The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-02-11
The Boy and His Education

ambitious as a growing boy. Realizing
that he is rapidly on his way to manhood
be aims at doing manly things and
things that seem to him to be manly.
Between these two classes Of things there
are differences as wide as those which ex-
ist in the character and the training OF
boys. One boys ambition leads him to
do some brave and noble deed, such as
he may have seen men do or may have
read IN books or newspapers of their hav-
Ing done. Another copies manhood only
in the undesirable things which men do.
With some boys the summit of ambition
Is to swager and strut, to smoke and
drink, just as they have seen men do.
1t is not very lofty ambition, yet tho
boys whom 1t animates spend fully as
much time and effort on it as other
boys spend in trying to reach noble1
aims and more particularly useful ends.
One of the noblest ambitions that can
stir boys heart is the desire to be o
man in earning his living. Since his in
! fancy he has been charge on the parents
or other people who have brought him
up. Perhaps they are toilers who need
all the profits Of their own labor. They
have treated him we'll and he feels that
the obligation under which he rests to
them is one which he would like to IL
quidate. So with an ambition which has
in it many excellent features, he suggests
that he shall leave school, and set him
self to work to earn something. Perhaps
he may make enough to support the
! good old people who have cared for him.
Perhaps his efforts may be attended with
only sufficient measure of success tc en-
| able him to make his own way. Small
or great as the result may be, he wants
| to try his hand at business. He is will
ing 10 take the risk. He knows to some
extent what business involves, for othGr
| boys OF his age have engaged in it. There
will be no Saturdays, nor any afternoon
off nor any privileged days when the
! slight excuse of an ailing stomach or an
| aching head will serve as valid reason
| for staying at home. Business involves
harder work and closer application than
| the boys portion at school or at college.
! But it means earning something, and
| that is what the boys ambition leads
him to desire.
Just here let the ambitious boy beware.
To do as he wants to do is praiseworthv.
But perhaps he can do better. If he
goes with an incomplete education, It
will be at great disadvantage. He may
begin to earn few dollars week, tho
handling of which result of honest toll
| will delight him. But let him remem-
! Der that every month which he robs him
self OF the education he might obtain, iB
| month of loss for which his paltry earn
ings are no rccompense whatever. A
halt-educated boy who leaves school at
fifteen and enters a store may receive
from two to four dollars week with
numerous kicks and cuffs thrown in by
the people who are, "teaching him the
business" This kind ef teaching boy
! the business too frequently means get
ting mans work out of a poor fellow
for boys wages. If the boy is driven to
such situation by the emergencies of
straltened means at home let him rush In
cheerfully and do his work manfully;
but If the family exchequer will stand
1t let him stay two or three years longer
at school. Let him go through college,
provided there is college for him to en-
ter where his time will not be entirely
spent.in rowing boats and kicking foot
balls. Let him enter on manhood well
fitted for manhood's duties. including
as thorough a knowledge as can be
had Of the keeping Of accounts and Of
all other commercial duties. Let him,
il possible, also be master of soma
handiwork when he is ready to enter on
the work of earning, rather than depend
on the luck Of being picked up as
clerk. There are too many young men
whose only knowledge is how to be very
poor clerks. Advertise to-day for CLERK
and tomorrow there will be two hun
dred applicants. A firm advertised last
week tor skilled engravers, inserting the
advertisement in leading papers of three
principal cities Although steady work
and good wages were promised, not one
rkilled engraver has yet applied The
boy who knows how to do something
which the world wants done, and some
thing which will help on with the worlds
work is the one whose ambition Will lead
him to solid ard substantial achieve
ments.
Here are two of the meanest men On
record Tho humans nc oIo%b,o-.