The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-06-12
Normal Class of 1908
~ Receive Their Diplomas
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR HERBERT
L. WILLETT OF CHICAGO.
State Superintendent John W. Olsen Talks the Students Ao the
Evening" Program Made Doubly Interesting By Several
Nice Musical Selections
From Fridays Daily.

The thirty ninth commencement ex-
ercises of the state normal school were
held last evening in the normal hall
and were highly impressive, and sue
cessful to a degree. Never was a more
interesting and Instructive program pre-
sented. Every seat was filled before
eight o'clock and large number OF
people stood during the exercises
Crowds went away for lack of even
standing room.
The setting of the rostrom was very
pretty. Large boughs covered with
green leaves formed cool and attrac.
tive appearing background for the rows
of pretty white dresses, and some
palms and other plants were banked in
front of the center of the rostrom.
1t was an interesting sight to see
the lob young graduates march in and
take the allotted seats upon the ros-
from, in several rows. In the solid
ranks of girls was here and There a
young man. The faculty occupied Che
west end of the rostrom, and the G,ee
clubs the east end.
The program was opened with an
Invocation by Rev. B. V. Black. He
was followed by a violin solo, "Cava-
tina" by Raft, rendered by a real
artist with the bow, Miss Rose Schaett-
gen of Hamline, accompanied by Miss
Dora Schaettgen. This was indeed a
treat.
The girls glee club, with violin obi
cato to Miss Schaettgen, and accom-
panied by Miss Idah Grey, rendered
the selection, 'Tne Springtide," by
Cow, most effectively, showing much
careful work of preparation.
"Some Educational Ideals.
The address of the evening was given
by Professor Herbert L. Will
lett of the University of Chicago, his
subject being ''Some Education Ideals"
He is an easy, polished speaker, schol-
arly and possessed of advanced ideas
along educational lines. Referring to the
plague of mosquitoes that filled the
room and kept fans and hands busy
fighting them off, he said that he
never saw such devotion to education
by this insect.
Dr. Willett described the scene as the
Argo was about to set out to find the
golden fleece, filled with the most
noted men of all'>Greece, and said that
ne never saw company like this one
gathered together but that the thought
came that it was to complete that
great guest of the ancients. There
was nothing in the world higher than
education except religion, and fewer
people are engaged in spreading the
latter.
The speaker subdivided MS theme in
to the subheads life light, law, liberty,
and love. Life, he said, was that
passion that arises in the soul of
every young person. 1t is self and the
effort to realize all that is within
SELF The student seeks life, first
of all. The physical life is the most
important, for it means the welfare
of the physical frame, which formerly
was not considered by scholars, states
men and saints worth taxing care Of,
These people tried to do away with
their bodies are quickly as possible.
Now people are realizing that the
body is the beginning, and that it
ought to be properly developed.
The relation that life bears to in
tellectual development was shown, and
the Importance of athletics re-
ferred to. Athletics were not
confined to football, which divides fam
lilies, although more people are, Kill
led by dying on their beds than on
the football field. Athletics make a
higher moral among students, does
away with practices of one class
picking onto another, and does away
with smoking cigarettes, eating""and
drinking vile things, and practicing
things detrimental to health.
Learn a Trade.
More and more interest is being
shown in manual training and domestic
science because. it is necessary That
the students understand some kind of
handicraft. The Jewish people taught
this in Palestine and it ought to be-
come more and more the policy for
the boy to learn some handicraft, be-
cause the time may come when he will
have to depend upon it for living.
and it always gives a feeling of in
dependence, in any event. Learning
a trade also brings the boy in touch
with the great army of labor and the
sense of brotherhood in this social
complex is immensely interesting and
valuable.
Life signifies certain social some
thing; the classroom brings social con-
tact that is highly valuable. Coedu-
cation was formerly considered dan
gerous thing, because it was thought
to be liable to be all &C.," and no edu-
cation. Friendship is the greatest of
all secrets of success, and is the most
beautiful elepent that enters into edu-
cation, and is itself an inspiration.
The training that study of the sci
ences brings is needed to develop pre-
cision, as there is too great ten
|dency to eXaggeration. Education gives
to the student all of the facts that
have been learned in--the past; it
opens to him literature, history, a
taste for the arts, and everything good
in the mental field.
The student teacher needs to be
something of an artist. The public
school teacher knows art because she
knows that the little child is an ar
fist. The child teaches us to get CO.
pies of the great masters in our
houses.
The student knows that what he
knows is infinitesimal when compared
with what he does not know. Edu-
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