The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-23

direction This farmer boy has not been
taught to believe that there is definite
direction between chemistry and the manure
pile. He does not understand that nature IS
arithmetic, that nature is chemistry, ana
that it is botany. He has not been told how
to use such knowledge in farming. One rea-
son why chemistry is so stupid to the most
of US is because we do not know what TO
do with it. Geography is not OF the eartn,
as ordinarily presented to us, while In fact
it is a perfectly simple and natural study.
1t is the world itself. Astronomy is the
ton between chemistry and the cooking
stove There is an interesting relation be-
tween chemistry and the dough board: II
education is for anything 1t is pracueal.
it is for everyday common use. If boy
or a girl knows what is TO be done Win
the arithmetic or geometry, ne VIII learn learn
abstractly A boy will learn more pract-
cal geometry in a weeks experience IN
building boat than he VIII IN school III
The reason that it takes three or four
wears to teach a child to read is because ne
has no practical thing to which 10 attacn ms
Interest and is taught at time when his
mind is not capable of readily asslIllllalllls
that sort of knowledge. Ihere Is no redsoi ..
WHY q pupil should have to study grammar
for three or four years, or arithmetic TOT q
similar period. If there were vital Soll-
nection he would aSslmlate an al Vi DE- 1,.oeo
things within third OF that tlme. ILd -
teal education is an economical measure IA
Now as to some facts as to what practical
education has done. 1t has revivined Ger
many and has done it within the last tWSn-
ty years 1t has made France hdtlou
which is almost entirely without poverty
DO we know that the German cities are
growing more rapidly than the AmeIlcdi
cities? Do we know that Hamburg is grow
ing beyond Boston; that MagdeDurB mas
oufgroWn Minneapolis, st. Paul and Omahas
Cities like Cologne. Dresden, Breslau ber-
lin, have within twenty years outSTippe1
the American cities of similar size Chicago
is the single exception where this coTnparl-
son does not apply. We are competing WIN
the public schools OF europe. II II we "S es
us by our Legislature on last FRIDAY, We
would find America the Old World and Eu-
rope the beginning OF me Ne% Mort ~ csar9
many and France, in WORD their demo-
cratic educational methods have done TINS.
England neglected practical education IN
her schools. She is losing trade to Germany
in iron, steel shipbuilding, the MANUFACTURE
of cutlery. hardware, machines ana lnlpIe-
ments. Her losses in textiles, IN manuIac-
tured cottOns, silks, woolens, glass, chem-
icals, cement. paper and printing are ap-
palling from the English point OF view me
cause assigned is a difference in the prae-
tical scientific and technical character or
the education of the two countries, ana II
has now come to be assumed In Englana
that in order to save ner trade she must
give her people a sound practical and the
oretical education with the Industries In
which they are to work. Germany has done
this without loss to her agricultural prod
ucts Sure her agricuturists are relative
w less in number. but not the less produc-
tive in volume ana Ndlue. Anu thlS bCSduoC
NJ farm education France through the
enginerv of her public educational organiza-
tions. entirely reformed the wheat agri-
culture of that country within two years.
In '91 She had to purchase over 100 O00O00
bushels of wheat. The cause therefore was
studied lines of reform laid out, and within
two wears the evils were corrected and the
acreage product brought up to nearly that
of England America was drawn on for
reapers but not for other methods or ma
chinery.
THE wage-earner, the agriculturist, the
mechanic those who would engage in COM
merciaI operations, are in the vast majority.
They are entitled to all possible general
culture that may come with special train
ing For our future prosperity ii is neces-
sarv that they should be placed on equal
grounds with the practically educated pro-
ducers Of the revivifed Old World. The
work OF our schools has hitherto been
adapted to a class and by no means a large
class and by no means the class needing
education the most. LOUIS II. GIBSON.
indianapolis, Jan. p.