Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-02-09
Revolution in Education,

In nothing is the utilitarian tend
ency of the age more strikingly shown
than in the revolution going on in
education. All know how absolutely
impractical and useless was specula-
tive thought up to the time of the re-
vival of learning in the sixteenth
century. Plato's Model Republic,
and Sir Thomas More's Utopia, both
gave evidence of the transcendemt
genius of their authors, and that this
transcendent genius was wasted.
Metaphysical speculation was acute
to the last degree, but it wrought no
good to man. 1t concerned itself in
such questions as that of personal
indentity that is, why is John John,
and not Robert? and why is Robert
Robert, and net John? After an eX-
haustive and critical disquisition on
the learning of the question and
sharp metaphysical distinctions, it
concluded that the personal identity
of John consists in his Jointly, and
that of Robert in his Robertness, all
of which is very fine.
The revival of learning which fol-
lowed the discovery of the art of
printing, brought with it a new
tendency. Increased facility for in
terchange of thought, stimulated
thought. The mind began to INQUIRE
whether the mind was made only to
play; or whether it could not be use
full. Bacon came. Itwas his mission
10 show that to increase human hap
piness should be the ultimate end of
speculation. 1t was his mission to
show that Sir Humphrey Davy'ssafe-
ty lamp, which has saved the lives of
thousands of miners, was of higher
worth than all the splendid sentences
in the Model Republic; that the
learned philosopher who makes the
discovery about Johns Jointly would
have done more for mankind, if he
had discovered cure for ague.
But the world learns slowly. What
Bacon established was only tenden-
cy. He did not complete the revOlu-
tlon, nor is it yet completed. Three
centuries have elapsed, and yet we
find men of strong mind devoting
themselves, with a toiisOme devotion
worthy of higher pursuit, to reading
the poetry of Terence, Euripides and
Sophocles, who might, without labor
but with delight, read the better poet
ry of Byron, of Milton, and of Shak-
speare. We even find young men
spending, years in The study of Ian
guages which they can never speak or
write, and do not expect to speak or
write. Sometimes they even do this
to the neglect of living languages,
without a knowledge of which they
cannot swap horses with a neighbOr
born in Germany or France.
But the revolution, happily, is still
going on. The old colleges, not with
out painful struggle, are gradually
yielding to the compulsion of enlight-
ened public opinion, and giving less
attention to useless learning. They
are beginning to understand that it is
the business of education to fit men
for usefulness. Hence they give in
creased attention to chemistry, geOlo-
gy, engineering and political econo-
my. Some have even gone the length
of teaching anatomy and physiology,
so that graduate may know why the
damps in an old well strangle. Here
iscertainly tiattering progress. There
is hope that in three hundred years
more, they may learn that if one of
their graduates should become gard
ner or farmer, he would like to know
that plants have stamens and pistils
and circulation.
But the revolution is apparent not
more in the change made in the old
colleges than in the policy adapted in
the new ones. All, or nearly all, of
the institutions Of learning recently
established, give prominence to what
are called the useful sciences. Agri- |
culture holds a conspicuous place. !
The policy is also gaining adherents
among the more intelligent, of estab- |
fishing chairs of journalism. One of
the most influential of the New York |
journals favors the policy. We have !
already expressed our approval. Gen
eral Lee is now actually at work en-
downing such a chair in the college Of
which he is President.
We would not now be understood |
as discouraging the study of the an
cient languages. Let those who de- /
sire, prosecute such studies. But it is /
too much that every young man who /
seeks a collegiate education should be /
compelled to devote years of toll in 1
such studies, to the neglect of sciences
immeasurably more valuable. IL is
too much that so large a proportion of
the educational energies of the coun-
try should be appropriated to the study
of languages which nobody speaks.
and so small a proportion to languages
and sciences which every man ought
to know something of. The revolu-
ton is advancing rapidly, but not too
Louis Times.