Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-01

And here presents itself the education
al problem: How shall the edueatOl
seize this heterogeneous mass an,
mold and direct it into right chan
nels? The animal deicience in
man combine. with his superior intelligenc,
to make him greater than the brute. Hi
weakness makes him strong. Besides h
cannot live as the brute lives, he, perforcs
rObs the brute, the earth, the worm, to fee,
and array his body. AS he advances in the
skill of achieving this, he becomes edu
Gated, in a certain lower sense. But, as W,
have hinted, education has a higher ain
than this. Not for mere individual com
fort, and to perpetuate individual
| existence do we of this modern day
educate. But the rather that the whole
community may rise as one man TO a high
er, nObler plane of moral, social and in
tellectual life. Out Of this higher idea
imperfectly conceived, has come the sys
tens Of modern government, the laws Of
trade and commerce, the interchange o.
ideas and products between the people o
/ all quarters Of the civilized world.
/ The design Of the school Is 10 put the
tools in the hands Of the young by which
they Me to master the problem Of life, heW
their way through the world. The speaker
considered the relation Of the State 10 ed
/ uc3iiOn. All modern States recognize the
duty Of government to control, to greater
or less extent, the education Of its chill
dren. The freerer the government the
more liberal it is in this direction. En-
gland has given more for the Queens
horses and hounds than for the education
Of English children.
1t is only when the State rests on the
democratic idea that universal education
is possible. In a despOtic country it would
Oyerturn the sovereignty to enlighten the
people. DespOtisms are wise enough to
know this, and will not, unless forced tOit,
put the people in possession Of the knOWl-
edge that would overthrow them.
In school government self reetraint must
be made the leading idea, not secondary to
fear, inspired by brute force. In this day
the teacher who cannot govern his school
but by tyrannOus thoughts and acts, is unfit
for his vocation. The child, to start right,
must know his honor is respected and
thereby he learns 10 respect himself, his
obligations 10 himself, his teacher and his
fellows, too thoroughly 10 violate reasOna-
bic rules Of Ordersand decOrum. Squees
must give place-his given place-tO the
better methods developed in the pro-
greSs Of Christian virtue, tolerance
and the giving way Of the british
notion that children can only be
governed by fear Of the punishment that
follows violation Of law.
The school as now conducted is the great
adjunct Of religion. Prune it as you may
Of sectarianism, and still the very habit Of
mind, the constant subiectiOn to moral
rules, the inevitable growth Of a well-bal-
anced character in true rOpOrtiOnS-moral,
mental and acknowledgement in the
well-Ordered schOOl-rOOm, makes Christians
as it makes scholars.
The railroad and telegraph have moved
great part Of what was the country 4 few
years ago into the cities, thus renderingthe
community Of the Mississippi Valley more
and more inter-dependent uprn each other,
rs divided into urban and country or rural
populations. Think Of the skill, money
and labor required to manage and
terestS Of insurance, telegTaphy,
printing, publishing, journalism. All
these great Interests becoming ramified and
making their influence felt everywhere,
have made a more varied and thorough
IAAANaAlANA "a NOANu IA oNA40uA9 AAGNE11aAl
than may have been needed even fiftyyears
ago. 1t IS obvious that in a society of
mere ruIalists, existing in the rudest con-
ditiOn known TO our higher civilization,
there need be no such varied system as a
society organized on the converse basis of
activity and welding the wonderful agen-
cies Of steam and electricity, and more
than half the whole population dependent
for the means Of subsistence on the rural
producer, while he in his turn obtains the
modern appliances for skillful culture from
his urban neighbOr.
To meet this demand Of the ace for
more universal as we'll as more technical
education Of youth, we must have trained
teachers. The 120 normal schools now
give the cause Of popular education more
strength and enhance its value ten fold
more than all other agencies combined.
The wealth Of community was derived
from proper direction of cultured brains.
No investment, as a mere matter Of money,
pays so well as a good system Of common
schools; but this is the lower view. If we
train our youth right in their spiritual,
moral and intellectual duties they will find
proper channels, and whether they become
rich or not, they will be more useful to
themselves aud 20 mankind than if we
leave their training 70 chance or natural
bent.
The paper read by DR.. Harris was taken
up for discussion, DR.. J. B. Lindsey, Of
Nashville, leading of. The paper is just
such a paper as we should expect from such
a man. Dr.. Harris is the founder and edi-
tor Of the only journal Of speculative phi
lOsOphy now in existence. He was, beside,
4 practical educator, being superintendent
of the schools Of the great metropolis of the
Mississippi Valley. DR.. Lindsey took as
his text the interviewer character Of cur
schools with so many other institutions Of
government. Thus, losing sight Of the in
dividuals affected by il We see only the
hundreds, thousands and hundreds Of
thousands 20 be benefited and il so be
comes an integral part and not a child Of
Mr.. Ament said when DR.. Lindsey
was 4 lad, a child, l was making
speeches and writing articles favor
ing such 4 system of education
as we now enjoy. He was hOOted at for
advocating the policy Of taxing one man
10 educate The children Of another. He
yes; he still answered yes. He
Sunday-sChOols, and from these |
schools went forth sCme Of the brightest
and best men in the State OF in the nation. |
They made their start in the Sunday !
school. know the needs, by bitter ex-
Of early culture, and / love your |
system Of education. 1t is making men Of |
your boys, useful men.
Prof M. G. Butler, of Knoxville, called |
to the question of normal schools |
and their importance. There were no two |
like things more unlike than twO schools, |
one Of which shall be taught by a trained |
teacher, the other by a man equally able |
but unframed. The teacher must be a |
Trained psychologist. He must know |
how 10 read the mind Of his |
pupil or he is unfit to instruct that mind. |
He would not discuss whether Or7nOt uni |
yersal education must accompany universal |
suffrage, TO secure the perpetUity Of Ourre- |
publican institutions. Those subjects we're |
wiki the teacher who was
abreast Of the times. They had long passed /
hat point, and considered those PROPOSE
lions settled. How to push forward the
cause Of education was his aim, and that
could only be done by elevating the stand
ard Of qualification among public school
eachers.
Prof. kirkpatrick, Of East Tennessee
University, was Of opinion that public high
schools were the specially great want OF the
public, educatiOnally speaking. No more
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