Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-04-25
BEARDsHEAR ON PRACTICAL.
EDUCATION.

BsARDsHEAR ON PRACTICAL
EDUCATION.
President Reardshear r, of Aines, before
the Northwestern Iowa Teachers As
sociation AT Sioux City: The chief
difficulty today In training youth is
found in the superficial aristocracy of
the limited education of the age. AS a
nation we have borrowed many of our
conceptions as tothee outcome of educa a
zion from The aristocratic ideas of
some phases of European society, in
which a select few are educated for
leisure and Independence OF hard work.
THESE ideas arise from the countries
in which in the past the educated man
was; supposed to be free from the me-
|cessity OF a personal sharing in useful
aNocations In America the largest per
cent of our citizens have risen from
these humber classes, by the majestic
lresources of this new land of God and
1.-The semi-independence of large wealth
l The youth of our land gather from
Their parents this old notion tlata man
Els to beSeducated far leisure rather than:
| for strenuous life.
| The first thing to be done IN the ed 3
t5ncation of youth for useful occupations
lis to create a sounder public sentiment.
] Progress and uplift of a cause do not
i go far beyond the sentiments OF the
Ipeople. II a youth goes to school with
1.-The idea Of getting away from work he
will come out Of school with many a
blunGer and foolish notion. We hear
iSmore references to the hayseedness. the
IIclod-hoItper expsrtness and innocence
hof the farmer than We do of the hon
IAcsty, hospitality, the home keeping and
1.-THE home-making If the farmer. The
3scent If the soil on a mans clothes in
IN house should be more elcome than
i the scent8of the cigarette in the DRAW
ling room. There must be a revival of
! the old-time and new-fashioned Gigni-
4 ty OF labor. The men that move the
great systems of business in merchan-l
.islise. in railways and the marvellous
ORGANIZATIONS of commercial interest
y for he hour are. as a rule, men WhOgare
II fun of the memories of personal plod-
ding thru the various stages of these
\ great enterprises. The superintendent
of great railways as a rule know their
a business from section work To the most
Intricate problems of finance and busi-
3ness management. These are the men
= that carry With them the uncommon
mess of the common La boring duties and
icignities fundamental to home and
III government.
II We are having some trouble in this
country with getting the man that
u works to think. We are liable to have
more serious trouble.sto get the man
Il that thinks To- work. There is a mill
Z, lonaire feeling in some places of the
a land that is more dangerous than tho
4 millionaire trust. II is the strength oil
II the country TO have all classes possess
81 the spiritHof labor and respect fol-
the humblest man who Is dependent
upon labor for livelihood. The frs
thing God Almighty taught the human
race about Himself was that he WAS q
d worker and that he worked SO hard fol
Issix days that he had to rest on the
81 seventh.
In addition to the fundamental re.
. slations of useful occupations to clti.
zenship and commendable society is The
educational value Of a skilled hand ant
the mastery of tools.
1T seems to me we waste goo6
deal Of time in school management de
) i3bating whether the training of
: hands In public schools is TO be u
II education. for practical work or pre-
3 hparatOry to advanced courses in tech
nology. This training should x1ei givel
), for its general educational effects. 4
!. number OF its best educational fea
lures consist in the practical applica
!. ton of technical knowledge in the con
struction Of useful things. While
think the industrial classes should hay
more consideration in some forms o
our educational system, yet the manua
training OF our schools should be t
e cultivate the constructive and Rsthet
ic imagination Of the pupils. Whateve
these pupils expect to do in the cultur
of the hands is comparable with tina
c OF any other form Of education. The in
E tellectual imagination II appealed I
! over and over init books and elemen
4 tary. sciences, but the constructive i'm
Z agination, which is the most vital I
the originality and individually of tn
s pupil. 10 too largely ignored.
!. The spirit OF construction arouse
noble feelings. which lOng for express
= sion in completed and tangible forml
These feelings posseas W. h certain De
9 lrective character that form the %