Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-03-08
Booker I. WASHINGTON
on BEING SIMPLE
TusKEoEE EDUCATORS ADVICE
70 PUPILS or HIS SCHOOL.


among ali people, everywhere. Is TO
help the individual get rid OF all forms
OF exaggeration--of everything that
indicates superficiality or misrepre-
sentation.
A great many Of you when you first
come here are greatly disappointed
because you do not get into the
classes you think you the entitled TO
get into. This means that here. as in
every good school, We are trying 20
get you to the point where you Will
know what you know well. II is true
in some of the colorS1 schools, not 80
much now as a number Of years ago,
in regard to studies, that there Is
great del Of Misrepresentation.
great deal that indicates superficiality.
The time has come when We want
to get rid of everything that misrep-
resents; everything In the way Of
studies that does not indicate the ex-
act truth. There are a great many
students who think they are getting
education, who think they are getting
on in the world If they have In their
hand large number of textbooks.
with large names attached to them
That Is all right II you understand
what 10 in the textbooks-if you have
reached the point where you can thor
oughly master that which you go over,
but 1t Is many times better for you to
have a simple textbook in your hand.
to be In low class and understand
thoroughly everything that you go
over than II Is for you, merely for the
sake Of having the name Of studying
this or that, to have large number
of textbooks in your hand, studying
a number of subjects which you do
not. understand. which you are not
able to make a part Of yourself.
am glad to say that in the matter
of the names Of schoCls there is not
as much Misrepresentation at the
present time IS there was in former
years. Still there 10 too much mis-
representation. You know, and most
Of US know, that throughout the south
there are institutions which pass I'M
der the names of universities, of col
leges. that are not In real, downright.
honest fact, worthy Ut being called
high schools. Some Of them would
scarcely pass for first-class grammar
schools. and the pity Of 1t all is in
the fact that students in these So
called universities, these so-called col.
leges, are deceived. They think they
are getting college education, think
they are getting university educa-
ton, when really they are not getting
a first-class grammar school education,
not getting first-class high-school
education.
The time has come when every
where We want to get rid Of all this
sham, all this Misrepresentation. II a
school has curriculum that entities
it to do grammar-school work, 1t ought
to be called simple grammar school.
II 1t has a curriculum that entities it
to do high-school work, It ought to be
called high school. and once and for
all, We ought to get rid of all this ex-
aggeration. II school is doing col
lege work, If 1t is doing university
work, it has right to be called by
such names, but 1t is misrepresenta
ton to the students and to the public
to go on calling these institutions by
the names of colleges and universities
when they are not doing that kind of
work
Then there are not few young men
and women who think the way to ex-
hibit their education is by the use Of
dictionary and look up some long word
when they want to write letter, when
they want to write a composition.
When they 60 in public to speak they
spend hours and hours searching
through the dictionary in order to find
word that nobody understands but
themselves, and they pass that of as
signifying education. Once and for all,
we want to get rid of all such misrep-
resentation and remerber that the
person with the highest degree Of ed
ucation, the greatest culture, Is the
person who uses simple words that
everybody in the community can un-
derstand. words that everybody in
the audience can understand, II they
happen to be speaking to an audi
enoe. The person who has culture
will In private association, in public
speaking, In writing letters, or writing
anything for the public, use simple
words, simple terms that anybody can
understand.
l repeat, the way to indicate that
you have education is not by the use
Of long words, complicated, involved
sentences, but by the use of simple
words, short sentences. One of the
things that indicates that a person
has not education, that he has merely
smattering Of 1t, Is to hear such per.
son go out Of his way when speaking
In company or to an audience, in order
to use some long word. You can al.
ways be very sure that such a person
is lacking in genuine education.
Students who go out from this insti.
tuition may also exert their influence
in helping our people to get rid of the
habit Of having so many titles. so
many meaningless and worthless de.
grees. You can scarcely meet in the
street, or anywhere else, a minister
unless he Is called a doctor of divinity
Some of them can scarcely read or
write, some Of them cannot real or
write a simple English sentence, yet
they parade themselves about as doc.
tors of divinity. Worse than that
some Of them call themselves doctors
of law. We want everywhere to exert
our influence to get rid Of all that
sham. In fact, the best title by which