The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-28
CULTURAL STUDIES
BEST FOR TRAINING
Active Mental Growth Should Be
Encouraged in
Youth.
MEANS BEST FOUNDATION
Later Young Student Can Begin
to Specialize for Pro
fession.
MEANS BEST FOUNDATION
by j. G. HoRNER,

by j. G. HORNER,
of Horner Military school, Oxford, n. @,
As the body, when In health. hungers
for food, so the healthy mind reaches
out for knowledge. AS you have seen
big eaters starved and weak because
their food was undigested, so you have
seen boys who were great readers.
reading ali the time. in school ana
out OF school. and yet they were un-
informed and ignorant. Their minos
starved and weakened from day 10
day and year TO year because
they were undisciplined and not
supplied with the necessary food 70
produce mental growth.
When the muscles are we'll trained,
even violent exercise Is taken with
pleasure. and work may be engaged
in with such pleasure as TO convert
daily toll into recreation. So study
and all mental effort may be entered
into with enthusiasm and pleasure. II
the mind Is well trained. Histories
and biograph the sciences and the
arts. travels and exploration. rather
than stories and trash. furnish whole
some and relished food for the edu-
Gated mind.
During the period OF active mental
growth, the mind should not be over
loaded with unitarian knowledge, but
trained and developed upon the most
select cultural studies. Not sooner
than in the second or third year in
college should these cultural studies
be pu, aside and the boy begin TO
specialize for his profession or call
ing. You rarely see scientific spec
talist who is not cultured scholar
Every promising bright BOY should
be educated before he is trained for
any special work He VIII then be
ready 10 graphic any proposition.
whether professional. commercial or
scientific farming. he Will be pre-
pared to be leader in his county,
state or nation. Give him the right
,tart. with the best curriculum In
the best school, and he will continue
to climb the ladder OF success, II
character and maniiness have been
developed along with the education.
1t is no, the boy with nothing but
book learning who succeeds. The
fellow who loves books only. may lead
his class in college, but he Will never
be leader OF men. If you have
bright, manly boy. that you can't con-
troll and keep at his books. you may
expect great things OF him. II you
give him tho best opportunity for
school. where discipline. and study.
and exercise. and self-control. and
moral training are conducted on scien-
t,fic principles before his youthful
thirst for knowledge Is wanted
In general. whether the meat or
the vegetable diet Is best for man,
is a question for scientific discussion
and not for Individual opinion Like
wise the question whether the farmer
boy" should study Latin or agriculture
and other ultilitarian subjects is not
one for Individual assertions pro and
con The expert scientific sratiscians
in Germany and elsewhere state that
tho boys OF classical training show
stronger mental development than
those trained In the sciences.
With an experience OF thirty-five
years OF daily work In the class room
with boys OF every kind in character.
ability and industry. must not ne
elect to add one other point In favor
of Latin. Here the teacher can give
capabtlity II his boys. he can judge
with great accuracy what the industry
of each has been. Just as the ex-
perienced farmer can inspect the work
OF his boys with hoes and note which
was painstaking and which were care
less But put those boys on riding
cultivators and the ability to judge
their work will be more difficult
Only boys of the necessary ability
can master the lessons IN geometry.
But In Latin every boy capable OF
learning at all can keep up with his
class, The brighter boys of the
greatest industry will nevertheless
find ample food for hungry minds,