The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-27
A LECTURE ON EDUCATION.
Large Attendance Mt the Plymouth
Conversational Church.

A LECTURE ON EDUCATION.
Largo Attendance at the plymouth
Congregational Church.
The lecture last night drew a large audience.
Ten minutes before the hour set every seat in
the room WA taken, and chairs had TO be placed
in the ssles. These were soon filed, end when
the lecture began all the standing room was &C.
eupiec. Though the subject was tech
nfesi in its nature, President Eliot
treated IL with such breadth, and
spoke with such esnplets mastery of his
theme and his audience, that every man and
woman stayed till the last word. The only in
teeruptions were from applause at the forcible
arguments for greater liberty in the develop
meat OF the pupils individual tastes and tai
ents.
Rev. Wallace Nutslng, rastor Of the Plymouth
Congregational church, introduced President
Eliot by recalling the fact that Harvard college
had been founded in Cambridge partly to bring
the students under the influence OF cody min
lister there. So 1t was not inappropriate that
President Eliot's public address should De delIv-
cred in q church. and Plymouth church at
that
President Eliot said. by way OF preface, that
his subject was q controversial one-one under
discussion at present In New Englsad. He him
self was an advocate for one side Of the ques-
ton, andso he warned his hearers 20 listen in
critical mood, as Wis proier Tor thofe listening
to partisan
He approached the theme, he taic. from the
posifis a OF q college tScher. Some six years
ago he was asked TO draw a programme for a
Massachusetts, high school, but he was con-
irontsd by the fact that the children brought
very little from the grammar school into the
high school So he found that the grammar
school programme must be enlarged This view
he had urged against considerable opposition
from various sources. He had discovered
ar fhA
no better qualified physically nor mentally
than the American, was two years ahead Of the
latter In his studies. As a result of the discus
sion experiments In enriching grammar school
programmes had been tried with considerable
success in various parts o. Massachusetts, The
people OF the West he had found more ready to
listen to new ideas than those OF the Fest
DR.. Eliot said further that until the republics
OF Switzerland and America had been formed
there had been no enduring republics known in
the history OF the world Free institutions as
William Eilery Claiming had renGrked were not
an end, but q meaus-a means for the formation
OF public and private character of ext.adiny
public and private knowledge This renublic
OF ours had as one OF the chief things 20 give il
hope OF perpetuity universal education and
mobility Of society. Here there Was no diatine-
ton OF caste for by merit man could rise from
the lowest place 10 the highest. Every career
was open 10 him who bad the talent No pub
lie schools could satisfy the Just dem ands of
democratic society unless they not only per-
mitted but helped tbs advance of any boy or
man 10 the station for which his talents fitted
him. The schools must give play to the talent
oil the indiviSu-l
Yet in the ordinary public school sll the o:s.,-
oren IN the same grade took the same lessons,
went forward at the same rate AID were turned
out With the same attachments at the end of the
year. The bright pupils and the duller ones were
kept all together; tho brighter ones held back
10 the pace OF the slower. Keeping the boys
and girls exactly together was considered essen
tisi to good class warF.
And yet neither ia the school nor in the fam
lily were AL children siike-as the schools tried
% make them. Every individual child was
unique. Each teacher dealt with human
miad in each child, the like of which never be.
fore existed. II was therefore impr oeable tia;
10 arc N OF forty pupils there should be two Of
the same mental force, or tAits. or tsst-s SO
the chances were that Homogeneous raw ma
terial was never delivered 70 a te4cher Thers
were forty or nifty very different little children
given TO tho teacher at the beginning of tire
year. The teacher could helm the du,l
bat no could help she hr ght child infinitely
more and the bright one shoald to helped mora
Tor he had the most capacity for prohtln- BY
assistance AZ the end OF week the difference
between the bright and the slow should II Nc
ticeaely increased. TIE object Of teaching was
out pupils ss Uniform product was not doing
the best Tor each, but dong jus, the ooat.arv.
The interest OF the individual lay in breaking
up-ihis deadly uniformity.
The interest OF society lay In the same d rec.
ton, for democratic society ives at lis best on "
when the individuals were most completely de-
Velopcd Afittocratic society was based uron
law a. nRture-that OF the transmission bv
heredLy OF mental and physical poyers In
WAS 30 The interest OF democratic society as a
whole 20 initiate IA part tho atistocratsc plan
abandon tho idea Of uniformity and give each
child the training rrop'r - his individual ma.
ture. SO the machinery OF Uniformity should
he done away vita aud uniform prouotIons ard
examinations abolished
The public school programmes wholly s{s-,-
gar1ed immense heics % human kpowlsave
To give forty o. eity children a chancs 10 a.,
vslop their tS'ents most successfully. q vide
range OF kRowle ice must he opened 20 then,
We're hoy given the opportunity 10 learn oulv
arithmetic and the English language he might
never know whether he had = taste Ia,
science or Latin or modern LANGUAGES
The New England COLLEGES recommended
that the natural sciences he taught
hy the laboratory methods in the public schools
In tie laboratory toe child learned 20 see touch
snd handle, and get an exsct knowledge o. the
processes Of the sciences
The colleges also recommended that ALGEBRA
be introduced st an age not later than Is.
aud geometry not later than IA; and that a for.
easa language y introduced not la,es than To-
latin, French, German, spanish or whatever
was the at,cst
To iUtrcduee these subjects IL was further
recommended that English grammar. geography
snd arithmetic aud bookkeeping be displaced 10
aay extent that Wss desirable.
In these days the teaching Of grammar was
sEeatiy changed aud The o,d.fashioned way was
hetng abolished. Geography was s noble sub
ieet, but IN oaly enc place in America was 1t
taught in a perfect wsy--at san Be-nardino.
There the teaching began out of doors. and
was continued indoors By the aid Of raised