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PAH.TlSAN REVIEW
again, might make possible a new version of the Nazi past; and by the tra–
dition of letting politics solve all problems.
Kurt Scholz's teachers in the Vienna school system, K-12, also are
employed by the state. Both he and Agnes van Zanten, a sociologist from
Paris, began by stating that school systems across countries can no more be
compared than societies, since they are related to different parliamentary,
political, and party systems, have variable traditions and values, and depend
on entrenched administrations of power. In all of Austria, for instance,
teachers in public and private schools are paid by the government, and on
the same scale throughout the country; their salaries are higher than those
of other civil servants and teachers' training is extremely rigorous. Foreign
visitors envy Austria's schools for a number of reasons: immigrants "melt"
as much as they did in the Kaiserreich; there are nei ther drugs nor crimi–
nality; school management is lean; and public schools compete favorably
with private ones. This may well be due to a low teacher-pupil ratio, and
to an educational philosophy that envisions the schools as the foundation
of democratic society, which means, also, that government cost-cutting
spares education. Children are held to standards; they must pass written and
oral exams; and they know that homework and performance count.
Scholz, who believes in progressive education, nevertheless found that chil–
dren do best in a structured environment, and that high expectations lead
to high levels of achievement. Consequently, entrance exams for universi–
ty are superfluous.
In France as well, the so-called wheat is separated from the chaff
in
every grade, insofar as students who do not master requirements are held
back, though they may take a make-up exam or two at the end of the sum–
mer. By the time they finish high school it is assumed that they're ready
for university. Agnes van Zanten concentrated on the current impact of
immigrants which, among other things, she linked to the significance of
being French. This has been a central issue since the 1930s, when Eastern
and German Jews sought refuge in France. She quoted statistics showing
that "already settled" immigrants contributed to the backlash by the Right,
to the large vote for Le Pen. Other studies found that immigrant children's
achievements compare favorably with those by French ones in the lower
grades. But they often do not go on to university, mostly because their
families need them, or expect them to earn money.
David Pryce-Jones reminded us that England's colonial ties had
encouraged immigration and emigration, but that the end of empire cre–
ated new circumstances. The weakened nation-state, he went on, lost the
power to enforce the necessary compromises protecting all citizens,just as
masses of immigrants were arriving. Pryce-Jones spelled out the many rea–
sons that have led newer immigrants to pursue separatist rather than
