The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-02-18

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cried out "Great is Diana of the Ephe
sians." The sllversmlth had most ex
cellent reason for the agitation, sine
by belief In Diana he made his living
AS tor the rest, most of them "knev
not wherefore they had come together,
but they shouted just the same. Tha
mob (not Demetrius himselD has al
ways stood forth as an example of blind
devotion.
Have we in our day experience with
such gathering? I must answer very
carefully, or possibly later Demetrius
may be affronted. For fifty years OF
more-we have heard swelling cry that
has echoed and re-echoed through the
land, "Great is Education in the public
schools" And by a sort of mental in.
lection the cry has been taken up by
all who heard until Education Edu.
cation Education !! J" greets the eal
on every side.-Now 1 reckon there
we're some Ephesians who worshipped
Diana in sincerity and in truth. They
actually gained strength from the
wholesome myths that had gathered
around her, and their shout, therefore,
meant something far more spiritual
than did the rest of the clamor much
of it was for "business". SO I believe
that Education" ON the tongue OF
growing numbers who look deep down
into the conditions of life, means all
that is helpful and hopeful in the race.
But with the great swaying, shouting
multitude, it begins and ends with par
rot-llke book knowledge: it is against
this very common view Of the subject
that these lines are directed.
AS there are myriads of homes, each,
more or less wisely or mistakenly, solic-
itous regarding the welfare and the
career of one Or more children, perhaps
in this column we may protitably dwell
for while on some phases of education
that are much overlooked. Further
more as these children will be the young
people of the next century, right idea
of education will be just as profitable a
preparation for the opportunities of the
new age, as will be the massing and
unification of reform forces that have
dwelt upon for the past weeks.
The question to answer to yourself at
the outset is "What is the child mind ?"
Some things it is certainly not, and by
disposing of the negatives, the positive
purpose of education becomes clearer.
1t, the child mind, is not alone sheet
of paper to be written on at will nor a
gaping cistern to he filled to repletion,
nor a plastic substance to be moulded
just as you choose, nor an animal to be
taught to act without reflection, nor a
mere machine to be set going and kept
going for the purpose of earning a iv-
Ing until death puts an end to need.
In some ways it partakes of the nature
of all these figures of speech. But
more than all, 1t is like an uncultivated
territory to which man, the saviour.
comes. Absolutely beyond his control
Is the original outline of that land. Its
rivers, its bills and its valleys were
there before ever it came into his pos
session. If the owner has wisdom,
however, he carefully studies every
portion and decides on the treatment
needed to get the greatest possible
good from the land at his disposal. He
drains the lowlands and makes them
produce. He removes the great bOul-
ders left by glaciers of former ages. He
diverts a stream and makes even dry,
poor soil surrender things that are good.
Furthermore, bear in mind, that what
ever he puts into his fields by way of
fertilizer or of seed is Of no profit at all
if it retains the condition or the form
in which he distributed it. The soil 1t
is In must act upon 1t, taking from the
fertilizer or giving up to the seed and
therein is the wisdom of the husband
man shown in suiting his efforts to the
character of the ground and then leav-
ing light and air, roll and moisture
things he never made and never can
make,-to do their unobserved work by
day and by night. One other point
and we will turn to the application ol
this somewhat lengthy similitude :
Each of all the tracts of land in your
town calls for different attention. Every
farmer reader of these lines will say
"Amen" to that.
Thus It is with the child mind
Fond mother, bending over your dull
eyed babe for the first look of recogn1
ton, though that child is yours in ,
wonderful sense, bone of your bone and
flesh Of your flesh, yet after all physical
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