Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-06-13
5 BATTLE or STANDARDS.

June contains an editorial article on
"thc impending educational reyolu-
ton" which admits that 1T is useless
longer to ignore the fact that all pres
ent signs point 10 an approaching rev
olu,ion In education"
The article il strong and clear pro-
test against the requirement that the
schools shall prepare pupils to make
a llving-a course In which. It Is said,
culture, in any broad and liberal sense.
Will Ue eliminated altogether and char
after building itself viii be second
arg consideration
Now, II this position be correct, the
Impending educational revolution Is
enc that will not improve human So
ciety. hut viii plume It downaard.
for our human society. II without
character and without q broad and
liberal culture would not be nbis %
keep the world up 10 even It's present
level OF attainment; but Is the position
taken by the S'ucie a correct view OF
the necessarr ~ probable effects of
the impending revolution in oducafion7
The article remarks that he strug-
gle for reouniary success has become
30 lnt,nsc that the schools are to be
required to serve that end and that
alone Again we say that, II such is
the fact the new education Is
fraught with the gravest conse-
quences; but is It fact that the cul-
ture character building, and knowI-
edge impaired by school courses must
be abolished.or even lessened BY teach
ing the pupils more OF that which is
termed practical and less OF those
things termed theoretical?" The argu-
mert against the present trend to-
wards the practical is thus stated;
THE accomplishment of this result
Will mean the absolute subordination
of education TO the demands OF or
ganized Industry, for boy can be
trained successfully 10 make a living,
only when the position IN which he
Is TO make IL Is subordinate one.
Specialized education does not create
Initiative; II destroys It. You can
train machinist, but not an inventor;
hank clerk. but not great hnancier,
a politician, or a civil service man,
but not statesman, by the method
proposed The best product OF Ameri-
can civillzation-ir not. indeed. the best
of all Observation-Disclosures initiative
lis TO be sacrificed I'm order to prop an
already decaying Industrial system
Nothing could be more fatal Our
highly centralized industrialism Is as
certainly doomed as was slavery in the
early part Of the last century. The
schools cannot save IL by directly serV-
ing Il or otherwise. The true indus
trial function of education is first OF all
TO preserve In every way possible that
individual initiative that has been the
greatest force In the production OF
all that sustains individual and social
1ifQ-fhp 10 Hrqafiya
longing TO humanity With this Il IL
OF comparatively little moment II in
stitutions crumble and fall, They are
In their nature transitory. Any and
every institution should disappear
after IL has served its purpose. leaving
the ground clear for the creation OF
others suitable TO other purposes"
Now. oddly enough, as It may APP
pear to some. we agree with every
word OF the thoughtful argument Just
quoted. without agreeing at all with
the conclusion reached-that the I'm
pending revolution in education viii
have the effect OF destroying initiative,
Of reducing culture, or of neglecting
the formation OF character.
The weakness OF this really strong
presentation lies just here: IT assumes
that initiative wifi be destroyed by the
application OF the new methods. yet
this is precisely the point at issue. II
the writer OF the argument quoted
above can prove that the revolution
will produce the effects which he
charges will follow its application he
will have made his point. for no one
whose opinion Is worth considering
would consent to the lowering OF the
mentality and character Of the oncom-
Ing generation for the mere sake Of en-
abling II TO make Its living more easily.
THE life is more than meat" the
man is OF more value than the dollar.
But the new education" OF which
NC have heard proposes TO increase.
not TO diminish, individual Initiative;
to improve, not TO deteriorate, the
mental quality and attachments OF
pupils: to up-build character, and not
TO weaken II. The great question is as
to the actual tendency and results that
viii be produced by the new methods:
and we cannot think that these are
correctly assumed by the argument
noted above.
On another page Of the same paper
occurs the editorial statement that Gull
turc once meant the language, litera-
;ure. and art OF classic peoples. es-
pccially those of the past, while more
ecently e has come 10 include the
rtudy OF politics; but that making the
dea Of culture broad enough 10 in
,lude life In its Wilderness and as we
i've II today, Is the especial departure
aimed at by the new education" Then
follows a description of the application
" this principle In the work OF the
raining school OF the state Normal
,chool AT tho University Of Utah. There
he school is life. as nearly as II is pos
lible TO make it so;
''The home the farm. the work shop.
he public mart, the local community
ihcse primarily supply the basic ex-
periences Cor instruction, These are
reproduced and dramatized by the pu-
ills. who constitute a miniature COM
nunity. in which all tho various activl-
hes that make mp the life OF the larger
Immunity are carried on. The pupils
plant, cultivate. harvest. cook sow,
pin, weave. buy and SELL write let
ers and print a newspaper: draw.
Eaint. and mould in clay; work IN wood
Ind metal; and engage in various ac-
bvitics too numerous TO mention in de-
nil The Interest shown. the skill de-
reloped, and the artistic tnste dtsplaye-d