New-York tribune., 1903-08-29

Emerson Memorial school. in Boston. last month
In the course of his lecture Mr.. Mead said.
As Interpreter OF America as prophet OF dep,oc-
5nd and, as much else we talk of Emerson and study
MN Sutncie9tly as teacher ard an educational
far reaching word. The, frnction Of educaSion in
We shall one day learn q sBpersede politics by
terest ana devotion should s. come constructive and
%e9ityins. % instead OF regulatiye Let US make our
Is an after work. poor patching We are always
uphill agitation Tor iePeaI Of that which We ousht
branch reforms, of slavery. war gam0liug. intern
peCance. is only indicating the symptoms. Wa
ErersOn's Scholarship in Harvard College was
Dent 8nd he sof a. n1cE @ M wa WS i islsnrul = SUI
desultory reading during his Harvard years as hs
taught school in Waltham. finding the work most
dlSaereeabie, and the three years following his
Harvard course. during which he taught school in
his mothers house in Boston for the most part a.
head OF the school were not happy years In Iate1.
life he cOntrasJed the routine i'm his schooIroorn
with with the naturalness and JOYS o. his communiog
for not bringing his literary inspirations and Ilst
in justice that the grIs pronoucced him a bettSr
schociinllSter tnan ne pronounced himself His
sstant in the Boston Latin school position like
that which Phillips Brooks afterward secured and
position, He wished that he might tecome a pro-
fessor Of rhetoric in Harvard other college,
but in this. too. ne was disappointed His expert
4
in MAJ made bT ~ T gG15 1I
tient with the methods then obtaining ou~
schools What those conditions and methods were
Horace Mann: for It is in the early daTs ~ tie
reforms associated with these names that Emer-
sons early protests come.
EDUCATION N THINGS
The general character and object Of those pro-
tests appear from the passages upon education in
! the lecture on New-England reformers. An eiu-
cation things is not given he said; we are stu
dents or
| colleges for a dozen years. and come out with
memory Of words. and do not know a thins. We
/ cannot use hands legs eyes.
nor ears. We 90 not know an edibIs root in tho
woods: cannot tell our course by the stars nor
4 the hour of the day Ey the The Lessons 90
J science should be experimental The sight %
planet through a telescope IS worth all the
| on astronomy; the shock of the electric spark in
the elbow Outvalues all the theories. This talk is
/ common now. for il has been growing in volume
/ for twenty years; but it was courageous ard pio-
neering when Emerson spoke He attacked the eN-
cessve and pedantic devotion the classics in thu
/ colleges. The greatness and beauty OF the Greek
| and Roman Hteratures he deeply felt. and paid
high tribute TO them; but the eNaction by them oc
/ the study OF all men he pronounced "a wonderful
/ dr0wsness Of usage" Once Latin and Greek had a
strict relation all the science and culture there
was in Europe; but our situation had become utterly
different, and education had not recognized il
vital presnant and stimulating word upon general
education which had been written by an American
I In the form in which We have il. it rs clearly a
development. the growth OF many years; the notes
| den@ce @ Of the 5eIfTerI Of The lecture an vsrious
times in various fOTz Dr. & Emerson has tod me
cial pleasure and satisfaction. II cannot be ana
emphasis in it is in the same place where NIto1
placed the smRhasls IN his tTactate on on educ9Jion
it-upon nobleness- The noble nature of ths
child is what Emerson charged US with negecting-
| It is common fashion 70 speak Of wealth as
when it is anything else and the same Is true ot
had been cold ard duh. because they had not been
Peryaded with life The development OF character
! first: and the teacher who does not know this ia
pITi'u tom Respect the child Emerson SAYS alrlose
half a dozen times in page antiGipat1ng the trgsa
not Try, he charges to classify too strictly to
like yourself; respect the natural bent ot each;
purge each Of his rudeness, but save his vtvaeity;
! nnethod-for something OF that patience IN dealing
work He does not NEGLECT the demands ot aecu-
racy he pays special tribute 70 lam sI9
but his first and constant demand in the school -
| DO NOT THwART NATURAL TENDENCY.
The principles laid down in this grsat address
/ education reappear in various ways IN a hundred
/ places a point OF education that can never too
much insist upon that every individual has bias
which he must obey and that IL is only he feels
and obeys this that he attains his lsgttin1ats
power" Education often wastes its effort IN at
tempts TO thwart this natural tendency The boys
instincts are often better than his teachers ths
books for which he hungsrs often better than his
regular course Emerson made strong pleas fo-
manual labor IN education: and when few Yea
I dreamed of technical schools. he saw the tnapor'
tance OF thorough scientific education IN agrtcult
ure and engineering in order the Development os
the continent. No saw more clearly the dan
gers Of narrow specialization. and his plea was
always for breadth and Iargeness OF life Ha
warned the student against LUXURY. Hard expert
and energy for gowns and Pn PscunlarX Ioundations
portance. while they grow richer every year Ihs
great design OF education ne said almost In MI
active life The most noteworthy tribute ever paid
70 Emerson as an educational thinker vas that by
said that each OF the great principles IN education
20 WI Htc.l ne n-l @ III @ ~, ,-tts. - -
fully stated by Emerson
Emerson addressed himseI, particularly 70 the
the subject OF his Harvard address IN 1881, which
in 1888 that he addressed his most Important re-
TO the Dartmouth students. The Method OF Nat
bre" and The Man OF Letters at Waterville.
his JOY 10 address students. the charm which
he had FOR them IS beautifully reflected in ths
pages OF the little book by Mr.. Woodbury.. tho
Williams College student
KEYNOTE OF ESIERSON-S MESSAGE
The address on The American Scholar gives
the keynote Of EmeTson's message 70 educated
young Elen. The scholar must not be a pedant; hs
must be man thinking" The services OF the
study nature for the scholar and the services %
I history and books viewed BY Emerson, ara
I great His judgments OF books compare with
those OF Carlyle Great are great readers.
taking in the wisdom of the race; but they are
equally seif-reIiant The scholar. Emerson said.
has drawn the white lot IN life; and to have