The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-07-11
present TREND OF EDUCA-
TON"

present TREND OF EDUCA
TON"
The address of the session was tina
of Prof. Rebec who spoke for half al
hour on the Present Trend of Edu
cation. He started with the PROPOSE
ton that schools and educational insti
tutions are a reflection and an expires
sion of the society in the midst Of
which they are found. There must bt
| a knowledge of history in the study
ing of political institutions. We must
not only study the political institutions
as they are today. There must be
| the same study of contemporaneous
history in the pursuit of knowledge of
science and philosophy, and we need
| to do it as well in education. Every
age brought forth it's own educational
institutions, and it is necessary to
know the environment of each one in
order to help realize that the institu-
ton is not permanent or unalterable.
The various phases of education of
different nations in different ages
were set forth, the citizen instruction
of the Grecian world, the disciplinary
education of the Roman finally trans
ferred to one of despotisn, the teach
ing of the middle ages, of the world
to come, and so on down to the eigh-
tenth century where the teaching
was of abstract logic and individual
ism. The characteristic of this age,
the speaker said, was in the opinion
of many, that we are living beyond
the time of all other times. Industrial
ism, expansion and Imperialism were
the principal things to be seen, not
only in the United States and Great
Britain but in scholastic Germany and
aesthetic France, where the people still
get as excited over the election of an
a prize fight. Men, markets and COM
petition appear to be the most salient
traits of the time. Has this projected
itself into our school system. If there
- thy OAlc lIChd SNl0Chl III lliC SSllOOlS
of the time, it is the tendency to be |
practical. Not long ago the CONNER
cial course in our High schools needed |
to be apologized for, now it has come |
disappeared in the High School and is |
fast disappearing from the secondary |
schools, while it is not even necessa-
ry now in some colleges.
Greek is being abandoned to the wo-
men at the colleges, the men are TAX
ing to the practical professions. The
practical in education shows itself
everywhere. Even in Germany ener-
gy is being directed to lifting the poly
technical schools to the university
standard. In France and England in
dustrial schools are being established
at the side of the old colleges. The
practical is the first and most obvious
trait of the schools of today What
shall we say about this new develop
ment. Though L think the hour has
come for a protest, for a warning cry,
this practical tendency of education
is no more alarming than the tenden
cy we find in the time itself. Imperi
alism is involved in the demo-
cratic movement of the whole nine
teenth century. 1t is the practical
part of the new gospel of work. We
are always hearing homilies on work,
on the dignity of labor, but the ten
dency in the past has always been to
a clean handed leisure class and smut
ty toll for the masses. The conditions
now are that every man must put his
hand to the wheel. Still further is
this industrial epoch a part of the
movement-that the found
ready to lead the life of angels. We
can't emancipate the masses unless
they are given a good foundation of
life. 1t will put the masses into
position to enter the highest enjoy
ment OF civilization. 1t is part of the
tendency to equip youth for the worlds
work, TO teach him to earn a living
Thus far the practical tendency is
good. The danger is best epitomized
in the Scriptural saying: Man shall
not live by bread alone. The talk
Of the whole life is business; it is
heard in every word, in every breath.
Is that all that is necessary to make