The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-02-21
Communicated
Education.

! The necessity for education Is an
admitted fact. and the necessity for Ri
! education in keeping with the times is
he, oming more and more apparent,
The subject of education has for years
been n frui full theme. Politicians have
expatiated OH its merits, orators have
GRATED its benefits, while writers, ESSAY
lists, olergymen and iaymeD, and even
editors, have given the public their
opinions on tie common want. The
word Education has furnished the
''snbiret'' for an untold number of
school compositions. Some OF these
Inst were good, some bad, and some in
different, bnt the best one within our
recollection was copied bodily from
Wehsters Unabridged Dictionary, and
was read and passed unchallenged in
a large school.
But, to the point. The education
that is needed to-day is that which will
give its recipients the "know how" to
do that for which they were elucated.
The ancient had IL trite saving: ''The
tunes change and we chunge with
then" Thu, being the case, as it IN
doubleday is, it then follows that the
education given the Young shpu'd be in
keeping with the wants of the age.
And there never was tine when the
kl0,U k0lr was n more powerful factor
than the present. "a stone fitted for
the builders use always finds place, ="
and 30 with the boy or girl, the man or
woman, who is edueated with the "know
how"
Prior to the war the schools and col
leges turned ont scores Of graduates"
who did not have the know how, and
who went through college and studied
profession because it was the fashion.
They did not expect to need any hR0io
hOp. Not they. Their parents were
rich and there was DO necessity for them
to work. A case in point: One Of tue
largest, richest aud most important
ElateB Of the UDien. has n number of
wealthy counties, where the lands are
unsurpassed for fertility, and where all
the blessings Of wealth, Including lgooR
schools, abound. The same State has
also number OF counties where the
lands are not 80 fertile, the people not
so rich, nor the schools so good, and
yet, at the close Of the war, and for
some time thereafter, nearly all the
"ofiices" of that State were filed by
men born and raised in the poorer
counties - mountain boys. Why, do
You ask ? Because the mountain boy
knew he mnst depend on himself. aud
that he must get the know how if he
would succeed. a graduate of the Uni
Versity of Virginia. who bad lost all by
IAf,g ~
Of employment. He was offered various
positions, but to his dismay be found
that he did not Know HOW to fill any of
them.
Bot these are digressions. The neees-
sity for edueaiinn exitts, aud as long as
there are children to educate, it will
still exist. The need is for schools that
will give The know how in the branches
taught in those schools. If book-keep-
ing Is Taught, let the learners III that
department. know how to open and Keep
a set Of books when turned out. So
with other studies. The know how is
needed by most Of the rising generation
IN order to make a living, and those
who have riches will need il to enable
them to keep aud properly use the
wealth they inherit.
Again Education does not mean
cFamming. Nor can the best of schools
do more than leach. The students must
do their own learning. The teacher
might rs well cat for the student as to
try 10 learn for bin. The word ''edu-
Gate" is a compound one, and comes
from two Latin words, the first of which
means utot or from, and the second
ITO lead:" meaning when taken TO-
gether. "a leading out of or from. Z
schools and Instructors do not learn
their papils; tbeyaca only teach them,
but ~, doing ttAis taaeliug they mast
'tieal out the MUD 81 the leigner anil
show him llawfto learn. RusTIous.