Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1907-04-05
Vast Point and Military Education.

/ uoueIu eQucaGloD-Gnab Tor the nan
worker, and that for the man wh
! works the hand worker The ma
who works with his hands.sis given
little smsftering of the ru1iments O
iearninRFk1d must then .4.rk back I,
the grind tfst gives him bread.
The indiVidu ualistic idea in education
has led to more or less chaotic stat,
of things, not ouly in the medley O
subjects offered for selection, but il
the method of their teaching and the
degree of application of the student il
"go as you please" system; aud, as q
matter of fact, for the great majority
there seems to be an enormous waste
of time and great perversion of effort,
with correspOndinglY weak and in
adequate result. After desultory at
tendance at the various institutions
for teaching from books, the average
graduate drops it ali, and begins the
serious work of gaining money, or
fame, or Office. The student is left as
an undergraduate to do us be pIeases
aud is taught to act in after-life upon
the same principle, operating in and
with the elaborate machinery by which
modern commercialitm works.
The long apprenticeship to learning
has not of necessity given the young
man an improved body. more skilled
faculties. better habits of living. more
self control, a knowledge of the duties
of citizenship, high respect for the
rights OF others, refined moral percep-
tion, a knowledge of his own physical
constitution and its care, or of the du-
ties and responsibilities of parent
1t has of persistent purpose in no way
trained him to any unselfish devotion
to the interests of the State or of So
ciety. Ii be has acquired any of these
qualities or virtues it was because he
chose to do so by reason of special in
terest or personal qualities. Strange
i5 is that, altho under training for
years and years of his impressionable
youth. he should reach the fullness of
manhood and citizenship without dis
cipline of body, without trained respect |
for law, without knowledge of his So
cial obligations to his neighbor or of |
the greater history of man in the strug |
gle of the masses for light and life and |
fair share in the bounty of Gods
Providence In majority of cases
he has not even acquired what culture
processes to give him-disciplined pow
ers of thought.
The military school trains for char
ac,er and for the State. 1t systema-
tically develops the body and it trains
the mind along consistent line for
che double purpose of clear thinking
and effective practical work. 1t trains
the character to discipline of action;
b ablts Of subOrdination to lawful au-
1ority; strict personal accountability
for word and act; truth telling; iutegri-
ty and fidelity to trust; simplicity of
life; courage
1t requires the surrender of life and
Dsrsonal interest to the service of the
State without hesitation and without
)ther reward than the satisfaction of
1utY accomplished. 1t demands the
of luxury and of the pur-
'lit of wealth; and it places the ser
ga f,f N fhnp hnr = rt1o s,E. Al
as the ideal of life. 1t is, therefore,,
school of character, and
n its genius this function is supreme,
'or in character lies the highest poten
,iality of accomplishment in the mill
iary as in every walk of life.
West Points motive force Is coercive,
here is an irresistible Must" max.
ng for professional righteousness be-
lind every act of a:cadct g career which
Turing four years of the most impress
,ionable period of bis life. is in count
ess different ways leaving a forma-
i've impression upon his character de
velOpment. To-day Higher Education |
eems as rule to concern itself no
Whit about anything but intellectual
development or its technical applica-
ions, and its processes are mainly for
allure or gain. Whatever Influence
8 exerted upon moral, social. disciplin-
ry, or physical development is Incl
lental, sporadic, and feeble Charac-
IL
er is the essential meaning, in the last
nalysis. of every attempt l have seen
o define education; and yet the prac-
ical mechanl sm by which education
operates appears to me an ex-
eedingly poor devlc to secure It's de-
'elopment in it's highest conception.
The military school. as typified by
Vest Point, addresses itself distinctly
md systematically and pre- eminently
10 the vital principle of them all-tbe
moulding of character.
What West Point does for it's cadets
8 precisely this: 1t takes it's youth at
he critical period of growth 1t isolates
hem completely for nearly four years
rom the atmosphere of commercial
sm; it provides absorbing employment
or both mental and physical activities;
t Surrounds them with exacting re.
possibilities. high standards, and un
traditions of honor and
integrity; and it demands q rigid &C
for every moment of their
time and every voluntary action 1t
offers them the inducement of an hon
Orable career and sufficie ient competence
as a re ward of success; and il has i'm
perative authority for the endorsements
of it's conditions and restraints.