The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1906-03-22
EDUCATIONAL,
BY w. +. LARSON.
EDUCATION AND THE PLEASURES OF
LIFE.

Our education should first of all pre-
pare us for the duties of life. Every
child should learn to work both phys
ically and intellectually so that he may
render the service which is allotted to
him by the Designer of the Universe.
But it is the plan of this same Being
that the child should be happy, that his
life should be a life of JOY. To prepare
the child for the enjoyment of the
pleasures of life is also duty of the
school.
The secret of true enjoyment is loce,
The person whose heart is filled with
this emotion in its altruistic form is
always happy. Besides, the love Of
what is true, noble good, and beautiful
is the strongest motive for serving man
kind. Because of His love for humanity,
Christ became its servant.
One of the things to teach in our
schools, then, must be the love and ap.
probation of what's beautiful in nature,
in art, in character. The one who has
developed this art of appreciation is a
poet He finds in the ordinary things
of life a manifestation of the divine. and
the meanest flower that blows gives
him thoughts that lie too deep for words. "
When he has learned to hold communion
with nature in her visible forms, she
will gradually unfold to him the hidden
beauties which only she can disclose.
To teach the love of nature to others
we must first love nature ourselves To
love we must understand, although it
is not absolutely necessary to be a sci
enlist. Sometimes the scientific spirit
is merciless spirit, seeking the beautiful
things it may devour The young would
be scientist who starts on his investi-
eating tour with gun in hand and comes
back with q dozen dead birds for dis.
section is not fit to be a companion of
living nature. There comes time when
it is necessary for the advanced scientist
to do this but most Of us need not make
ourselves butchers The same may be
said of the study of botany 1t should
be the study of living things rather than
the dead. The region around an in
stitution where science Is studied ex.
tensively is usually devoid of beautiful
specimens, thus making the study of
nature antecedent to the destruction of
nature. The study of the beautiful in
its right aspect should rather perpetuate
the beautiful and make its devotees its
defenders.
Among the most beautiful things in
nature are birds. The robin delights
even the deaf and the blind, the former
by his color and the latter by his cheer
up. But beautiful as the living birds
are how sad for the bird-lover to see
the dead bodies of these friends carried
our friends we would not like to have
them carried around from place to place
for exhibition after they are dead.
There IL an unlimited amount of
pleasure in being able to see and ap.
preciate the beautiful in God s creatures.
To develop this power is the work of
the school. But pleasure is also derived
from the ability to see and appreciate
the beautiful in mans creatures, the
works of art inventions, and the like.
What enjoyment to go through an art
institute for him who has learned to see
The awakening Of this faculty shows
itself directly in the adornment of the
home and school, The next decade will
show a great improvement in this line
as the pupils become more acquainted
with the great masters of art, field of
knowledge now accessible to us because
of the many good and inexpensive
pictures put upon the market.
The school does not fulfill its duty TO
the child unless 1t trains his inner eye
to see the beauties in thought rs we'll as
the physical eye to see the beauties Of
the external word. The ability to ap-
preciate good literature is one of the
chief sources of pleasure. We can then
commune with the great minds of all
ages and countries. If time hangs
heavy on our hands, u few steps will
take us to the feet of Homer or of Shake
speare AS the book opens the curtain
is rolled up and we see the stage upon
which appear, not amateur performers
but the characters themselves por-
traying the emotions and passions of
life.
Another source of pleasure is music
and here, as in the other departments
of art, the more we can appreciate the
beautiful the more enjoyment we shall
receive. The school should lay a foun-
daton for musical training by teaching
the child to sing. This trains the voice
and the ear. The reason why some
people cannot sing is because of the
unframed ear, rather than weak voice.
II child sings ''out Of tune, it is his
ear that needs training more than his
voice.
In our school songs we should bring
out the quality of tone, not merely
quality. If the children sing lullaby
at the top of their voices it shows a lack
Of appreciation on the part Of the
teacher as well rs the pupils. A martial