The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-01
EDUCATION SPECIALIZED NOW
AND 1GRIvArE SCHo DIS GIVE TIE
BEST TRAINING ,'s

/the bame Learning to An-New York
and Vicinity 10 the Great Centre for
Private Institutions Of An Kinds
J'EhaChrse Of Education was the startling
Title OF q book put out not long ago by q
Ncynioal Bnglishmnn. one Of those men who
command attention simply because they
say smart and cutting things and do IL 20
veil that people read them wen II there 4
scarcely q line Of sincerity. The writer o.
thls book had ono simple thesis: Not only
was too ihuch crowded into the brains Of
school ptipils but, what was worse, ever
q was fed with!exactly the same medioins
and no allowance was made for special
needs Of individuals.
AL school pupils, In the opinion, of the
author, Who contended that education wa
o curse, booording to the present methods
Of administering it., are put through the
same hopper. II a child has no mathe-
NAUTICAL ability he must study mathematics
just tho same; II he has no liking FOL
languages, crowd languages into his head
until It nearly bursts. Treat EN- all alike
make no allowance for, individual pecu-
aiarities and preferences. The author
meant, Of curse, to say that this system
was all wrong; that specialization was the
true idea in education, a specialization
that would take into account every need
and mental popularity Of the pupil; he did
not mean hat education in itself was a
curse, but h way 1t was doled out to one
and all alike was undesirable.
The writer OF this unusual book may
have been fair in his criticisms about Eng
lish schools. To some extent what he said
applied to American schools, especially
public schools, but heiwas not fair to general
educational tendencies in this country.
The trend Of ali education in this country
has been to specialize. It has taken the
frmest bold on our universities. Optional
courses are the common thing in all our
leading institutions Of higher education.
The idea also has taken a firm hold in many
OF what are known as our secondary schools.
Pupils get optional courses even in our
high schools and in all our private prepara-
tory schools. In the public schools Of a
lower grade this Is impossible, and it is
for that reason tina the great numbers OF
private schools flourish and are increasing
constantly.
The object Of all true education Is to
make those who receive it think. Training
In methods OF thought is the thing. There
Il nothing gained in crowding just 80 much
languages, so much mathematics, so much
science into a youngsters head, all Of which
he tries to forget, and usually does forget
as soon as possible when he gets out into
the business or professional world. No
one Of our great men remembers much Of
what he learned In school. Not one man
In a hundred who ever got a college degree
can look a quadratic equation square in
the face and be on speaking terms with ii.
Not one in a hundred who ever scanned
Greek poetry can do more than pronounce
the words, let alone tell what they mean,
and few can even pronounce them. One OF
the greatest educational leaders of this
country, DR.. Andrew n. White. ex-presi-
dent Of Cornell University, only three years
ago In a speech at the alumni luncheon
at Cornell said to his former students
that he had come home from his diplomatic
career to spend the rest Of his days in the
Scholastic atmosphere Of Cornell, and, be
added:
Il make no secret Of the fact that I prob
ably could not pass a single entrance ex-
animation to this university
Hence the expression has grown up OF
Education for efficiency" How is it to be
obtained? is the question that thousands
uDOn NlOuSdllhS VI phfNlbN " hShllR al NIl5
present moment. What are the best steps
to take TO make their boys and girls eff
Gent in the circles of life in which they are
to mover what training will make them
think best and in the st~raightest lines2
There is no doubt that public school edu-
cation has advanced marvellously in these
latter days. One fault with it is that it is
loaded down with too many fads. 1t Ia a
positive strain upon the mental develop
ment In thousands of cases. 1t takes nc
account Of the individual. The same studies
for every pupil is the infiexible rule. One
must go to the private schools for individual
development. The exact training that each
pupil needs a be obtained in no other
way.
It Is the personal education that counts
most In education. 1t used to be said that
n Mark Hopkins was on q end Of a log
and a young student on the other out in
the woods, there would be a university.
The daily contact with a superior and SYM
pathetic mind is the most powerful thing in
education. You cannot get hat in a
crowded classroom in a public school
no matter how earnest the teacher may be.
The best plan in education is to pick out such
studies as will best suit the temperament
Of the pupil n then by personal attention
to the pupil develop his mental and moral
side. Moral training in the sense OF de-
veloping the higher qualities systematically
and with a special attention to the exact
needs OF the individual pupil cannot be
obtained in a school where the teacher
takes no personal interest in each Of the
pupils. Therefore n Of the needs OF the
times In the upbuilding Of a nations youth
is supplied by the hundreds Of private
schools.
Il Is admitted that New York and the
region about New York within a pdius OF
from $50 to 800 miles is the centre OF this
kind Of education in this country. These
schools include every field. In every one
rehabilitation is the rule. The develop
ment of the individual 70 his highest capao-
ity, according 10 his Individual characteris-
tics, is the sign by which they conquer,
Won find these schools beautifully situated
thoroughly equipped and perfect in sani-
tary conditions. There ARE boarding
schools for boys and girls separately and
together. The military school takes q
firm hold on the needs Of the times. AL
prepare for college life. Many OF them
srecialize for business life and have had
marked success in this line.
II = --.---srA1 kV I'll nAIa1AU,.n. 49,