The Pickens sentinel-journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1903-1906, 1904-05-04

training Should, therefore, be dl- |
rected to the cultivation Of the in.
dividual chlld's will power. This
cultivation can come only through |
choosing and doing, it cannot
come through submission, unrea
sonable obedience, inactlon, or any
sort of passiveness. In this respect
a child's training closely resembles
whole peoples training. nemoc-
racy makes choices or decisions,
and acts for itself. 1t does many
things much worse than they
might be done, or, indeed. are
done, under despotism, but it
Wills and acts for itself, and there
by gets an education in the self
control and self>created law and
order which form a virile and ef- !
tective national character. For
the child, as for the nation, there
is virtue in deciding and doing,
even though the things done are
not done we'll. 1t sometimes seems
to be the policy of elaborate school
systems that the children are not
to do things that they do i'll, or at
leost that they are to repeat every
thing they attempt upon till they
can do it we'll. This is very un.
fortunate limitation of choosing
and doing by children. They ought
to attempt hundreds of things that
they cannot perform with any ap-
proach to adult skill; they ought
to use tools which they may in.
Jure in the using, and the teacher
ought to be content to have them
try q little more difficult new
thing, rather than repeat the iden.
tical thing in which they haye lot
succeeded. There is more training
In new kindred attempt than In a
REPETITION, fresh observa tion and
judgements are involved. False
startsand unsuccessful experiments
should only stimulate them to new
and better directed attempts. 1t
is the object OF education to devel-
op, not automatic action through
long practice, but will-force, and
the power and inclination to find
or make ones own way.
1t ls gratifying to see that the
Legislature of our beloved State
has become aroused to the need of
education Of our people, and have
passed such laws as will be directly
effective in the uplifting of our
schools. One is the establishment
of rural libraries, which will proo-
ably be one Of the greatest stimu-
lus for our schools that they could
have granted. Some Of the wisest
Of our fellow creatures have told
us that they owed their happiest
hours to books. Happy indeed is
the man who knows how to read
he can find comfort. counsel and
companiouship in his books. AS
long ago as the fourteenth century
Richard De Bury, Bishop of Dur
ham, said: "The library, therefore,
of wisdom is more precious than
riches, and nothing that can be
wished for is worthy to be compared
with it. Whosoever, therefore,
acknowledges himself to be q zeal
Gus follower Of truth and happi-
ness, Of wisdom, Of science, or even
of the faith, must of necessity
make himself q lover of books"
We are beginning to realize that
edu cation should last through life,
that the education of our children
should not be a mere grammar of
words, but should include some
training Of the hand and eye; so,
on the other hand, the life Of the
grown-up man or woman should
not be altog ether devoted to work
of the hands, to the pursuit of
money, but they should devote
some time to the acquisition of
knowledge and the improvement
Of their minds. 1t has been well
said; "If a man has not the ele-
ments of happirIess in himself, not
all the beauty and variety, the
pleasures and in terests of the world
can give it to him"
But in urging the multiplication
Of rural Libraries, over and above
all the solid advantages of study,
it is pleasant to think of the many
happy hours which would be spent
within their walls. What delight
full memories rise out of the very
thought Of books. Shakespeare,
with no less truth than beauty,
tells us that: "All places that the
eye of heaven visits, are to tue
wise man Dorta and haDDv hooV- |