Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-06-29

From college and university, from scientif
and special schools, from the academy an
the high school, thousands of students al
passing, some to continue in higher insttl
tions general or special culture, others flu
armed, or trusting in the sufiiciency of th
advantages of the academy, or following tn
stern dictates of necessity, will commenc
at once the battle of life. 1t is the tim
when in all the schools the bows of intelleC
tual yew, which have for year been incei
sanity strung in the struggle for the acqu
sition of knowledge, are permitted to un
bend and regain their primitive easticit
and vigor. A truce with study sounded
books are laid aside and the doors of eacl
scholastic temple of Janus are locked til
the bugles, sounding in the early autum
air, proclaim the renewal of the fight.
is time for reflection and for a calm review
of the educational field
These commencement exercises represen
an almost measureless expenditure not o
treasure only, but of time, of labor, and
more than these, Of privations and self-de
mails practiced for sons and daughters :,
give them an education that shall make life
battle lighter to them than their toilin,
parents have found it. The vital question
forced to the surface by the consideration o.
these matters is, Do our educational institu
tions show practical results that justify thi,
lavish expenditure and this high self-sacri
ficing spirit The question doubtless is moi
susceptible of a conclusive answer, but the
substantial value of our schools and the vim
dication of this outlay and sacrifice are in.
volved in its consideration. The standard
by which the degree of success is measured
is results. A mans value is what he does
with his gifts and accomplishments, not what
nature has done for him or what has been
pumped into him in the schools. In so far
as the instruction of the schools can be
shown to be adapted not merely to the con-
ditions of life as the college or academical
graduate finds them, but to changing those
conditions for the better, just so far it may
be assumed that, in our Yankee vernacular,
our schools "pay" If the schools are MAX
ing better farmers, more expert mechanics,
professional men more acute, enlarging for
all classes the sphere of enlightened effort,
and throwing over all the influence of
higher purpose, intoxicating purer morality
and developing clearer conceptions of right
and wrong, our educational institutions are
undoubtedly yielding results commensurate
with the immense expense of supporting
them and the large sums which form the
grand total of individual expenditure. The
rapid advance of the country in material
prosperity is measurably attributable to
progressive grade of practical scholarship.
If the sole end of education were to promote
a greater degree of material prosperity, our
schools might be judged to be reasonably
successful. But education has a purpose
beyond this, and if it does not succeed in &C.
accomplishing it, the material prosperity
which it stimulates may be fatal source of
weakness. An education that is merely
general in its culture does not answer every
purpose of study, or yield results proper
tionate to its cost. When no specific aims
are held up to fix the gaze and crystalize
the purpose of students, instruction must
fail to secure the highest attainable degree
of success. We believe that the colleges of
the country are open to this objection and
that it is a mistake to send our boys and
girls to them without making more search
ing and discriminating analysis of all the
circumstances that should be taken into &C.
count. A combination of the general and
practical elements of culture undoubtedly
forms the best school for the great mass of
youth, and such schools have been established
and their number is increasing. They are
modelled on the idea of the polytechnic |
schools of Prussia, and aim to supply |
course of study and drill that shall impart a |
fair general culture, and at the same time |
bring the student face to face with the prac-
tical duties that will confront him after
the years of preparation are ended. "That |
life is long which answers life's great end" |
and that education is the correct one that |
N"AS 0hS oeuuoho up W his llIe-WOrK pre- |
pared to assume it and successfully pros
ecute it. A West Point system of ed |
ucation undoubtedly brings a young man |
nearest to the duties of full-armed citizen
ship. He is prepared to discharge skill
July the supreme duty of citizenship, to
defend his country in time of war, and in |
time OF peace such training opens to him
the highest positions in manufacturing, en-. |
mining and commercial enter |
prises. 1t highly qualities the student to |
become, in turn, the practical instructor of |
youth, and gives to the professional man an
incisive knowledge of many things on which
his special training must build, to reach the
higher regions of professional practice. The
lad thus educated is miniature man the
average college graduate is very apt to be
little more than an overgrown purposeless
child. Young men proposing to enter col
lege !" this year will lose nothing and may
gain immensely by weighing carefully and
choosing deliberately in a matter that in
wolves several years of study and sacrifices
that should not be lightly made. A mistake
at this point will be life long.