The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1902-01-18
OBSERVATIONS
BY SARAH B. HARRIS


in Germany that may choke the seed
which the learned professor has plant
ed there.
The most suggestive chapter i'm the
book is the one on education. Our
colleges and universities are but pre-
paratory schools for the German uni
versities. Whoever heard of a German
student coming to America to finish
his education? He comes sometimes
To disapprOvingly observe our institu-
tions, but not to be edited. Never
theless. occasionally Germans like Pro-
fessor Munsterberg himself find our in
stitutions and our American character
are not what the cartOOnists picture
it. But that is another story.
The gymnasiums of Germany are the
colleges of America. At eighteen the
German boys have finished the drudg-
cry of learning and are ready to com
pare and do the original. exploring
work of the scholar, cast authority
to the winds and think. American boys
of eighteen are perhaps through the
high school. and if at that age they
have been creditably graduated their
parents congratulate themselves on
having brought up something especial
ly precociOus and promising. Now
there is no difference between the in
tellects of German and American boys
in favor of the former. But there is
all the difference in the world between
the public schools of America and the
gymnasiums. Professor Munsterberg
says that from his ninth year he had
no instructor who was not a graduate
student of the particular branch of
knowledge that he taught Il had no
teacher who hastily learned one day
what he must teach me the next: who
was satisfied with second hand knowl-
edge, which is quite pretty for enter
tainment and orientation. but which is
so intOlerable and inane when we come
TO distribute it and to give il to others.
Even the first elements of history and
geography were given to us by men
who had reached the level of the doc
torate. and who had the perspective of
their own fields. They had seen their
work with the eye of the scholar. and
thus even the most elementary materi-
al of their science was raised to the
height of scholarly interest Elements
taken for themselves alone are trivial
and empty everywhere, and to teach
them is an intOlerable drudgery, which
fills the school room with dullness and
the pupils with aversion. Elements as
the Introductory part of a scholarly
system are of ever new and fascinat-
ing interest. A great poet once said
that any man who has ever really
loved in his youth can never become
quite unhappy i'm life. A man who has
ever really taken a scholarly view of
his science can never find in that
science anything which is quite unin-
teresting. Such enthusiasm is conta-
gious. We boys felt that our teach
ers believed with the fullness of their
hearts in the inner value of the sub
jects and every bit of knowledge was
for us a new revelation. We did not
ask whether il would break bread for
us. We were eager for it on account
of its own inner richness and value;
and this happy living in an atmosphere
Of such ideal belief in the inner worth
and glory OF literature and history. of
science and thought. was our liberal
education"
For some time students of life and
success have said that a four years col
lege course is too long. None have
claimed that the college graduate knew
any more than enough to enable him