The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-09-25
On Practical Education

was exercised in those things that are
of prime importance-in industry, &C.
curacy, discrimination, appreciation OF
the aesthetic, and many other quail
ties Of the like sort. The men those
schools turned out and the service
they did are a r%efutation of the charge
that they did not educate for life. We
may condemn the old method, but the
new materialistic idea, which we are
told should be at the bottom of educa-
ton, has been tried In some places
for a considerable time, yet it has
not proved it's right to supplant the
old. The immense sums that have
been spent on many forms Of indus
trial education, have not been from
a practical standpoint, productive Of
too great returns. In fostering ideal
ism, surely, they cannot be called a
highly successful investment. Put
ting It on the ground of the first, We
must remind our friends, the advo-
Gates Of early technical training. that
Darwin and Pasteur, Lord Kelvin and
Berthelot came out Of classical COL
leges. We are willing for the new
practical education to produce their
equal on its own ground; to say moth
ing Of broad sympathies and intellect
ual resources these scientists had on
account OF their early liberal educa-
ton.
To teach the finer things is the great
task, the fundamental duty, the most
delicate and far reaching business
connected with the educational sys-
tenn. Nothing Ia so pressing and the
teacher should consider these alone
as worthy of his supreme concern.
The material side Of the world is go
ing to 60 On all right, il the other
things are right. The great majority
Of boys will engage in occupations
where, If intelligence and other desir-
able qualities are brought to the work,
the technical side can be mastered in
a remarkable short time. The idea
that long technical training is neces-
sary to do most of the things Of life
with the greatest efficiency has been
exploded.
What was on my mind when | be-
! gan to write this letter was to say
something about the effort that Is
being made to introduce agriculture
into the country schools. Perhaps |
have not wandered too far ahead in
speaking in general terms, and now
we shall come nor directly to the
point.
If to introduce agriculture into the
country school means that all boys
are to spend time in its study (0. the
suggestion Is most remarkable to
come from practical men," Is the
boy going to remain on the farm be-
cause he was born there? Can be be
made to stay By giving him agrcu'-
ture In the schools? In an old coun-
try like France where a child Is all
but born into the occupation Of the
parents and imbibes 1t with the moth
er's milk, such an education has not
prevented a large proportion OF the
| boys from leaving the farm. Can we
hope it will do so In America, where
lines between different occupations
are not so tightly drawn as they are
in Europe? A writer in a recent num-
Der OF a French magazine. in discus
sing this fact, advocates teaching the
country youth scarcely anything but
what relates directly to farming. and
expresses the opinion that such an
| education will put an end to the
trouble. We want men on the farm,
| but when we try to accomplish the re-
suit by catching the youth oil tender