The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-08-30
President SALISBURY in his annual

address before the teachers at the Eal
Claire meeting, gave utterance to tn
fact that education is not doing its legit
innate work because the masses have al
erroneous conception of what edcation is
or are not willing to make it what i
should be. To one practically engaged
In educational work the silence or apathy
of the leaders of public opinion, On ques
tons affecting the growth of mind anc
the building OF character, seems strange
Liberal as the public often is in provid
ing school-houses and apparatus, it il
niggardly IN its outlay for the actua
work OF education, and miserly in yield
ing the time for pupils to become inform
ed for the work of life. Peoples notions
must be radically false or the leaders IL
educational circles have been fatally IL
error since intellectual Athens became
the guide and inspiration of the lover Of
knowledge and culture. Guizot in his
| History tells us that one dominating
| thought pervaded each of The civilizations
OF antiquity. 1t was nov military, now
| monarchical, now theocratic, and each
| left its impress on the social organism
Our own age seems to have its powerful
determining characteristic. 1t may be
called the materialistic age. 4 scramble
! to gain wealth and distinction among the
perishable products of mans labor seems
to be assuming the proportions of ma
| tional trait. Selfshness rules the human
| breast; the desire for gain too often
makes people oblivious of their higher
interests. 1t not only rules the individ-
ual, but its baleful influence creeps into
every branch and fibre of the social or
ganization. Every element of physical
and intellectual power is now made sub
| servient to mans passion for gam and is
| turned into producing agent at the
earliest possible day. The learned pro-
fessions are entered now by the merest
novices in learning. Persons are classed
as lawyers who scarcely know the func-
lions of government or the elementary
facts OF history; persons are called phys
icians, without smattering of general
scientific education; persons are called
teachers to whom mental science is a
mystery and the simplest principles of
pedagogy vague or meaningless; persons
are often ordained to show the Way and
the Truth without an acquaintance with
society or disposition to drop the plum
mel to sound the depths of human pas
sion; and the vast army of children is
withdrawn at an early age to learn trades
or earn bread at some form of manual
labor.
Public opinion should be educated and
directed against this tendency. There
should be more vivifying spiritual at
mosphere to breathe The long recog-
nized function of education is to give
man control of his inner forces, to make
him cognizant of the laws of the material
and spiritual world, and to render him
able to comprehend and apply them for
his own liberal advancement. A proper
ly educated person is not a child viewing
certain facts and occurrences as aberra-
tons of nature. On the contrary, he
learns to reduce all events to a few high
er denominations called the laws of the
universe, while he still looks with wonder
and admiration upon these laws them
selves, his soul swelling with emotion
and longing for glimpse at the unex-
plainable power that produces order
where the ignorant mind sees only chaos.
This is he theoretical and desirable func-
ton OF education, no matter what the
character of the school, no matter what
the subject of instruction may be. If it
teach history it is failure unless it
bring forth the great principles that move
and guide the masses of men. fit teach
geography it fails unless the laws of hui
man wants are considered. If it teach
mathematics it fails OF the highest pur-
pose unless the sharp distinctions be-
tween the true and the false are made to
permeate and govern the human soul;
dIlIl IL IL ItllSIOIl IL ullSSSS lUS
est aim unless it inculcate into the minds
of our youth the sublime principle Of the
brotherhood of man. Without this con-
ception and this aim education will never
extend beyond the three Rs, and they
viii be cultivated not to broaden the
horizon of thought, not to purify the
intellectual eye, not to give rise to the
sublime emotions of a cultivated soul,
but simply to enable man to avoid the
snares set by business competitors while
they fail to give him the virtue that would
teach him to set no snares for other men.
For the first time in years the class of
teachers most in need of the instruction
given at Institutes, is out in force. Al
most every person in the county who is
to teach his first term this year, is at the
institute now being held. The following
is a list of the teachers present
Daniel Loughlin, Jerry Donovan,
Kate Kirwan, Frida J. Krieger
Katie A. Taugher, A. +. Elmegreen
Willie OHara, Selma Hoeh
Pearl j. Pierce, Hattie Symes
Nellie PInter Mary Meinert,