The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-06-14
COLLEGE GRADUATES.

4
Words of Advice etoDeplomaed young
Men and Women.
The colleges Of this country will
this month and next turn out their
graduates. These graduates will 20
forth into the world armed with their
diplomas to do and to dare. The av-
erage college boy is inclined to the
belief that his diploma represents to
him the sum total of human knowl.
edge and experience, and in this he
makes the mistake Of his life. Edu.
cation is a necessary thing for every
human being. In fact, man 20 attain
the highest state in this life Is COM
PEELED to have an education. But
mark you he is not compelled to have
a college diploma. Some Of the most
highly educated people in this coun-
try are not college graduates. They
hold diplomas from the college of
experience. TIE college graduate
should recognize that his diploma
means that he has been prepared to
learn. his mind has been trained to
think, and it has been the idea Of
these who have had him in charge
through the diff rent stages OF his
education to prepare him to use his
nwn mind ard to think out prcposi-
tions for himself.
A diploma, therefore, means that q
man has been prepare d te do his own
thinking, to learn from the expert
ence Of others that which will be use
full to him in his daily life. BE will
be able to commune with the great
men OF the world in all ages. An.
education which does not train boy
to do his owa thinking and to apply
what be has learned Is q failure. Of
ten in life we have seen people hold
ing degrees from some Of the best uni
versities in the land who were wholly
imprscticab.e. In the race Of life
they we're swiftly passed by men who
never saw the Inside Of a college. So
often has this been the case that nan
who have risen by their own exertions,
with only the help Of limited educa-
tion. have been constrained to look on
all College training with contempt.
This is an erroneous basis from
which to reason. To where there Is
one nam who has risen to eminerce,
on an education given himself, there
have been ten VINO starting under the
same conditions have fallen back utter
and ingnoble failures. An education
is only valuable as 1t is applied By the
one who receives 1t. II it makes
man an inpracticable dreamer, unable
to cope with the stern realities Of life,
thea manif>stly it has done him no
goo6; but in judging whether higher
education has been wasted on an indi-
vidual it is ABSOLUTELY essential to
know the individual It is possible
that ne would have been what he Is
whether OF not he had received the
training Of an Institution of higher
learning.
The world today is hunting for men
who know how to apply their knowl-
edge. Applied knowledge brings a
high pr,ce in the market, hence we
see the drift towards mixed educa-
:Ion, part literary and part industrial,
which is coming more and more into
favor. An education that does not
teach man the lesson Of self reliance
and OF competency is an education
that has fallen short Of its high aims.
0: course q boy who receives his di-
piona thinks that he is going to do
great things when he gets out In the
world, hugging the delusion to his
soul that the diploma in Itself imparts
to him certain qualifications, Of which
In reality he may be lacking. E1uca-
tion has been the Achimedian lever
which has raised the world to its pres
ent level, but all this education has
not been secured within the walls Of
a college. Many whose educational
opportunities, as we consider them,
have bsen limited, are more truly edu-
Gated than those who have been
through some celebrated college.
After al, it is a question OF the indi-
vlGual.