Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17
EDUCATION THAT PAYS.
Do Public Schools Unfit Youths for
Manual Labor
From the Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore Sun.
The saying of the old Spartan king. that
| a boy should be educated in the line of his
probable future occupation, has been much
quoted by practical people, but is very i'm
perfectly applied in our schools. With the
large expansion of the curriculum of the
public schools, to include all the "ologies''
that enjoy temporary popularity, the pu-
pills are kept employed on general and fancy
subjects until they are fifteen or sixteen
years old, when they must enter abruptly
on some occupation without having been
educated for it. The fault is not confined
to the public schools private schools being
similarly at fault, though perhaps to a less
[ degree In all our schools the whole body
of pupils Is, as rule. set to work through
the greater part of their school life on the
same topics, with the same list of books,
though 1t Is perfectly certain that as soon
as they leave school they will enter upon
widely different occupati tons, for which their
studies have not prepared them.
They have had lot of finical parsing a
lot of exercise in special applications Of
arithmetic which are of no use to them,
lot of memorizing of geographical names
or obscure places and great lot of other
trash. but nothing that has any relation
to their probable mode of life On the
contrary. their education tends 10 SET item
against hard work and to make therl para
sites upon parents or relatives whose edu-
cetlon has been in the practical school
CT experience. Our contemporary the Irrn
Age, has been much impressed with the
eject of prevalent educational methods III
demoralizing many who would under other
circumstances be useful membeis Of So
Getty.
''The publ, school system of the comm
try, says the Age, has been repeatedly
charged with the sin of uniting the isiug
generation Tor working with its hands,
While 1t fttei it for nothing N Particular
This Charge is most frequently lode ed
against our public high schools, which an
nualiy graduate thousands OF young peo-
PIE with aspirations toward the :,rofes-
sions. who finally find their ways into cheap
clerical positions, because there is MOTH
Ing else that they know how to do"
10 correct this evil (for evil it isl wise
poaros OF education In the larger cities and
towns are making provision for manual
training departments to existing public
schools. and In some instances to separate
pubic manual training schools. It has re-
suited IN the training of the hand and eye,
developing the Judgment of the American
youth, Installing into their minds the dig
nifty and worth of manual labor and fitting
them upon graduation to step onto one Of
the lower rounds of our industrial ladder
with the attitude toward useful work and
the skill and taste that will permit them to
rise to greater heights.
II the good of the individual pupil and
first place In an educational policy, rather
than the vindication Of some special politi-
cal theory. 1t might be in order to consider
whether pupils should not be given from
the first day of their admission to school
the option Of practical, as distinguished
from literary. course of education.
A youth educated to earn an honest living
at farm labor. carpenterfng. blacksmithing.
cooking. sewing. etc. IL certainly In a bet
ter position than one without these accom-
plishments. even though the latter figures
in the census report as ''literate." The
fact Is that there are worse things than So
called 'flllteracy" one of them being want
Of training for an honest calling. High and
dry educationalists have made the capital
blunder OF calling knowledge OF 'the three
RS education, whereas It IL neither an
education nor q preparation for earning
living. It IL good 80 tar as 1t goes, but 1t
does not go far. The truth has to be faced
If Education Is to cease to unite the
rising generation" az the Age says, for
working with its hands'-that an education
In useful trades IL better than mere book
larnin.," It Is better for the individual and
better for the community which pays Tor
the individuals training. The training that
has direct reference to ones probable me-
cesstties Is, after ell. the only sensible and
real education, and the earlier In the pupils
career this truth II recognized and acted
upon tho happier It win be for AL con-
Cernod. ~ 2