The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-29

olutionized the industrial and CONNER
clal organization and that as a result
public schools are not meeting the de-
mands Of the time. :
The days when even lawyers, doc
tors and preachers gained their edu-
cation by being apprenticed to active
practitioners have long since passed.
said DR.. James, ttand with the growth
Of factories this system has disappeared
in the various trades and industries.
The function of the public school is in
creasing, in DR.. James opinion, as evil
denced by longer sessions, increased
age limits, and compulsory education.
the children and boys and GIRLS under
the age limit are disappearing from
the schools.
Modern society is demanding both
manual and technical training, but
sharp distinction must be made be-
tween these two. Manual training
stands for that elementary and varied
discipline Of hand and eve which
should be an integral part of all public
schooling from the beginning to the
END. The arguments for this are now
familiar to all. Man is physical be-
ing and needs exercises to develop and
refine all his senses, and to establish
that coordination Of nerve and muscle
which makes him physically effective.
He is a working animal as well, Most
boys and girls have before them a life
time of activity, mostly of a manual
kind: Man Is a social animal and the
child must be Indicted into the CON-
pick conditions Of modern life thru
direct study and experimental partici-
patton within the school in the various
forms Of adult activity.
Technical Education.
Everywhere the demand is felt for
technical instruction. Nearly million
young men and young women in this
country are seeking this thru CORE
spondence courses. The classes of the
Young Men s Christian association are
thronged wherever they have been in
stituted. Private individuals have
given largely to this purpose. But still
the demand Is unsatisfed. We should
meet this demand. Thru evening
classes, vacation classes, thru all-day
or part-day sessions, every boy and
every girl should receive specific prep
aration for the future occupation. If
the boy goes to work at the age Of Il
~ ~ 'nouiu o'Ali give IIOW zen TO
fifteen hours each week in the daytime
or in the evening to regular school in
struction along the lines of his great
est need and his working hours should
be shortened in proportion.
This may seem an ambitious pro-
gram, but let us be we'll assured that
failure to train each generation ade-
quately will quickly prove far more
costly than the most elaborate school
ing that has ever been proposed.'
Change in Methods.
In speaking Of the spirit Of modern
education, Stanton Hodgin advanced
the idea that there has been a decided
departure from the methods of former
years where the teacher with business
ideals endeavored to do his work Gas a
stonemason goes at his.''
The modern teacher he went on,
'realizes that he is standing face to
face with embryonic souls. No two are
alike. They are to unfold and grow ac-
cording to some determining principle
inherent within, making each q distinct
individual. The teacher can only min
lister to this growth. In the work of
teaching he has grasped the rope of
eternity.'
Teachers are forced to struggle with
real poverty, the speaker went on, and
this makes it impossible to obtain time
tor that recuperative reaction. "The
teacher is giving off the highest form
OF energy and his success as teacher
depends upon this vital force being
kept at high potentiality.'
Mr.. Hodgin believes, however, that
this condition will soon be alleviated,
q has ..
Tho he does not object to educational
experiments in the form Of private
schools, the speaker asserted that when
parents weigh the. advantages Of vari-
GUS private schools, they introduce a
demoarlizing element into the child's
life and destroy his idea Of human
democracy. One reason poor children
gain real knowledge from inferior
schools, Mr.. Hodgin says, is because
they realize that school is the best at
hand. This attitude he thinks should
should turn the Whole current Of th nSy
energies and resources toward reform.
ing the schools. !"
Schools Not Irrens1ous.
The speaker denied that the schools
are irreligious. ..*
What is religionq'' he asked. cit
Is the soul OF man seeking harmony
with the spirit of universal life. Ism It
that the very. spirit Of our modern edu-
cation, to bring the soul Of the child
into harmony with the spirit Of the uni
verse in which it iyesl All other
things are subordinated to that one
thing. Our schools are religious from
circumference to center. We are apt
to find more and better religious teach
ing where the name Of religion and
the phrases that are supposed to stand
for religion are never heard, than we
DO whore they most abound, and this
is true of the schools Of the world to-
day. Today as never before children
are being brought into knowledge and
an understanding Of the living universe
OF which they are q part, and religion
that does not spring from that as q
foundation is not worthy Of the name.
Our public school system instead Of be-