The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-11-02
struction show, but latserly be has ignored II
entirely,
lHor the Gate City.l
EDuCAfl0u.
NUMBER 2.

In comparing the necessary results OF -
two systems Of education, We nesd 10
hesitate TO say that specific educasioe. -
10 nov popularity defined, is not likely 70 pro- |
duce very learned men. Al it 10 not possi.
BILE to put to any practicable use much OF our
sublimess knowledge, such studies ~ pills
osophy, Theology, and most Of the sciences
vouA ~ V rseiys any attention. II il .
notorious fact that most oiths world e learned
men have been msa of gssrj hssaipg
mss vhs aads lssPise - - q sheir -
srtions, men Who pssfssfsa poverty 70 richss'
that ahsJ might he uosS Afiileaetsdly give
themselves TO- the cultivation Of their own
minds Such vsrs the philosophers Of an
cient times. Hknovledge vas at ALT sseans
to them, il vas : means b. which y attain
poverty and disgrace, and veu often death.
And such, 70 An s2tsnt, hare been the
learned men Of modern times. Whether
this abstract knowisdes il worth Ill the pains
bestowed on Ia requirement, each one must
determine for himself Il may help Us to >
correes vsrdics if ~ s>ep Taad ~ccasider,
vAstaer, from orr hsmbls, iriividnAl sand
poiats, W ourselves - kilRngt e apare from
our memories and encyclopedias all knowl.
edgs that y mot strictly prsstieseiA Whsn
the test is applied to literature, " must bid
farewell 70 our long chsriahsd posts, aispsnss
With al works Of fiction, and philosophy, and
much Of science, reject logic, rhetoric and
grammar, and question whether We would b.
permitted TO retain even "Webster's Spell
hog Book In the department Of fine arts
there il ao.hing to choose. The united tro>
phies of sculpture and painting must smoke
- one grand holocaust to practically. All
the subsidiaries Of culture and refinement ard
inevitably sacrificed. These results might
be brough, about and many persons would
never know the difference, but most men, |
fear, would complain bitterly.
Specific Education, IS system to supplant
general Education, is . thing Of recent date.
The young A,henians, before entering upon
any especial life labors, attended for years on
the schools of the philosophers, where they
discoursed about almost anything, rather
than arithmetic and book keeping The He
brew sat at the feet Of their seventy doctors,
and learned the metaphysics of their relir
gion, rs preparatory to the duties of life
During the middle ages the same example
was potent. The learning of the scboolmep
was not readily convertible into ducats
The same system gave England those CREST
names that live in her literature. Within the
last few centuries there have been some TO
protest. and suggest ianovstion. Towards
the close oil the 10th century Bacon found il
necessary TO insist that I'VE should not cons
slider even those sciences which have no ac>
tual practical application within themselves,
Is without value, If they sharpen and train
\ the intellect Somewhat later, DR.. john
son with bis peculiar vehemence, declared,
II hate by-roads IN Education Education
is as we'll known, and has long been az veil
known, as ever it can be. Endeavor:ng to
make children prematurely wise is useless IL
Dor. Too much is expected from precoei,y,
and too little performed.
This old system has done much for the ad
vancement of knowledge, and left glorious
record. and We, il, has its defects /, tends
to make very wide difference between the
learned and the unlearned. 1t operates bad
ly when applied to the masses of the people,
who have only . few years to devote exclu-
sively to study. These years are not snf1i-
Gent TO enable them to complete the course
usually pursued under the system, and so
they commence life knowing many things
imperfectly, and nothing we'll.
The advocates Of specific Education, in
stead of amending the old system to keep
pace with the change Of times, have gravita-
ted to the opposite extreme, and as 10 usu-
ally the case, forgetting that golden mid.
day is exactly between morning and night.
II requires very nice precision TO roll . ball
up TO the top Of the hill SO ths, it do no: roll
down again on the opposite side. In recti.
flying an error mankind almost universally
commit an equally great, orr greater error
in the opposite direction. The line of RICH,
seems to take its way along the ridge Of m
elevation, which slopes in opposite diree
tons. 1t is difficult to keep on the ridge, bu'
| by doing 50 We are enabled to look TO . Rreat
distance all about US, = great privilege which
an extreme party never enjoys. Extremes
are of necessity one sided. Advocates o
extreme measures may have liberal views il
one direction, but they are therefore only tn,
more contracted in another. One eye il
blind one hand is gone, or shriveled from
locking over one shoulder, the neck has be
come perm anently crooked in that direction
SO that they can not look over the other sui
! hciently long TO see accurately the judg
ment follow the eye.
In another number, some of the undesira
able tendencies OF the specific system win b
noticed.
Tax editor of the Mobile Register, Who hs