The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-09-04
CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCA-
TION.

lie Edplu multiplication OIL pd-
rochial schools during the past
few years and the ever-increasing
attendance in all the grades leave
no room for doubt that Catholics
at it's true worth the
education they impart. In the
of cases the attendance is
limited only by the capacity Of the
school and there is a pressing de-
mand for ampler accommodations.
Great praise, therefore, must be
given to Catholics for the loyal
manner in which they uphold the
parish school system.
But when there is question of
sending their children to Catholic
institutions of higher education,
too many Catholic parents make
default. They think their chill
dren know enough when they
graduate from the parish school,
and they have no ambition to give
them the benefit of a more thor
ough training in high school and
college. Their failure in this i'm
portant regard is fraught with no
small amount of danger to the
children themselves who have
reached a critical period in their
young lives. This is the time when
they are in a formative condition
of mind and heart, and more re-
ceptive OF, and responsive to, the
influences Of their surroundings.
If they are sent to secular high
schools and colleges, the atmos-
phere is necessarily less conducive
to the fostering of the highest
ideals of Christian culture than
in similar institutions under the
auspices of the Church. For the
spiritual welfare of their chill
dren, therefore, Catholics should
make an effort to send them to a
Catholic institution of higher
learning.
Too often, unfortunately, par
ents allow their children to decide
for themselves the momentous
question Of their future education
by permitting them to select their
own schools and choose their own
studies. Who can blame the
children if they select. school
where they will be under less re-
straint than obtains in a Catholic
school, or if they choose an insti-
tuition whose intellectual standard
is low? Then, again, too many
parents are influenced in the
choice of a school by the thought
of the social advantages it's grad
yates are supposed to enjoy
These and like considerations are
allowed to determine the future
education of pupils whose parents
yield up their God-given right to
direct their children by submit.
ting themselves to the whims OF
those, whom they should govern.
No one will deny the need OF
higher education for those who de.
sire to make the most of life s OPP
portunities. The educated man
has decided advantage over his
less favored brother in the strug.
gle for existence which is becom.
ing. more acute every year
Wealth and social standing cannot
take the place of education and
the culture which goes with it.
Chauncey Depew once said thai
he was intimately acquainted with
hundreds of men who, though
wealthy, were uneducated, ano
that he had never met one of then
who did not feel, in the presence Of
cultured people, a certain sense Of
modification which no money
could pay for; nor had he evel
met one of them who was not pre-
pared to sacrifice his entire for
tune, If necessary, in order that hi,
son should never feel that NORTH
cation s ~,
When the man who has not haC
the advantage Of higher educa
fion Is hrolifsht inf9 cnnf1arfi4iaf