New-York tribune., 1905-02-07
MISFIT EDUCATION.
Ne1c System IN Public Schools EUery
Fire Years, Says Dir. Cros7ceU.

IN the course Of an address which he began by
congratulatng the Young Women's Christian AS
sociation upon the excellence of its teaching James
Greenleaf Croswell head OF the Brearey School for
Girls sharply criticised the education given boys
and girls by the public schools The demands
which professional educators make upon girls he
characterized "mOnstrous'; their examinations
extraordinary" And he further said that the
more effort and money that were spent the edu-
cation Of boys and girls the more that education
might be called a naisht-
speaking a schoolmaster.'' said Mr. Croswel.
u say that your school teaching here is very good
And J." he added, "am supposed TO be a pessmistic
person used 10 write book reviews for a lead
ing paper. and was once reader for a publishing
house one day the head of the firm and
sai6 TO We shall have to go out of business
Il you keep on rejecting every manuscript that is
submitted -
Then turning 10 modern education. he went on:
The surprising thing in education s that the chill
drea know so little. We are only not getting
tbs results that expenditure Of effort and
money calls for, there is q sort of chaotic mis-
understanding all through the educationa! world
We hold conferences Of college professors and con-
ferences of kindergartners and conferences and
conventions of every kind of teacher in between.
and the more expensive and difficult grows
cation OF boys and girls the more curious a
resemblance il bears to what may be called a
misht-
What are we educating boys for? To follow
4 profession business, say. What
educating our girls for? For matTimony, reply,
forgetting that matriInony is not profession. but
q human relationship
Take those children who drop out Of school in
The early years or even from the high school How
have We fitted them for life?
1T is almost like living in the French Revolu-
lion! We have new system Of education every
five years. I feel proud that French abbe
who was asked what he was doing through the
Revolution. I live through it, he replied.
The other day 1 reading some letters of my
grandfather. He had only common school educa-
ton. Later he entered lawyers Office and be-
came lawyer. These letters OF his written in
strong simple English--hs whole calling fitted him
Ike glove Whar are ou- schools doing to fit
their pupils for their after careers?'
Part Of the general failure Mr. Crosweu attrib-
uted ignorance.
Improvement Of children. the expansion of girls
and the higher education of women know nothing
Of the profession Of teaching. OF what school
teachers are doing. And school teachers know
into my oitice|f can't cali II anything eise~and She
sad % me- ! have 10 write a paper for club this
afternoon, and won't you please give me the history
o. education 50 can put ,,I1 Il IN my paper
caeerful ignorance or his fair visitor.
On the other hand he went on. Il have
s.ona educators demand OF gfrls-the extraordinary
siIei iIeiiASuons h gong on THIS minute. Draw par.
,s-ve The exact English equivaleEt of Mon Dieq'
o3cfe Deu, and half dozen other FreHch oaths.
~ - nave actually known girls to be asked that in
What was the great discovery OF the nineteenth
Jury Why, that women are humani
NAo, II that is SO. they need humanistic train
sng they need 10 be brought Up perfect human be-
.ngs. or course, that has all along been implicit
y Is 70 the Gospel-but 4 has been discovered con-
sc,ousiy only lately. Now Il has come TO be the
soce or science. the voice Of religion. The human
.hc IDEAL Is the ideal Of education-boys and girls
s sre 70 oe brought up 70 be human, That has al
@ays been my idea. We have TO fight for it. It
. ..2I,egmes gets clouded People will contend
1Let ooys are brought up enter the professions
aL-a women 70 matrimony (as II nlatrimony We're
bioIession and rot human relationship The in
Ioo9chon of women into civilization such as
strength
enlng OF hands"
hen, rapidly giancing some different ideals
~ hutaa nisnl. he showed where they had been lack
80. he Hellenic humanistic ideal grossly
m IIect Tor 1t was based polytheism it never
.elstc women, and 4 scOTned manual labor, except
~ re arts. Al Florence humanism i'm perfect,
ana have sometimes thought the most prominent