The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-06-04

thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
The primary object of education is per-
haps to make the man perfect, but the
ultimate object is service. And not one
kind of service merely as we used to
think, or even few kinds of service, like
the four learned Professionalism. mcdi-
cine, teaching and preaching-the only
Callings for educated boys in the old
days, but all good works, all profts-
sions in life, are the ieeitir~ate ends of
education. All forms of service are
equally honorable. Each profession de-
nlands nowadays the trained man. The
aim of education, then, is to discover
what each person can do and to train
him to do it. So we have come to real
lie that there is no aristocracy i'll edu-
cation. There is really no higher edu-
cation, and no lower education; no pri-
mary education and no secondary educa-
ton in order of merit; no scientific
education, and no technical educ alton,
properly speaking, for all education
should be scientific and all technical in
the sense that it is applicable; but only
education-the all-education of all, the
education of all men to do all the work
for which God made them.
each one was made of the same metal
and could be nodded in the same old mold
of the classical curriculum. We are come
now to know that there are as many
molds as there are men, that each hui
man soul is a unique monad-to be trained
in accordance with the laws of his own
being.
The harmonious and equitable eyOlu-
| ton of man does not mean that every
n an must be educated just like his fell
low. The harmony is within each in
dividual. That community is most high
| ly educated in which each individual has
attained the maximum of his possibilities
in the direction Of his own peculiar tai
ents and opportunities. This produces
not a Procrustean sameness, but an in
finite diversity in purpose and potential
ity. The perfect education is one which
tunes every string on each human in
strument. Each musical instrument must,
they tell us, in order to develop the most
perfect sounds be tuned separately by
a sympathetic spirit and a skillful hand.
A nation of men and women all perfectly
educated would be like a grand orches-
ira of such musical instruments, all per-
fectly tuned. There are hundreds of i'll
| strument can make it's own peculiar
music All are necessary to produce the
grand symphony. An orchestra made up
entirely of like instruments would be no
orchestra at all. SO the life of each man
and woman may be a melody, and wheth-
er it is the loud-pealing hymn of the
cathedral organ, or the soft pleading of
the Spanish lovers guitar as he sings his
| serenade, it makes little difference what
instrument each one plays, so me makes
music in his life.
Universally and diversity are thus the
two principles of education. Each soul
has a right to an education, and that
education should be in accordance with
his God-given nature
Such were the principles which un-
derlay Jeffersons theory of public edu-
cation, and such were his plans for car
lying them out. The present movement
for the upbuilding of the public schools
OF the South is merely return to the
principles and plans of the great father
of the government. Southern people
should be leaders in applying the teach
ings of Thomas Jefferson Unfortunate
conditions have prevented tMem from do
ing this as thoroughly as they should
have done in the past, but these condi-
tions are now removed and every South
ern man should consider it his highest
duty to contribute what he can to the
fulilment of this glorious dream of JEFF
ferson-equal opportunities for the right
kind of an elementary education for
every child of the people,
CHAS. w. DABNEY.