The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-09-15
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WHERE THERE'S A WILL.
THERE'S A WAY,

Pembina Pioneer Express: The sail
or boy ecomes an able seaman or
an A. B." when he has learned shcw
to reef, hand and steer" The scholar
in Il public schools after gradUat43
ing and taking a college course, be-
comes an "a. B." or %. A" without,
learning to steer"
At the very beginning Of his scholas-
TIC career, and every hour IF the dav
almost for all the rest Of his study
time, he hears the adiuration OF bis
teacher to study" you must stUdy
TO learn is his first lesson, and is his
last lesson. It is as If the LITTLE hoy
should be placed in a sail boat and told
TO steer in a certain direction, while
the boy doesn't even know the bCat
has a rudder and helm or what their
uses.
Nine people out Of ten practically
grope their way through the world,
They are guided almost entirely by the
Ire1ns or circumstances and environ
ments. They don't know what it is
TO make up their minds" If their
minds are made up at all it is done
by somebody else, or something else,
for them.
AS to taking hold OF the helm Of their
own personalities most Of them scarce
~ realize that they have such a thing.
The child who goes through the
school and the man who goes through
the world are just alike in this matter.
S~elf-control, which should be the
greatest Of sciences is not heard Of in
the common school or the college cur
riculum and the school graduate is
launched upon the world as an able,
bodied seaman, but one who does not
know how to steer. himself,
Study means but the control and COM.
lcentration of the powers of the mind
ana the senses Of the body on one sub
IjeCt.
TO tell a child in the primary room to,
study is to hin very much like telling
MN to fly. In fact he knows more
ABOUT tylng than he does about study
lng' BY and by he gets some idea of.
what the teacher means and by intui7
tlon and imitation he finally gets the
power OF more or less concentration Of
MIND. Through all the school life he,
does this, and when he goes out into
the world he still does it. @n
To some degree. according to his
natural instincts and powers, he finally
learns that he can steer himself to
some extent, but he does it instinctive-
ly rather than from reason. :
AS We have said, he has passed
through his educational period with
out definitely knowing himself.
How few persons are able, how few
persons so control their w thoughts--
N'" VAC 'ilS iCdi ulll eICIcD De-.
tween a sane and insane person is the
ability to control thought.
Thought controls action. but in most
leases persons allow circumstances to
control thought. .r..
The human will is the most neglected.
part of our complex composition, and
yet 1t is the guide, it is the balances
wheel, it is the rudder of our whole,
mental and moral makeup and.
through these, Of our physical make-up.
Before the child can study he must
have the will to do it, before the man
can act he must have the will to act.
Where there is a will there is a way''
is an old prOverb, but it's deeper mean
ing is rarely thought Of-Without the
use of the will there is no way, or at
least any way is the way.
We are teaching, nowadays. the chill
dren in our public schools how to make
bread, how to saw off a board, and
many other things like that; how would
it do to teach some real manual train
ing Of their w minds-how to make
up their own mind" "
Psychology is a long, hard word.
enough to scare most people into going
IarOund it at a safe distance, but after
all it just means the study Of ones own.
brains-and we think most people
would have been better off if they had
learned a little about brains when hey
went to school.