Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1907-05-03
Education True Handicraft.

One of the largest and most difficult
problems facing the Southern educa-
tor to-day is how to relate the educa.
tional process more closely to the needs
of social life. There seems to be an
impossible gulf fixed between the life
out of school and the life in school,
The duties of human life are one thing,
and the duties of school life are quite
another thing.
The subject matter and the method
OF school life are too often not the SUBJ
| iect matter and method of the busy
world outside the school. The vale
dictorians of our colleges often occupy
the Ounce stool in after life. Frequent
ly the better educated man is the more
| utterly helpless and useless 20 the State
and himself. The isolation of the
school from The busy activities of the
world has ceased to be joke with US
III tue South. The popularity of edu.
cation and the social efficiency of our
ntC OOUU db SUdhC. NU WOBuGE
that our school system does not appeal
to the good Judgment of the skilled bus
iness man No wonder that sensible
men believe that many good work
man is destroyed by sending him to
school. The demands of society call
upon the school for a certain product
a Id the school deliberately sets itself
to the manufacture of a different fab.
rlc. Such a practice is contrary to
the principles upon which the public
school in America exists and such a |
practice must find relief.
When then, should a subject be
taught in the schools of Virginia p
When some vital need of the people of |
Virginia is met by it. When society |
shall be directly helped by the teach |
ing of such a subject. When some
child. on account of that subject, will
contribute more to the values of the |
life within his environment. When J
some child is transformed into help |
full, noble citizen by this study and is
able to support himself and those de.
pendent upon him. When be becomes
thereby producer and not borrow
er from humanity. When such a
s udy will teach the youth to forget |
that society owes him a living, but to
feel that be owes in service and help
and gratitude. When are we justified
In teaching any subject in the public
schools in Virginia .? When some girl
may be able to do more on account of
it towards relieving her mother and
gladdening the old age of her father
When thereby her hands are so-ordi-
mated with her head and heart so that
she can do more for her vicinity than
lavish smiles and good wishes upon it.
When because of it she can lean in the
hour of adversely upon the strength of
her own skill. When it will teach her
the royalty of SERVES. and more espe
clally the means OF serving. When by
what she has learned she can save the
lite of her husband from tue desperate
assaults of the sOggy biscuits of the
ignorant cook if perchance she have
one of those luxuries of the twentieth
century,; and, when such. a study may
redeem the life of her own child from
the effects Ofiignorance. In brief, any
study has place within US when it
will teach our children the methods of
work, the necessity of work, and the
place of WORK in our human life To
assent to the doctrine of the dignity of
work is one thing, but to know how to
work and to know what particular
work needs doing is a better thing
We have talked long enough In our
schools of the dignity of work; it is
high time We were acquainting our
children with the real means of be.
coming dignified by such a perform
ance. II
CONTINUED next week Il