The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-12-02
Who Is the Educated Man.


Education is preparation for life. And since
life is very largely a matter of relationships the
term may be defined THAT discipline and
knowledge which best equips one to fulfill his
functions in the various relationships of life"
Of these relationships at least four are funda
mental and all important.
First, a man lives in relationship with him
self. He might go out into the deserts of inter-
stellar space but he couldn't leave himself be-
hind One has to stay in the company with ones
self forever. And education which doesn't
make interesting and helpful companion
to ones self is to that extent failure.
1t is this initial relationship which justifies
those studies and avocations that otherwise
seem waste Of time; music, painting, reading
for its own sake, nature study, fads, hobbies,
etc. Because these pursuits make one interest
ing to ones self they essential to any
culture.
How badly we need training for this purpose
is revealed by the number who Immediately are
bored the moment they are left to themselves.
They must read or talk or be busy about some
thing else they cannot endure it. He knew not
what to do and so he swore,' says of Byron's
characters he knew not what to do and SO he did
anything, anything to avoid calmly facing his
being, might be written of an increasing
LHulClLuue "A Truly great ana educated Indn is
one who finds himself good company.
Education must also equip person to fulfill
the relationship that he sustans to the family.
The girl should be taught to be bread maker,
while the boy should be trained to become
bread winner.
If girl is able to read Latin, Greek and
French, can play the piano beautifully, make
delicate fancy work and entertain royalty, yet
cation is deficient. To that extent she is not an
educated woman. Since only one of every fiji
teen women can ever afford to employ help it is
nothing short of calamity to turn girls loose
from school who know how to do everything ex-
cept the thing she will be most called upon to
do-keep house in order.
And ditto the young man. If he can't earn a
living and support family he is ignorant though
he may be as erudite as Humboldt. Nothing is
more disgraceful in our present school system
than that so many college graduates are turned
loose unable to hold down any job more import
ant than haberdashers assistant.
Education, as the Irish locomotive engineer
said to VIM. Hawley Smith, is being on to ones
job" How many graduates ore on to their
jobs?
In the third place, education must prepare
one to fulfill his function member of So
ciety. We suffer, as Josiah Strong has said, from
the bad citizenship of good men. The average
man can't tell why he votes the ticket he does
can't explain the timplest facts about govern
ment, doesn't know the elementary principles of
civics and practical politics. One thing that has
thus far made failure of democracy is the
ignorance of men about political and economic
matters.
And the ignorance of women is as bad
Whether women ever will vote, whether they
ever ought to vote, may be denied or affirmed
but that women should no longer remain ignor-
ant of the simple fundamentals of human So
ciety, politics and the larger matters of the ma
ton nobody for moment call in question
She cannot remain an intelligent home keeper so
long as she remains an unnteligent citizen
And as important as all all these is the larg-
est and most inclusive relationship, that which
the individual sustains to the universe the whole
of things, in other words, to God. The psalmist
rightly defined the man who could pillow and har-
vest but never gave a moment of thought to his
relationship with that infinite and eternal Power
from whom all things proceed "a fool" All
these other matters, important as they are, dwin-
die into nothingness alongside this and not to
have intelligent and carefully thought out con-
ception of connection with the Highest is
lust to lack that in education which is the most
necessary of all.
The Factory and the Home.