Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-04-06
EDUCATIONAL.
The Double Aim of Education.

hO 0OoShO VI @aaOAoOh'
EVERY child born into the world
shodld be put in the way of maintain
ing himself in honest independence.
No education that does not make this
its first aim is worth anything at all :"
The first statement seems self evident.
1t is bard to see how any one can rea
sonably doubt it. Bnt the truth of the
second statement one may not so readi
ly admit. The first aim of education
shonld be double. 1t should be to fit
the child to make an honest living.
aud to live honestly and nobly. Edu-
cation must give him freedom, strength,
good will, a knowledge of rights, and
an appreciation of equity. 1t must
give him a proper conception of the
society in which he lives and of the
| mutual dependence of all Its members.
1t must open his mind 10 an nndtr-
standing of the eternal verities, fill bis
: soul with the beauties and harmonies
of the universe, and touch his heart to
the finer sympathies. 1t Is doubtless
true that a living dog is better than a
dead lion, but there is no reason why
the lion should not live as we'll as the
dog, and none will deny that the living
lion is as good as the living dog.
| Tue child of the civilized mau should
i be taught to make an independent liv-
ing; but savage man, the wild boar or
| the wild ass of the desert can do ss
much. The child of the civilized man
must be taught more. He must be
taught to live. The two aims are not
Incompatible, but work together to
mutual advantage, each helping and
strengthening the other. In the best
civilization they may so coincide as to
become one. Who will say that the
skilled musician or the great painter
does not make as honest a living as the
skilled operator in a machine shop. or
that one is less Independent than the
other? There is much truth in the
advice Seek ye first the Kingdom OF
Heaven and its righteousness. and all
these things shall be added unto you, !"
and it becomes true as civilization ad.
vances to high levels. We cannot af-
ford to let our aims in education be-
come wholly transcribed. We must
preserve just balance in the union of
the two-P. P. Claxton.
-
Pedagogics. or the science OF teach
ing, has made greater progress toward
correct methods of instruction in the
last decade than in the three preced-
ing decades. Much experiment is
yielding some success. AS new and
better methods Of instruction are dis
covered, tested, and approved, the Of
fice of the teacher assumes greater i'm
portance and is more difficult to fill.
The demand for stronger teachers Is
steadily on the increase. Machine
teachers are on the decline. The
thinking portion of every community
begin to see that teaching children Is
more than hearing recitations. making
out monthly reports and drawing sal
aries Thinking people begin to see
that the great lessons OF life are found
not in books but in humanlty-that
the great lesson of the school are found
not in school text books, but In teach
ers.-Patrick.
-
This is the age OF the trained man
and the trained woman. That is the
thing l want to write on your hearts.
| People used to say that superior ed
| ucation was necessary only if one were
to deal with the more intellectual oc.
cupations Of hfe. only if one were to
follow the distinctively intellectual
callings. If l were young man or
Young woman going out into the world
today, 1 should not dare to go unless
had given myself every possible edu'
eational opportunity; unless hat
made myself absolutely master of th
thing ! wanted to do. l tell you tina
the tragedy of modern life is not tn
largely of bad man. We have al
ways had that in the world. 1t is tn
tragedy of the half educated man o
woman, it is the tragedy of the mai
or woman who wants to do something
anG cannot do ANYTHING we1.-Clemen
II -. Gaines in New York American an
, Journal.