Arizona republican., 1905-06-12
THE ACTIVE WORLD
Which Follows the COmpIe-
 tiOn of School Life
Judge Sloan's Able Address to the Graduates of the Tempe Normal School Last Week.

The address of Judge R. E. Sloan to
 the graduating class at the commence
 ment exercises of the Tempe normal
 school, has been so widely commented upon for its eloauence and the excel lence of the language employed that
 it is here reproduced. Judge Sloan said:
 Ladies and Gentlemen:
 | I esteem it an honor to have been
 selected by the faculty and graduating 1 class of the Tempe normal to deliver
 the address on this occasion. Permit 1 me, first of all, to congratulate you | and the territory upon the evidences i everywhere apparent that this institu- | tion has attained to a first rank as a l training school for teachers, and is so | well equipped to give the youth of the | territory the inestimable benefits of a liberal education.
 In casting about for a suitable sub ject for this address it has occurred
 to me that 1t would perhaps, not be
 regarded as inappropriate if, at the commencement of an institution which is primarily intended to be a very practical means towards a utilitarian
 end, namely, the promotion of scien- tiflc pedagogy in the public schools l were to accentuate somewhat the
 importance of the impractical in edu- cation and particularly in life, and to eXtol this as entitled equally with the 1 practical to serious consideration and | account in any scheme of education which may be called liberal. I do not 1 disParage what the Germans call a 1 bread and butter edcation." I am in
 sympathy with those schemes of public | education which have for their imme- | diate object the training of youth for
 business pursuits,s and I regard the 1 teaching of the manual arts in the
 public schools as both wise and saIu-
 tary. and one destined to be extended indefinitely until it becomes as general
 as the teaching of the purely mental
 sciences.
 One of the master minds of the nine
 teenth century. whose writings did
 much to bring about the reformation.
 in education by the introduction of i the general sciences into the curric- ula of the universities and colleges of | England and America, has compared
 life to a game and education to learn
 ing the rules of the game. The meta
 phor is striking and at the same time | apt In this game there are stakes to be played for. but these are not the only
 rewards to be had by the players To i the true sportsman form Is as import
 ant as success, and style of play is
 cultivated no less than ability to score.
 If the player displays fairness, earn l estness, grace and courtesy to lose the game is no disgrace. So in this game of life, effectiveness must not 1 be overlooked, and the rewards which | come from success are proper incen- | tives to earnest effort Money, DOW ! er' fame, and the recognition of ones
 fellows, when fairly won. are stakes | the winners may expect and justly claim as their due. One cannot always
 win, but yet it is possible to lose and be rewarded. In the measure we make 1 every part and movement of the play | as perfect as our skill will allow. to the extent We extract every modicum i or honest pleasure and satisfaction
 from the game as 1t progresses. is it
 worth the effort, whether the stakes be
 lost or won. It is with regard to some of the things which while not essen
 tial to the winning of the stakes vet
 which male the game of life a source
 Of pleasure and profit as it progress
 es, that I shall speak
 SOCIAL CULTURE.
 The hrst l mention is the cultivation i and practice of the art of good fellow | ship. NO man liveth to himself alone" Man is by instinct and na
 ture social animal. Probably the wonderful advance made by the race
 IS in a large measure due to it's gre gar1ousness. The social instinct how
 ever, varies in strength in individuals
 as do other human qualities. Some
 men are positively miserable unless
 they can feel the excitement and stim-
 uIus which comes from close contact
 with other men. others are compara-
 lively indifferent to companfonshin and i even feel a sense of isolation and lone : llness in the crowded streets of New : ork or London. It must be admitted
 that the average American of power
 ana Iorce IS defective on the social side | or ms character; there is even a de- clded prejudice in his mind against 1 those talents and accomplishments which especially fit men for society although inconsistently enough he will spare no cost or expense to fit his daughter or son for the society he per | sohaily dlslikes and avoids It is only another instance of the inconsistency or human nature that one for the best years of his life should toll. fret and deny himself of the pleasures he does enjoy in order that his family may participate in the pleasures he affects 10 oesplse Perhaps after all the av- craze business man does not have such deep rooted aversion for social pleas ures as he affects or imagines he pos sesses. Most men enjoy the exercise of the talents they possess above the average, and their self-love is offended whenever they appear to a disadvan- tage. I have noticed that if a man has the gift of speech he is fond of talking; if he has a genius for lead ership he does not seriously object to 1 serving if only he be made chairman Of the committee. I am persuaded that more men would give a larger | portion of their time to social duties | 1T only they could feel themselves to | be as we'll fitted by nature or train ing to compete with others in society on the same terms as they are in their business or profession. This is a mar TOW and. [ believe a mist ken ,,inr,r