The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-07-21
THE PLACE ANO POWER
OF COLLEGE EDUCATION

Continued From FIRST Page)
only the capable need hope for a
permanent place Ia goth century In
dustrialisrn. am persuaded that
the reason that we have 80 little eff
cheney In spite OF our clamor for the
pursuit OF 1t. is that we put the en-
phasis in the wrong place
Practical and Efficient.
The tendency to be practical aud
the tendency 10 be efficient comes
very close to each other just here.
In hiS endeavor to he efficient the fu-
ture leftover eliminates from his
life repara ton every element except
the practical He Is without syInpa-
thy with anything except his narrow
line OF work and ines pabie Of adapt
ing himself 70 any other kind Of In
dustry when the crisis comes,
whether In the form OF changing In
dustriai conditions or OF advancing
ears, he fails and great is The fat
of him We need efficiency and must
have. H. We need efficient men and
must have them, but We must remem-
her that the most efficient man is
the broad no narrow man, the man
of sympathy 10y disposition and men
tai outlook ana SO the man II adap-
that aims ut practical efficiency only
narroWs and prejuGices men and dis
qualities them for filling the largest
sphere in life Of which they are cap
able The educ alton that VIII Yield
the largest results III practically and
efficiency is that which lays broad
foundation. touches life In ali its
phases. thought III all its branches,
and eieetrifies by tho thrill OF sym
pathetic communion win the best
that has been said and done in AL
agr-
But the new education has spert
It's roree most largely in insisting upon
specialization and the elective system.
sppctHz.,tios Is all right u It's place
Hrt necessary. f1e ttrk-at-all trad''s
Us good for none II Is equally true
tha4 h. who does only one thing cam
not do 81 as well AZ he who can do
.'Her taiBE% also ,C4diIIatIon can
begin too early and be carried too
lt. 10 Sield ths i0. lctuurs even
n material things. In matters Of edi-
cation and life prep aratiou this is even
more true The educational Ideal 0f
the Creeks was Know myself. Tho
educational ideal today is. Know thy
job one looks to life, the other 10
making Il living The advocates OF The
NiioN- Niit ~I''i' f"NNt'ti''' a. ? ~ "a
that the KNOW thySeIf type was i1kt
"reAtH'rE lh 80 Nl'Io, am ihcI'utd
to jhlpk tiat the new t. pc Is TX
breathing In a Whirlwind. in neither
case would the respiratory organs be
In normal condition. | would muCh
prefer to either kind, the type ~
education summed up In the homcl$
adage, Know something about every
thing and everything about some one
thing This type Of education would
provide for special cation. know
everything -about-some- thing, and
also equip for life. sympathetic, broad
IRE, X II o w-something- about-eEely-
thing, The narrow specialist ls a one
eyed man. He lacks sympathy and
breadth He is deep, but hts banks
are SO close to each other that only
specially designed vessels can ply the
stream OF his life What he needs
Is broadening. then the depths he al-
ready has can furnish anchorage for
all the ships that ply the seas. Which
do you Hampton Roads or the
Nansemond9
Elective system Does Harm.
do not think we viii ever return
10 the curriculum days Of our early
educational practice. but | do think
the elective system as now obtain
ing in this country Is doing harm to a
great many innocent people, the blood
Of whose failure in life will be charge
able to us who do know and should
lead In this matter. The modern
elective sstem makes it hard for the
man who is really anxious to develop
mental stamina and easy for the fell
lg,t. nh, Haatras 70 through on