Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-13

viewing past conditions in China and
characterizing the celestial empire as "a
standing monument on a large scale of
the arrested development of great race
whose intellectual activities were aoso-
iutely self-centered,' he said the greatest
opportunities of the age for christianizing
that great country are just opening
board OF education has been formed,
now presided over by one of the greatest
and most progressive mandarins. a former
viceroy, Chang Chihtung. A complete
system of schools is being organized. be-
ginning with the primary and extending
through the various grades to the pro-
vlnclal colleges. and eliminating with the
imperial University in Peking
System of Reform.
The Chinese government has surely
launched on complete system of re-
form, and 1t is the supreme duty of the
Chr1stian world to seize the opportunity
to make religious teaching felt i'm the
education of the scholars and leaders of
the new China. Christian institutions of
collegiate and university grades have
grown by the natural process of evolu-
tlon from the primary and higher schools
which have been part of missionary
work from the beginning. The Picking
University Is favorably located i'm the
capital of the empire on a campus of over
eighteen acres. Three substantial brick
buildings have been erected The Union
Medical College has a faculty of ten 2ro-
lessons, thirteen lecturers and an exam
ming board of six other physicians BY
an imperial decree it has authority to
confer degrees on its graduates
The college of liberal arts has far
uity OF eight Americans and fifteen Chi
nese. The total enrolment in all de-
partmehtS last year was JOB The col
lege of theology is only partially organ
lied. and colleges OF dentistry. engineerinp
and teachers college are included in
the scheme of the university. and will
oe opened as soon as the necessary funds
can be provided.
The solution of the problems of re-
l1gious education in China, assuming. of
course, the positive Christian character
OF the institutions. is to provide for the
adequate endowment of the Christian COL
leges already existing, or to be estah
hsiied IN the eighteen provinces
Moral instruction.
Prof. George E. Myers, principal of the
Mckinley Manual Training School of
Washington. spoke before the second ses-
sion of the departments of elementary
schools and secondary schools on the
topic of moral instruction as followed
in the public schools of France In part
he said:
France has made a more serious con-
scious effort than any other great nation
to develop character through her schools
The means chosen for this purpose is di-
rect moral instruction on a secular basis
and the result has been that moral in
struction is truly part of the regular
school work as reading or arithmetic.
The teacher is given carefully outlined
course of study. or official program and
his pupils are, in general, provided with
text books prepared according to this Of
fetal program. 1t should be noted. how
ever that 1t is an outline of moral duties
rather than a course of study suited to
children CT public school age. Whether
the thing to be taught is related to the
life of the child is of little consequence
SO long as it is likely to be important to
the man.
The text books on morals, for the most
part, follow the official program very
closely, but altogether they are an un-
satisfactory lot. The instruction is, for
the most part, formal and lacking fin
earnestness. One American professor of
education, after a recent careful inspec-
ton of French primary schools. charac-
terized their moral instruction as 'abso-
lutely wooden. The results, so far as
they can be estimated. appear insgnifi-
cant when compared with the magnitude
OF machinery and effort which produce
Ghem.''