Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-29

~ 0fsSAs SSucHseo tneaf boys 30 uae1eH-
alizs shen; the Jews to religionize them,
that 10, TO make them followers of the one
true God; the Romans to make soldiers of
them; the people of the middle age 10
Christianize them. Modern nations have
aims that are foreign to the true one.
France Is to-day educating her sons and
daughters to support the New Autocraoy
called by grace republic. England has
set foot popular education to prevent
political explosions; and the great and
efficient school system of Germany hes
for its end good soldiers for the Empire.
All these aims are in part false according
to Spencer, who says the true end of edu-
cation Is complete living which Is another
way of saying that its true purpose
is the Development of sound manhood snd
womanhood. Tho activities minisserinp
to this end, to quote exactly, are: Those
which directly misister to self preserva-
ton. II-Those which, by securing the
necessaries Of life, Indirectly minister to
self preservation. III-Those which have
for their end the bearing and discipline
OF offspring. IY-Those which are in
volVed in the maintenance of proper social
and political relations. Whose mis-
cellaneous activities which make up the
leisure part of life, devosed
to the qualification Of the tastes and feel
ings. These stand in their true order of
subordination. This view effectually dig
poses Of several fallacies, one of which has
long been upon tho carpet in the United
States. namely, that the public schools
have no other aim than that of shaping
citizsns, i. Q. voting machines. This is the
theoretical ground of nearly all our state
systems Of schools. But the practice has
always been better than the theory.
Strictly construed, it would give us boys
schools only, and cozfine teaching to the
mersst rudimsnts.
The second point before named, viz.
that one aim is to train for bread winning,
is the ground for the claim set up for in
custrial education. Opinions are very
divided as to the desirability of such train
ing, but very greatly divided as to
the means to this end. A growing num-
Der CT people think that work schools
furnish the solution to their difficulty.
But how the state or any other agency can
! furnish special schools for the butcher,
| the baker, the farmer or candlestick ma ker
| ID not now easily seen. And yet this is
| the legitimate conclusion of much that is
said or written. A great deal of the zeal
that for the so-called Industrial education
has mistaken Imagination for inspiration.
We have fallen into much cant talk about
| the "trained hand and eye,'; ''the learning
necessary to honest bread gettlng,"a and
the like. Some Of this comes from people
who would gladly see the nation divided
| into patricians and plebeians, if
they can only belong to the for
mer either by dint of wealth or of
literary or social caste. But higher than
| the trained hand and trained eye is the
| trained and intelligent mind. The only
possible escape from the feudalism of
| wealth, the grasp of such barons as Van
| derbilt, Astor and Gould is by intelligence
| generally diffused. But the danger from
great fortunes is slight compared with
that arising from unrestrainsd passions
and bad habits. Our great need
| is not carpenters, turner's and
| other workmen, nor even the ability
| to change from one to another of these
| calllngs quickly and readily, but self re-
| straint, frugslity, economy, Three-fourtbs
OF our laboring people live from haad to
mouth, always because they have acquired
| habits suitable to persons of five times
their income. No school can wholly ceun-
| teract the tendencies to spendthrift habits,
| and want of frugality.
There is implied, third, that We have, as
JET, at the time of writing, no science of
education. If this was true twenty-six
years ago, it is still true. Then, no care
| full conclusions had been reached concern
| ing what knowledge is most worth; the
| method of training the intellect was left to
| chance, and caprice ruled in moral train
I inO Tf 70
| ence Of education now, he may easily set.
| tie his doubt. Take any of our books On
teaching and governing. They arA a
farrago of scraps like the painters mons
frosty on the AIRS Poetica, emperic, full
OF noisy dognatism in which this or that
| teacher is set up as an oracle. Our school
papers, our own included. are
| evidence of the unseientifo plan
of present education Everywhere there
comes up demands for practical work ;"
But present education in hopeful. We
are steadily working at the question of
| what knowledge is of most worth?
True our discussion degenerates into an
| undienified wrangle about the classics VS..
the natural science or the training of the
| hand and eye sgainst general culture.
! This year has been prolific in discussion.
started mainly ~ Chas. Francis Adams
Harvard address on "a College Fetisch. %
I cannot help but think that much OF this
| discussion begs the question by pitting
one specific thing against another,
instead of settling a code of facts
| and laws which would settle all such qzes-
| tions. The matter Of the classics or the
| natural sciences is only a part of the
larger question,w knowledge is of most
| worth. A rational settlement of these
questions viii give US a new education in
fact as well as in name. We hear much of
| new education. Its aims are praised its
| results magnifed, it's methods extolied.
We are making progress in our homes,
| and hence shall ere long have better
race of children as pupils in oar schools.
We are emphasizing the elements of
scholarship, fitness and professional
knowledge in eur teachers, and have al
! ready do1e much to amend and improve
| the class. We have made progress in bet
| ter views among patrons and trustees as 70
the tenure of the teachers Office. Very
| recently city of our state had an order
passed BY its board Of education fixing the
| teachers tenure at the period of good SER
| vice. So shsuld il be in every city, town
Aa& district of the state.
The assumption underlying all Er.
Spencer hiss said on moral education, is
that knowledge alone is not sufficient for