The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1914-05-14

address by E. r. Edwards, City
supt. of Schools, jamestown, N. D.,
Delivered before the Ninth Annual
Meeting of the Northwestern Edu-
cational Association, Minot, N. D.,
April 25th, 1914.)
Confronted by a subject as extern
sive, as comprehensive, as the history
Of the human race in its struggle from
the darkness of savagery to the dawn
ing light of the Goth century civiliza-
tion, having before you speaker who
usually finds it easy to talk, but often
to say anything, perhaps you
may feel that you are entitled to SYM
pathy, and if so, extend you mine
most heartily.
I wish l was as we'll qualified for
my subject as a certain young woman
was who applied for admission to a
Nurses Training class. When asked,
this young woman stated her qualifi-
cations as follows: my father runs
a motor car. Two brothers have an
aeroplane of their own make. Anoth-
er brother is a football player. My
mother is suffragette." Our subject
is an intensely practical one. If I
could give as practical solution as
did certain small pupil in school, l
should indeed, be glad. The inspector
was making his rounds. He visited
class in Arithmetic and gave the fol-
lowing problem. A poor woman has
only four boiled potatoes and has five
hungry children. She wishes to give
each child the same amount. What
shall she do? After pause small
boy raised his hand and said: "She
had better mash the potatoes"
Someone has said, Education con-
sists in using the. forces of the en-
vironments of the child, in connection
with the forces of the inner child, in
such a way as to make the best possi-
bic man or woman" The time has
been when the test of Education was
the question, "Is he proficient in the
3 3R's?" Now, it is or should be, els
he a thoroly good, thoroly efficient
citizen?" /, for one, thoroly believe
that the time has come in America,
when our public schools must be made
to function more closely with the
homes and home life. The studies
pursued by the pupils and the instruc-
tion given by the teacher must be
made to conform to the lives which
the children are to live. when they
reach maturity. Then, if this be true,
let us consider it an established fact
that Education which Educates must
develop the latent powers of the in
dividual, physical, mental, moral; ;;
must meet the needs of the times and
must produce good citizens for the fu-
ture.
To accomplish these things, Educa-
ton must train hand workers as we'll
as brain workers and must train the
heart and the will as we'll as the hand
and mind. Good citizens are those who
can earn an honest living in worthy
pursuit, who are alive to the interests
of others and whose hearts throb in
sympathy with those who are weak,
unfortunate, in sorrow, or in trouble.
It is well to remember that no place,
no state, no nation, is, or can be, any
better than the average of it's citizen
ship. There has probably never before
been an age in the history of the hu-
man race which has made such siren
uous demands upon the character of
the individual as the age in which we
live. In certain quarters we hear a
great deal about the "sterling quail
ties Of the Puritans" and supposed de.
cadence of moral fibre in our day. The
Puritan attended church in cold
room three or four hours twice each
Sunday. Today the Militant church
or the Church in Politics, cuts down
the hours of its regular services and
works all week in the form Of Charity
organizations, Anti Saloon League
Equal Suffrage Leagues, Welfare
Work, Etc. In this day and age char.
ity and welfare work cannot and dc
not stay at home where they do and
should begin. The word "mankind" is
now real factor worthy of recogni.
tion and to be reckoned with in q
steadily increasing variety Of ways. II
is largely because Of the activity and
interest of women that North Dakota
today has the anti-snuff and anti-cig.
.rette laws anw without the active, un.
firing women of the state, our Prohi.
bition laws would be very largely
dead letters. The colonist was virtu.
GUS largely from necessity, economical
because he had to be or starve; free
from avarice because there were nc
fields for financial exploitation. Such
character as his would likely break
down under the strain and tempta.
tion of our Goth century life. It is
much harder to be good today than il
was in the time Of Miles Standish and
John Winthrop. Yet we are told that
dear old Miles ragged and swore when
John Alden won fair Priscilla. We
are prone to hold Standish up as an
ideal to the modern 9Th or 9th grade
boy who perchance has had no better
success with his Priscilla, and besides
is unbearably tormented, perplexed
and annoyed by technical English
Grammar, Algebraical surds and alb.
surds and other things equally non.
sensical but too numerous to mention
I verify believe that the school boys
and girls Of today have more and
greater temptations to face and over.
come than any that ever confronted
Standish and Winthrop, simply be-
cause society today is vastly more
complex and the opportunities for evil
doing far more numerous. Hence the
growing, need Of stronger and more ef-
fective characters.