations making it possible for them to work together in harmony along the lines attempted at Chautauqua. Then the desirability of a broader culture on the part of Sunday-school teachers, and the difficulty of arranging interesting programmes year after year confined to the narrower subjects of Sunday-school administration led to the introduction of secular subjects as well as religious. Gradually the scope broadened still further, and efforts were made to bring in not only teachers and those directly connected with Sunday-school work, but the general public as well. One new feature after another was added, until a full description of the ramifications of the work of the Chautauqua Assembly would make a volume of itself. In all of them the object is instruction combined with pleasure, but reasonably substantial instruction nevertheless. Popular lectures, concerts, readings, and semi-intellectual and semi-social entertainments, have always been the central feature of the annual summer sessions at Chautauqua, and are still relied upon to attract attendance to the assembly proper, which usually lasts about six weeks. These things may be called the popular side of Chautauqua; the more substantial side must be sought in other directions. Perhaps the greatest good and the widest influence among Chautauqua's undertakings have been reached by the "Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle," an organization whose members have numbered hundreds of thousands. Its object is to encourage home reading, and substantial courses in literature and science are arranged for each year's work. The "School of Languages" was organized in 1879, for residence study at Chautauqua, with classes in Greek, Latin, German, French, Anglo-Saxon, and the oriental languages. During the six weeks of the assembly, classes were taught according to the "natural method," and students who concentrated their attention upon a single study during that time were able to make excellent progress. But it was exceedingly unsatisfactory to the students to be obliged to leave a study while still upon its threshold. Many sought to continue their studies without further guidance, but difficulties arose which led to correspondence with the teachers under whose direction they had just been studying. This naturally brought out the suggestion that the instruction might be regularly continued by correspondence after the students had scattered to their homes. The first attempt to do so failed. On the one hand the teachers were too much engaged with other duties to take special interest in work that brought no tangible returns, either professionally or financially; and on the other hand, without the stimulus of the teacher and class, the enthusiasm of most of the students soon waned. The correspondence was irregular and unsatisfactory and gradually ceased. Another effort was made in 1881 to revive the correspondence work, this time with the appearance of more system and regularity. A definite charge of $3, in addition to the price of tuition in the summer school, was made for correspondence instruction, that sum entitling the student to one letter a month from the teacher. All the letters from the students and replies of the teachers were to pass through the hands of one person, whose duty it should be to supervise the work and see that the letters were sent regularly. Again the plan failed, for neither the teachers nor the pupils could be held to the mark, probably because the fees paid were too small to be an incentive to either. But enough had been done to show the elements of success within the idea, and during the next year (1882) important changes were made in details and a new trial was made. The fees were raised from $3 to $10, the frequency of communication. was increased, and instead of waiting for letters of inquiry from puzzled students, a new lesson was sent out regularly from the teachers, giving the pupil each time something new to attract his attention and to arouse, or re-arouse, his interest. ED 190268 Under the new arrangements correspondence instruction proved successful. The teachers took renewed interest in the work and set about devising other plans to make it attractive, while the pupils generally found that they could make good advancement and persevered in their tasks with commendable zeal. The plan of operations, as worked out for the teaching of French, was thus stated in the Chautauqua Assembly Herald of August 8, 1882: To assist students of the French language to overcome the idiomatic and other difficulties of interpretation, as well as to acquire general facility in French, it is proposed to organize a French Circle, for regular and systematic home study, to be directed through the mail by Professor Lalande. A free and full use of the French language involves, (1) the art of reading; (2) the art of hearing; (3) the art of speaking; (4) the art of writing. The first and last of these, that may be called sub-arts, are peculiarly suitable for home study. The hearing and the speaking should constitute the main business of the sessions of the school at Chautauqua. At the outset of the study there are difficulties to be overcome that oral instruction only can properly meet, and when the student has gained the ability to read French readily, he must hear the language spoken to cultivate his ear before he can make any profitable advance toward speaking it. Oral instruction is thus valuable at the commencement of the study, and indispensable at a later stage, but there is a large intermediary space in which the proposed circle may be most profitably employed. To this end it is intended to furnish by mail, weekly, to each member, certain exercises comprising a definite amount of reading, translating, and idiomatic and grammatic expounding, to be performed by the member, and mailed to the professor, at Louisville, Ky. These exercises will be corrected by Professor Lalande and returned to the student, with notes and suggestions adapted to his individual needs. The course of exercises will begin October 1 and end May 31. This series of graduated exercises will carry the student over all the important difficulties in the language, the required reading, etc., will insure to the faithful student such attainments in the French language as will fit him to profit fully thereafter by the most advanced instruction in class or under a living teacher. Terms of membership, $1 per month, to be remitted to Prof. A. Lalande, Louisville, Ky., with the first exercise of each month. This appears to have been the first complete plan developed and formally announced in this country for correspondence work. It found favor in the eyes of Dr. Vincent, the real head of all of Chautauqua's undertakings, and was apparently the plan followed in teaching the other languages offered at Chautauqua. It will be seen that, though bearing Chautauqua's name, the correspondence work was really in the hands of the individual instructors, who conducted the correspondence and received all the fees. There was no unity of action or organization and each teacher was a law unto himself, for the officers of the assembly exercised no supervision over the work. It is one of the characteristics of the Chautauqua management that an idea shown to be good is at once seized upon and its application extended to the utmost limit. When correspondence instruction, therefore, was shown to be practicable in the teaching of languages, arrangements were almost immediately begun to apply the same plan to other studies. A "School of Theology" had been established in 1881, in which a course of home study had been mapped out, for the completion of which degrees were promised. From time to time special papers on various topics were sent to the young ministers, embracing lectures on law, hygiene, syllabi of important articles in magazines, etc. There was some correspondence, probably between the heads of the departments and students, but it was desultory and purely informal, and the degrees were expected to be awarded on examination only. The successful correspondence work in the School of Languages stimulated the School of Theology to like action, and the advertisements and announcements of the latter soon began to mention correspondence as a feature of its work. More important still, the long-cherished plan of a Chautauqua University, to be the crowning glory of the Chautauqua system, received strong impetus when a method of operations was developed by which its work could be done systematically and effectively. Accordingly articles of incorporation were secured from the New York legislature in March, 1883, by which Chautauqua University was established "to promote liberal and practical education, especially among the masses of the people; to teach the sciences, arts, languages, and literature; to prepare its patrons for their several pursuits in life, and to fit them for the duties which devolve upon them as members of society, such instruction to embrace all departments of culture which the board of trustees may deem useful and proper." a The institution was empowered to confer degrees, to hold property, and to have the usual powers and duties of a corporation. Arrangements were soon made for the beginning of its work, and in May, 1884, the following announcement appeared in "The Chautauquan:" The Chautauqua University is a provision for the higher education of persons who, not being able to leave their homes for college, are willing to give much time and labor to the prosecution of college studies at home by correspondence under the direction of superior professors. The curriculum is as comprehensive as that of any college in England or America. The memoranda and final written examination are sufficient to test the pupil's work, attainment, and power. Pupils may take up one or more departments, spending what time they please upon each, passing the examinations whenever they are ready. * * * As each course is finished to the satisfaction of the professor, a certificate to that effect will be given, and when a required number of certificates is in the possession of the student he will be entitled to a diploma and a degree. The following departments have already been organized: Department of Modern Languages-German, Dr. J. H. Worman; French, Prof. A. Lalande; Spanish, Dr. J. H. Worman; English, -; Anglo-Saxon, Prof. W. D. MacClintock. Department of Ancient Languages-Greek, Henry Lummis, A. M.; New Testament Greek, A. A. Wright, A. M.; Latin, E. S. Shumway, A. M.; Hebrew, W. R. Harper, Ph. D. Department of Mathematics, D. H. Moore, A. B. Thus began a university unique in history, without a dollar of endowment, without buildings, laboratories or libraries, no two of its professors living in the same city, and not a single student in residence! The School of Languages was the nucleus of the new organization, and with one exception all the professors named in the prospectus of the university had been teachers in the older school. Actual work was begun October 1, 1884, with an enrollment of 6 students, but that number was increased to 295 in a year and a half. Soon after the beginning of operations new departments were added, and the study required for a degree was systematized. The following from "The Chautauquan" for December, 1884, shows the scope of the work proposed: Among the degrees to be conferred by the Chautauqua University on the satisfactory completion by the candidate of prescribed courses are the following: A. B. A full academic course. A. M.—A postgraduate course in approved liberal studies. B. S.-An elective course in science, art, and English. Ph. D.-A postgraduate course in philosophy and one in more liberal studies. * * * The completion of the following courses of study, and the possession of certificates from the directors of the various departments which these courses represent, will be required before the student will be recommended for the degree of Bachelor of Arts: Two full courses in Greek; three full courses in Latin; four full courses in mathematies; two full courses in French or German; three full courses in English; two full courses in history; one full course each in philosophy, political economy, physics, chemistry, moral philosophy, astronomy, the history and literature of art, and two a Laws of New York, 1883, p. 148. Each "course" was equivalent to the course that would be covered by a student in a residence college giving two hours a day to study throughout a year. full courses in biological science. The student will not be required to pursue these courses exactly as prescribed, as wide opportunity will be given to the individual to substitute other branches than those named, or more courses in particular departments than are here specified, as he may elect. But in every case full courses equal in number to those specified will be required. For the other degrees the scheme of study now pursued will form the basis, such omission and substitution being made as are suited to the particular degree; but in no case will a diploma be given for less than 22 courses. In all the circulars and announcements of the University great stress was laid upon the fact that it presented no easy road to a degree, and that the work required was as much as would be demanded by a residence college for the same recognition. All intention of trespassing upon the field of the regular institutions was repeatedly disclaimed, and students who could do so were urged to attend college in person in the usual way. Justification of the existence of Chautauqua University was found in the numbers of earnest students to whom it was impossible to leave home, and whose studies were necessarily without proper direction. In 1885, by a new act of the State legislature, Chautauqua University was extended to include all the educational agencies of the Chautauqua Assembly, and the term "College of Liberal Arts" was thereafter applied to what had previously been known as the University. As such it flourished educationally, though not financially, for about fifteen years, bearing on its rolls upward of 300 students a year and numbering among its professors some of the best-known specialists in the country. Its faculty in 1890 was composed as follows: William R. Harper, then of Yale University, principal; James J. Robinson, Ph. D., Latin; William E. Waters, Ph. D., Greek; Herman J. Schmilz, M. A., German; A. de Rougemont, M. A., French; W. D. McClintock, M. A., English; E. H. Moore, Ph. D., mathematics; E. H. Hershey Sneath, Ph. D., mental and moral science; Richard T. Ely, Ph. D., political economy; Herbert B. Adams, Ph. D., history; Le Roy F. Griffin, M. A., physical science; Frederick Starr, Ph. D., geology and physical science. Truly no other college of 300 students in the country could boast a stronger faculty or one containing more distinguished names. Besides the usual academic work of a college there was in connection with the institution a preparatory department, a school of journalism under Mr. Hamilton W. Mabie, and a school of phonography, at first under the direction of Prof. William D. Bridge. Then, as parts of Chautauqua University, though apparently independent of the College of Liberal Arts, there were the School of Theology, which I have already mentioned, the School of Business under Mr. Charles R. Wells as director, and the Society of Fine Arts, of which Mr. Frank Fowler and Miss Jeannette L. Gilder were the director and conductor, respectively. In all these correspondence was the medium of instruction employed during the greater part of the year. Classes in all of them were organized at Chautauqua during the period of the assembly, and students were expected to come as much as possible in personal contact with the teachers during that time. Many of the correspondence students undoubtedly did attend the summer classes, but it is not to be supposed that any considerable number of those who lived in distant States did so, for persons who were not able to attend a residence college would scarcely be able to take a long and expensive summer trip for the sake of six weeks' instruction. The fees paid in the College of Liberal Arts (namely, $5 matriculation fee and $10 for each course) were never sufficient to pay the cost of maintenance. Each year a deficit was reported which was paid from the general funds of the assembly, entailing a heavy drain upon the revenues from its more profitable enterprises. Nevertheless the college was maintained unimpaired until 1900, when in the general reorganization of the assembly's affairs all the correspondence work was dropped, thus ending an exceedingly interesting and important chapter in America's educational history. |