St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-13
,VERSITY SUMMER SCHOOL
BY SUPT. GILBERT.
MODERN EDUCATIONAL IDEA
ALL INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE DI.
RECTED TO MORAL AND ieE
SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
An Interesting and Valuable Ont
line of New Theories and -,
Methods. ii

Prof. c. B. Gilbert has just finished
a course of lectures at the state uni
Verslty summer school on the new
education which aroused great in
terest and enthusiasm, as they pre-
sented clearly for the first time in
this section at least the fundamental
philosophical differences between the
old and the new education. The
philosophical fallacies of the old ed
ucation were first pointed out. Most
discussions on this topic have con-
sisted largely of examinations and
denominations, and have not gone to
the bottom of the question.
In the first lecture the professor
showed the need of a new education
on philosophical grounds. The old
was based on the psychology of the
faculties and Calvinistic theology,
and resulted in the formal disci-
pine of the schools, it was unsympa-
thetic, intellectual rather than spir-
1tual, and could not have a moral
end. In the second lecture Prof.
Gilbert outlined Herbert's philosophy
OF education. The new believes that
the revelation Of the moral order of
the world through instruction is pos
s1ble. The soul is one, and all activ-
tiles of the soul have a moral quail
1ty. The well-being and activity of
the soul and not a separate faculty
can be trained by the whole of in
struction; hence it is important to
present to the child only that which
tends to the higher spirituality.
1t is of more Importance to ap-
peal to the child's. interest and to
give him not only an interest in the
themes of his studies, but a many
sided interest in the world. This is
to be accomplished by the use of the
principles of apperception; that is to
say, that activity of the mind by
which every new idea, which, COM
ing through the senses or previous
experience, finds it's place and value.
There is no learning without ap-
perception. The third lecture out
lined the more recent efforts in this
method Of teaching in Germany and
this country, and what was possible
in our own systems. In brief, the
professors ideas are that morality
should be made the aid of all secular
education; that in arranging courses
of study the chief care should be to
provide the child with valuable ideas
and that the methods of expression
should be taught as subordinate to
the ideas; that is, that such SUBJ
jects as history, natural science and
literature should be made the CEN
tiers, and that the form of studie&,-
such as reading, writing and arith-
! metic, should be taught as subordf-
nate, or as a means for getting
ideas and expressing them, and not
as having value in themselves.
To those who have not followed
| modern thought and investigation
and experience in education, the
ideas advanced and advocated by
Prof. Gilbert would seem revolution
| airy. The announcement that the
three RS are of secondary impor-
lance in education will strike many
as extreme doctrine, though all ad-
vanced teachers have long since
learned the truth; that the three RS
are merely the tools of an education
| But even of the professional teachers
who attended the professors 1ect-
/ ures, very few had ever before I'M
| derstood the fundamental principles
of the new education, and why
| teaching the three RS was neces-
sary as a means to an end, but was
not the end sought.
While many are aware of the ex-
cellence which the st. Paul schools
have attained under Prof Gilbert,
only a few know that that excel
lence is due largely to Prof Gilbert's
wide knowledge of the philosophy
of education and familiarity with
the best thought and experience in
| educational matters.
In response to numerous requests
the lectures will be printed.