The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-25

/ Most people have at some time in their
I lives been brought face TO face with an
emergency which caused them 10 realize
that human wisdom is vain, but it is still
more provoking. because seemingly unnec-
essary. to be confronted with a problem
which one ought to be able to solve. and
be unequal to the task A Chicago man
found himself in thst predicament not
long ago. and his experience is sugges-
tive OF several things.
He wanted TO find out how many square
feet there were in a circular floor eighty
eight feet in diameter. He knew. Of
course that the problem was a sim
pie one if he could remember the
rule. but that was just the diff
fculty: be could not. He stepped into
real estate Office and sought information.
One man told him TO square the diameter
OF the floor; another said he ought TO
multiply Sd by 3l4l6. and the stenographer
thought he ought TO square the radius.
The owner of the Office building who spec
ulates in the wheat market and conducts
other large operations. tried to solve the
problem by drawing a square inside Of
the circle and computing the area Of the
fragments at the sides. Then the owner
of the problem went hunting an arithme-
tic borrowed one from bookseller and
found cut what he wanted 10 know.
Anyone who has watched the average hu-
man being trying TO apply the principles
Of arithmetic 10 so simple matter as the
papering OF a wall or the carpeting Of
floor will realize that the education gained
iu the public school is not OF so very much
use when wanted in a hurry several years
after. It IS the same way with geography.
rhetoric Latin or modern languages. How
many people. az the beginning Of the
Spanish-Amerlcan war, knew where the
Philippine Islands we're OF had the rcmot-
est idea what commercial value pertained
10 them How many could say with any
certainty how the names OF the principal
towns In Cuba and Porto Rico should be
spelled or pronounced2 How often do We
End people who have had good even excel
lent. educauons stumbling over simple
rules Of grammar and rhetoric
Perhaps there is no way to prevent these
difficulties Il may be that the human
memory is so constituted that it absolute
Iy refuses to retain valuable knowledge.
while retaining with the utmost facility
an sorts n little uuimporiant things II
this d. &c. &c is nature that is TO blame. not
the public school system. But it does seem
that elementary facts and rules might be
SO drilled into the heads Of all children
under fifteen that they would be able to
talk luteliigenty about public events and
figure out the simpler problems Of every
day life. The average person IS much more
likely 10 use the tables Of weights and
measures than the principles laid down
in the lest chapters OF an algebra: vet
nine people out ten cannot unless they
are constantly called upon TO use these Ia
bIes, repeat them with any accuracy. Il
is very important that American clti- |
ions should know as much as possible |
about the products of various countries OF /
the world, and their commercial and in |
dustrlal relation 10 our own, and their /
importance IA international /
affairs; yet these matters receive abso- l
lately no attention IN The average school. /
Il may be said On general principles that |
languages. ancient and modern. are Of no /
use whatever 10 the average boy or girl 1
Unless they are studied with such thor /
oughness as 20 crowd out other things for .
a. time. French Is useless TO one who can /
not read a French novel. ask a question. /
or write an Ineligible letter in that Ian
suage, aud to learn to do this takes more
lime than the average student can give dur
ing school years especially II the training
Is not begun early. 4 child OF five or siy
years can pick ~ Preach very easily so