The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-07-10
AT THE TABERNACLE.
Interesting Address by DR.. G..
NJ. Woodward
ON MANUAL EDUCATI0N."
Practical Education a Necessity-Its
Benificent Results-Bishop o.
f. Whitney Speaks.
ON MANUAL EDUCATION.'

on Sunday afternoon, Apostle Heber j.
Grant presiding.
The opening hymn,
o say, what is truth? tits the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
was sung by the choir and congrega-
ton.
Apostle John Henry Smith offered
prayer.
The choir then sang,
Behold the Mount of olives rend!
1t was announced that Professor c
NJ. Woodward had kindly consented to
speak on the subject of Manual Edu-
cation"
PROFESSOR WOODWARD,
who arose to address the congregation
said: In such place as this where the
desert has been made to blossom like
the rose and where mountains with
their forbid ding fronts have been made
to yield up precious ores, it is not
necessary for me to speak of the pro-
gress which this age is making in many
directions; but / will, in introducing
the subject of education, for moment
make mention of the progress that has
been made in our civilization during
the past fifty years. See the indus
tries that employs mems hands and the
inventions which exercise mems brains
and you will see that they are as new.
See the way in which your city, your
homes and your families are supplied
with water, the way in which you
read your messages from one to an
other, the way in which you travel
across the continent and sea, the way
in which you till the ground, The intro
duction of machinery having trans
formed not only agricultural, but other
kinds of industries. The problem of
feeding great city the work of this age
has solved; and y ct how little of this mat
ter OF progress has entered thus far
into our methods OF education, IN spite
of the changes that have been going on
all around.
| was educated in an ancient univer-
sity, and four-hfths Of my thoughts
and hard work in that university had
no direction whatever with my life
now. 1t seemed to me, and to tnous-
ands of others, that education, which
is the preparation of boys and girls for
the work OF life. should teach more
closely, lhat.the boy from school should
be somewhat prepared for his work liz
the world. Oar teachers and associa-
tons should keep step with the pro-
gress Of the age. Hundreds of years
ago, education consisted Of learning to
TT al the ancient poets, and to use the
vi nd iafn oil
through The middle ages, education had
reference to certain classes of people.
Education was for the gentleman, and
not for those who did tbs work of
the world. Even as recently as
the days of John Milton, education still
cons sted for the life of a gentleman,
clergyman, lawyer. and physician.
There was no other kind of education
There was thought TO be no neei for
education except for those few profess
sious, which were only five in number,
one OF them being gentleman OF
leisure. The men who built houses
and titled the land We're supposed to
need no education beyond that which
they obtained at their business. For
them to know anything of reading
writing, mathematics and mechanics,
was beyond thought. And my own
educa ti0n was devoted largely to that
for which l have had little practical use.
Now, [ have been trying for the last
fourteen or fifteen years-snd | have
been seconded by thousands of persons
of ability and sound common sense-to
try to bring together those who have
spent all their time in the mere matter
of Intellectual culture. | would try TO
incorporate the elements of such
training along with that of preparing
the man for his work, to enable the
young man to step out in the world
knowing that he has some work to do.
Our modification has in it something
that the old education did rot have.
We propose to retain all the best. We,
therefore, add to, not subtract from tie
education of old. We constitute
something besides the reading OF
classics aud of civilizations that
are past. We consider that the
civilizations of to day and the works
of toe ay are Of prime Importance. We
want not only men with troined minds
but with skilled hands. We believe
that man who is only half trained, is
bound to be one-sided. If he has but
one kind of training his Judgment is
not to be trusted. Now we have made
grand beginning. This thought
sounds new to me or 10 you, but the
world has not seen how to put it into
practice. The boys should be trained
to work. In spite of all this the pro-
gress has been slow. Our German
friends across the water have made
splendid beginning. They take the
lit child from its mothers arms and
train Its faculties. They train it in
such way that it may bs rounded out
into 8 splendid whole. This is e graEd
beginning, but they stop square off at
the age of about or 6 years. Then
what come of that boy or girl? Why
he is sent off to the old-fashioned
spelling school. Now, the true theory
is to carry out the kindergarten theory
from the bottom to the top. l think |
have shown the method of teaching
boys how to make the best of life. Lei
us organize for boys of from IA to l8
years of age school in which they
will be taught all round. Let US
organize plan by which we
can best train the whole boy
and have the best books,
the best teachers and the best apps1a-
tus; because upon this basis rests the
safety ard the progress of the republic
Now am going to tell you what q
manual training school is. how it is or
ganjzed, and how it is conducted. and
II talk OF my own school egotisticallv
1t is because my own school is the one
know the best and because it is the
IL l..