The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-30
"KNocKERs" AND EDUCATION.
Foolish FaIlscIes, and snschieVOus MisconS
ceptiOns OF the University.

To TIE EDIToR OF THE SUN-SiP. No mors
than any other department OF human activity
is the field OF education exempt from tbs
-knocker." 1t is a pleasure to consider. be-
cause 1t ia so easy to rcfute. the collocation
OF his stock ideas presented in the November
Educational Revicr. The educational reviews
themselves are not always as broad minded
as we might desire. and too frequently editors
as well as contributors are attacked by that
bold. bad. biting bacillus OF odiVm psddoooi-
cum. In the present instance. however. tbs
editor feels constrained to staVe In a note that
two OF his writer's ARE in error In regard TO inn
portant matters Of fact"
The first controverted statement il that Of q
German professor. who declares that the grad
uate OF an American university is on a footing
with the Abiturent OF the German "gymns-
SUM" or a university m~atriculant; In other
words, that our university education ends
where theirs begins. Quite properly, the
editor OF the Rsuiev asserts that the worthy
Herr Professor has In mind not our UNIVERSE
ties, but our colleges. The field Of the gym
nasium" in Germany is with us covered by tbs
secondary school and the college. The uni-
yersities. ours and theirs. grade evenly. the
dife being merely such as to ft ths
varying environment.
In the second instance the Reris'r editor
states the simple truth when to the thesis that
there il "a decay Of academic cours &c" that
education Ia m Realized" he replies
that courage and Independence Of view are
NO-Ad " DHIDNO tAah v o.ASNV6 nv
our educators. and that of the millions Of sue
cessful Americans not many thousands meas
ure their success in terms OF high fnance.|
When, some decades aso. =. r. WhipPie,
and sound. formulated the relative valence or
the elements Of the material ana the ideal In
our national character, his dictum that We
were growing physically to the exclusion OF
brief period since then it has been decidedly
outgrown. 1t Is a my?pic vision that sees
only our palaces Of trade. blind to the richly
afnTpd treaairioa 0f Our art
It il a foolish fsllacy to say that sport /.
the dominating feature" OF, our university
life. OF course the halfback. and the crew
captain get more applause than the gray
haired professor-the professor doesn't want il.
his work Ia its own abundant reward. Cer-
talnly. II We must have comparisons, our
brutal football is no worse than the German
III is a faliacy TO saw that teachers are un-
derpaid. A good teacher is generously paid
in kind. The man who handles money and
goods that are valued in money. MACS money:
the preacher who labors in the spiritual realm
gains in spirit and the teacher who tills n.
intellectual field reaps his harvest in that
which the natural teacher most desires. his
own growth in teaching power. These ara
substantial rewards. nor are they IsneraIlv
measure of o mans worth.
These are but q random few OF the "knock- =,
er's" many fallacies. Perhaps they do not
out lightning; They do no harm. but they are
irritating, II is refreshing to he able TO ball
ance against them such cases as that Of the
distin guished professor in one OF our Oldest
OF q better paid and more conspicuous position
to continue his fine work OF building up y post II
graduate school: All honor to Dean Andy
West. and TO the true American. educatorSr
ers. " verify they have their reward. ].
NEW YORK., November 20.