Evening star., 1901-07-03
TENDENCIES IN EDUCATION.
Much Interest In DiscusslOns at New
York IniYersity COnYOcatiOn.

SOhVOcAuOh.
A dispatch from Albany, N Y, says'
Many prominent educators from this state
and other states were present at the convo-
cation Of the State University yesterday.
Bishop Doane presided. The first ad-
dress was made by Prof. Elmer Ellis
worth Brown of the University of Calfor-
mia, Berkeley. His theme was present
Tendencies in Secondary Education" He
said. in part:
THE public high school has long been re-
garded the bulwark of democracy, but
with the growth of wealth there has been
demand for private schools. Yet statistics
do not show that the public schools are yet
suffering from this competition. The pub
lie schools. in fact, gaining upon the
private schools. The increased efficiency of
the public schools acts against them 1t may
be said, for it attracts pupils to them. We
seem to be coming to the idea of training
for livelihood. The engineers and the
physicians already upon that plane.
Each man will gain his education in
trade school. The growth of the high
school, it seems to me, is the effort Of
American youths to fit themselves for a
business life. The study of American gov
ernment and literature is increasing in our
secondary schools. The growing unitication
of the ideals of the nations is another in
teresting development AS our schools grow
more national they should grow more hu-
manstic. This has been a decade Of sec
the greatest epochs of Improvement. 1t Is
the public schools that have accentuated
this movement"
Prof George II. Locke of the University
of Chicago, and editor of the School Re-
view, said three tendencies had come to his
notice. One was the tendency to regard
the high school as an integral part Of the
public school system. This he regarded as
favorable symptom. The high school
should not be regarded as a peoples col
lege. The American people demanded an
equality Of opportunity in education.
Charles b. Gilbert. superintendent OF
schools of Rochester. said that few teachers
had a fixed creed They were ever seeking
new things. I'VE vibrate from paternalism
to extreme individualism. he said. "and
there is no agreement. Our present ques-
ton is what form of paterna}ism is best.
Twenty-Five years ago mathematics and
Greek were the main things In the high
manded a vocational teaching. The state
must fit its citizen for life. The elements
of his business life must be taught. That Is
nearer socialism than people suspect. Are
we ready to say that our children must
choose a vocation? For one, / would say
not The youth who enters high school
hears this statement: Choose your vocation
for life and We will put you in a groove
and shove you along L think our present
danger is that of an extreme socialism In
our schools
The afternoon session was opened with
the reading of a paper by President G.
Stanley Hall of Clark University of Wor-
cester Mass, upon Present Tendencies In
Higher Education" President Clark said
that one of the crying needs of high school
instruction was expert knowledge. The
time when specialists were derided had
passed The old so-called general knowl
edge index knowledge. Specialization
was now necessary.
ITO know all that Is best is a new ex
perience," said President Hall. "and tha
best minds concentrate themselves upon
one subject. The final decisive word Is
spoken by one who in his special field is a
possessions of mankind. Japan has built
special graduates college. France has
understood this: it trains the most matured
body of men in the world. The best pro-
fessors are set apart by France for this
work. In England new organizations have
been found for this purpose. The best ten
dency in university work is opposed to the
uniformity cult. Make every school life
station. Nothing is SO easy as to discOur-
age the able. Just as civilization becomes
complex it is more and more necessary to
study a boys mental and physical strength.
Every experienced university worker knows
that he can work best with certain men.
Utility is another fetish. Mr.. Schwab and
Mr.. Huntington are partly right. but the
universities must still cling to their old idea
of seeking the pure truth without regard to
a pecuniary recompense Just as In pro-
portion class rooms are filled with those
on their way to other professions the uni
versity Is not successful. The passion for
dollars in students will not dominate the
president of the ideal university. The true
univ ersity refuses to be daZZ}ed by great
ideal president. or he will die. He Is citi-
zen of higher realm. He Is not Intoxicated
by the praise Of the multitude. Every real
scholar knows that they exist"