Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-05-30
For tho Wntehmnn and Joninnl.
EDUCATION.-No. III

For tho Waterman and journal.
EDUCATION.-No. III.
In the sublime history of Creation, it is said that
alter the dust was fashioned into man, God breath
ed into him the breath of life and he became lv-
ing soul "a spiritual existence, whose springs of
action and means of development are within-a
sei-moving being, capable of evolving from his
own consciousness the purest and nobest truths if
only attention and reflection can be fixed on the
facts OF that consciousness. Unfortunately for
man as an individual, and society as n whole, the
above passage is translated into practical use some
what in the fashion following: "Man is a great
vacuum, huge SACK ready TO be filled with all
sorts OF entities and nonentes, facts notions sup
positions, with possibly now and then stray idea"
glorious being, truly splendid thing, this
great sack-like intellect of man. What an i'm
mense amount of garbage it can contain. Volume
after volume of valuable information" may de-
scend into its capacious depths, fact after fact of
the interesting" kind be swallowed up there, till
a perfect chaos Of knowledge, or rather semblance
OF knowledge, is produced but as unfortunately
sacks know little of the principles of method, what
Is chaos now, bids fair to be so forever. In the
prevalent notion on Education, the avorite hypoth-
esis of the schoonen is fully realized. "Datm
udcuum," vacuum is given, and "sprits from the
vastly deep" must be summoned up to fill it. IF
this seems to be caricature of the truth in regard
to the popular notions on the subject let any one
converse for ten minutes with his neighbors on this
subject, noticing how much oftener the word learn
is used than think let him 90 into few of our
schools, and observe the studies which the wisdom
Of parents or the folly of teachers, has imposed on
the "young idea !" let him look at the literature
most current in society; and, unless his mind is
triple cased in skepticism, he will be convinced
that statements like the above tell an "o'er true
tale" and that great proportion of our so called
Education, instead Of dra,oing out, as the word
primarily signifies, is q mere process of Siu6ing
INTO the mind. But the mind is not made for stuff
ting but to grow and eren original pocer Of lis opn.
If this is the case, it may very well be questioned
whether the current literature of the day. and
pecialy the course of study allotted or at least al
lowed to scholars in our public schools, is well
calculated TO promote that which is its ostensible
object In schools, particularly the order of ma
turc is often reversed. Go into one of our higher
institutions, at the commencement of a term, and
the tendency of the popular notion on Education
Will be palpably shown. Ask STRIPPING, hardly
out of leading strings, what he wishes to study and
it is more than probable that his answer will be,
Mother thinks had better take Comstock's Phi
losophy, Chmistry," &c, when very likely the
hopeful scion of his family could hardly solve
problem in reduction, and would be entirely out of
soundings in vulgar fractions. The young ladies,
angelic beings, must be made adopts in Botany be-
come erudite in stamens, pists and coroas, or,
soaring above earthly things, fall desperately in
love with Orion, the man in the moon, or some &C.
lestlal creature other. Ask one of them if she
has studied Algebra, Geometry &C., so as to be
able to understand a mathematical explanation of
the doctrine ofparaax, the procession of the equi-
noXes, and in nine cases out of ten you will find
the dear creature innocent of mathematics as
the new born child. Another class must attend to
Logic, Rhetoric, and the doctrine of taste as APP
piled to tn Fine Arts and Nature. Inquirng
whether they have paid any attention to Intelectu-
al Philosophy, some knowledge of which is neces-
sary to any aduance ohatever in the studies above
mentioned, and not unlikely the admirers of Rhet-
oric have never before heard the name, and would
require an explanation in order TO the appreciation
OF the idea contained in the words. This is by no
means highly coored statement of the truth in
the case. If such be a wise course, who can say
what is unwise: 1t is as if Nature instead of be-
ginning with the germ, and drawing the plant grad
ually upward, by encouraging and stimulating the
living power within, should start where the topmost
branch should be, and build the vegetable structure
downward A certain amount of knowledge is alb
soutely necessary to the performance of the bust
ness Of life; that acquired, the attention should be
rgidy confined TO studies of disciplinary charac-
ter, such as mathematics and the languages; and
last, and mol till The mind is prepared to receive and
them, Botany, Chemistry Philosophy,
Geography of the Heavens, and such like, should
be attended to- young lady may learn that "the
rose belongs to the order RoSaceG, with calyx ur-
ceolate, leshy, s. cleft petals 5, achenia numerous"
kettle belongs to the order TasG its scientific name
is eJes aratus, form cylindrico globular property
to be very useful in cleaning dirty clothes, and the
latter series Of truths would be quite as valuable
as the former, unless previous severe course of
discipline has prepared her to systematic and re-
duce to philosophical method the knowledge deriv-
ed from the otherwise unntelgible jargon of nat
ural science. What is true of one is true of all
the so called natural sciences. Time spent on
them is worse than thrown away, unless the mind
has been so prepared, by previous acquaintance
with mathematics, as to be able to see things in
their relations to each other and truth universally,
and tins reduce to the unity of system the 9TH
erwis, disjointed facts of these sciences.
NO one was ever better or wiser for study on
what he could not understand. Parents and schol-
nrs sometimes say, we afford only little time
to education, and that little must be made the most
Of Then, in all conscience do not throw it away.
Get the pure gold of discipline, much as posi-
BILE, and when you have left studying, read the
works on these so much loved subjects.
But, to close this long communication, it ought
to be said, and every friend of Education who
thinks for moment on the subject ,oM say, of
Comstock's Philosophy and Chimistry, Burretts
of the Heavens, and the whole tribe of
such like cleaning made easy" in the language
Of the Index EXpurgatorius of Rome, .4nathema,
.4naihenia. l.. M.