The Washington herald., 1908-06-08
WHEN AMERICA is GROWN
EDUCATION
By FREDERIC j. HASKN
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.
EDUCATION.

They were good schools. too. and in them
the sons OF the well-to-dO were taught
much English, a little more Of Latin. and
| some Greek. The classics were nor onlv
revered, but worshiped and in the sue
ceeding generation a public speaker who
could not quote from the Latin and Greek
/ poets might as well not open his mouth.
But the school was not popular, for the
majority OF the boys and nearly all the
girls in the neighborhOod never saw its
interior.
It was followed by the "deestrick''
school, the little red house of dialect
poetry. Here the children Of the poverty
stricken and struggling were gathered in,
as well as those OF the well-to-do The
three RS were taught, the dead Ian
guages were quite forgotten, the teachers
were more democratic, but not nearly so
Wen equipped as their predecessors Of the
'old field and tte influence for good was
greatly extended.
Now the little red schoolhouse Is mass
ing away. The towns and cities have long
enjoyed the privileges Of sending their
children TO graded public schools The
majority Of Americans 1--we in the conn
Try. In no less than thirty States the ru-
raj central graded school gives the rural
boy the same advantage possessed by his
urban cousin. More than a hundred thou
sand school children are each dav being
taken TO and from school in a public con-
veyance at public cost
The central graded school OF the rural
districts Is keeping pace with its city
counterpart and with the progress OF e6u-
cation in general in that It Is endeavoring
to be as practical as possible. Already
there are rural high schools which turn
out boys and girls prepared for college. as
well as eq'lpping them for practical life
by giving them instructions in business
methods, stenography. and typewriting.
Latin is coming back into the rural
i schools after an absence OF some sixty
or seventy years. but II is not taking its
old position or transcendent Importance
and it never will The emphasis now fs
based on practical mathematics, hygiene.
and athletics. Instead OF educating the
mind alone, the modern public school en-
deavors TO train the hands and strengthen
the body.
The teaching Of hygiene in the public
schools Is already having a tremendous
influence. and in the next ninety years II
will have worked a transformation OF the
habits Of everyday life in this country.
Alcohol is already feeling the blows being
dealt by girl teachers all over the coun-
try. Children are being taught the ure-
else effect upon the body Of the continu-
Gus use Of alcoholic stimulants. and II IS
drilled into them that that effect is wholly
bad
The schools likewise teach that much
harm may come from overheating. This
VIII have its weight In cOunteracting the
American tendency toward gormandiz-
Ing The American people eat nearly four
times as much per capita as the people
Of the rest of the world. We eat eight
times as much meat as the other nations.
and each one OF us eats twice as much
sugar now as our fathers did in 1890. The
cooking schools and the school hygien-
|. lists will help TO stop this tendency.
Children VIII be taught In the kinder
garten that certain laws Of nature must
be Obeyed IL disease and death are 10 be
avoided The daily bath viii become an
absolute essential because the law Will
force every child TO 60 TO school. and the
school will not let an unbathed child come
in. The schools will teach the people that
dirt and disease are twins: the people
will become educated and they VIII be as
clean as possible. Diseases that now
scourge the country will be made practi-
cally harmless, and the span Of life Will
be greatly increased.
} Public schools advanced along such
lines viii lay excellent foundations for
} the higher educational institutions. There
! VIII be many great universities and col
/ leges IA the United States ninety years
, from now. but the glory Of the nation
) will be its technical schools Every COL
iege man viii take a postgraduate course
In technics. Special training will not be
confined 20 lawyers. doctors preachers.
, and nwufnan-c 20,
slider himself qualified to take his fathers
) plow handles until after a course in a
technical institute. No boy viii leaJe
J school without special knowledge Of how
, to do some one thing well enough TO make
! his living at it. No girl will leave school
, without a knowledge Of the science and
( art Of cooking and the craft OF house
9 keeping
! The nation will advance toward a pa
, ternalism IN educational matters Of which
! II does not dream these days. The states
i men Of the future viii recognize the fact
that industrial education Is necessary. and
! that the more widely distributed the op-
: portunities for acquiring II the better for
, the nation Haphazard ways Of doing
. things VIII be abandoned. Already the
, civil service is becoming exacting in its
t demands; already the technically trained
E man is outstripping the academically cul-
tured man. This progress will go on.
: There will never be a time when a man
z whose mind is well trained IN the beau
ties Of the classics win not have an INTEL
r lectua1 advantage. But IN the competi-
ton Of the future he must also train his
! hands to do some useful task or the world
: will neglect to note his existence.
1t hasn't been long since It was believed
- that education was not only unnecessary.
but positively harmful for a farmer Now
, the country Is beginning to awake to the
t fact that the good farmer must be a high
. ly educated man. The college farmers
: who were sneered at by the 'rb'gosh''
e brigade a few years ago have proved
$ their superiority by acquiring the lands
! ! OF the scOrners. Ninety years from now a
nOncOllege farmer viii be as rare as a
nonconege physician to-day
Ten boys are I'm technical schools to-day
2 where there was one twenty years ago.
] Ten girls are in domestic science schools
: to-day where there was one twenty years
\ ago. This proportion is being increased
rapidly, and the next generation will. ex-
$ pect every child in the country to be
b trained from the kindergarten up. The
e high school graduates OF a generation
hence will be required 10 furnish other
! proof Of their fitness for a diploma than
e the mere passing Of written examina-
a ton The boys must present a concrete
' exhibition Of skilled handiwork. The girls
E must be dressed in a gown OF her own
: making
When the United STAKES reaches It's es-
oF f7rff- ,-,f,r, r,r,d nd