The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1889-11-22

Prof. Walker, Of the Public AshooIs, Gives
ssnss Good Thsaghk.


They do net educate. Come teachers
do but the many do not. Children are
not, AZ rule, taught to nse,to the beat ad.
vantage, the faculties which God has given
them and that alons Is education. Net
one child In a theusa'd il smads On inde.
pendent diaesvefer VI knowledge do
not msan dlseevereF Of new knowledge
but thai knowledge which 4 aew to him.
Net one IN thousand learns to zee what
he looks Al, understands whnt he sees OF
distinguishes what he understands
Sehoel-,rsinlng, instead Of improving
ors's faculties. more often blunis than
The child is not taught 10 rely upon what
he sees, but what somebody else claIms to
have seen. he jndges--ii he isdgea al
all-nol from ssnss, but from testl,s ony.
lie must believe what his book or his
teacher tslls him. To deuht the former is
presumption to doubt the latter, rank
1herssy. II what lie see. of feels conflicts
with wha, they tell HIN, he must dishslievs
the evidence of hls .ensss All hts fseul.
iiss-save the receptive are trained 10
dlsuke. Individuality and seli.reilarcc are
destroyed, Thsot te,Ieally, he Is made
"Hsir OF all the ages, In the foremost Ale.
Of time
Practically, he Is prevented from ever ar
riving At majority. llls patrimony never
comes 10 be actually his. lie 10 shown the
title deeds Is told where his lnhsriiases
lies, and, may be. hat Il ls; but he IL
given 70 power 70 take possession OF II, o4
to add anything TO Il. lie goes through
life seeing with others eyes and hearing
with others cars really dependent,
though he believes himself an inlslleeiual
Crossns. nss knowledge IL all second
hand. This,when realis good IN degrer.
ss paper money is good. II has a noml
nal value. and passcs current. Bas the
seeoudhan knowledge that passes In The
schools viii not always pass outside Of
them. Tso o'sen Il IL counterfeit, OF
worse-mors dead leaves that fall 10 due,
when wanted for use. In providing q iIt.
tie hoard Of these, with here aHd there O
grain OF true knowledge, the schools mo.
noPolise years that should be usefuliy
employed.
Here 10 where rsisun must begin. Chill.
afsn must be told less and traisea more.
They must be laugh, TO see and feel and
hear Alright, and for purpose TO know
what to look for, 10 fnd what they seek.
and 10 held fast whatever they hnd worth
possessing. This Is the only education
worthy OF the name.
Send an un:TaInsd man TO ths fields 10
hunt for birds or beetles. .stones or ho~ers.
He may seek with dilIgence,ye and moth
Ing for he does not know what 10 look
for, o. how or whers TO look Tor Il. The
rsres. fewer 10 him Is no better than
weed, and an undeserihsd wced ne better
than the eemmonest fewer. He will Gil
HE pockets ~ith worthless pebbles. and
spusn with his feet the eheisest minerals
without seeing them. Send an Audubon.
. Miller, or = Thorssn, and he will srisg
from the barreness waste treasarers that
will make ~ an richer aud wiser 10 the
latest generations.
The worid IL full Of undiscovered wealth
snd wisdom. We pass ls,uahesdlng. every
day for we have never been trained 10
lsok for is, or 10 recognize Il when Il 10
seen. Now and then there GENES man
with undimmed vislen seeing the wonders
o. cFeation.or with ears wide open hearing
the music OF the spheres. He sees and
hears ana reveals. The world calls him
mad. and by and BY, q genius. The
schools cannot make every child genius,
but they should not tend 70 unnake those
shat are born 50. Their FIRST wsFk sksuld
be to eniighien the eyes, 10 epen the ears,
and TO sharpen the wits TO uss 20 geed
purpose ths sharpsnee faculties. To this
final stagss,hu very bad as a sole reliance,
and especially IN the beginning.
The natural Il the true foundation, and
should be the starting point In education.
Mems description OF thlags are valuable
only when me things themselves are inac-
eessahie. And In education. inaccessible
things mar well be left aleae until some
sequaintasee has been made with things
closc At hand. A fact 70 be Of value need
net csme frem the aatipodes or irsm the
neon. The moss that grows by our door
| steps is ss well worth knowing ~ that
which inspired Munge Park In the African
wilderness. The habits Of the house cat
or the garden toad are as worthy Of study
| as the habits Of the Bengal tiger or the
chameleon. For the ends of education, an
hour spent In intelligently observing an
ant or spider. is worth many hours si
reading about termites or tarantuias. Al
| any rate. without basis of positive knowl.
edge. gained by observation and dlscevsry,
the knswiedgs afforded by books is vague
ane Of doubtful value, while the scquisI-
ton OF Il goes but little way toward educa'
ton. The supplying Of the means fer
acquiring fundamental facts and expert
snees, for clearing the eyes, opening the
ears, and sharpening ell the faculties by {
| systematic melting to personal activity Il
the discovery Of knowledge, is the legiti
mate work Of the schools. Some day the,
will do this work, and then, and not I'll
then, may they with truth be said to edu
cate.
@. A. WALKER.