The Washington herald., 1915-09-11
enlist, adding, among other reasons, the

clear. Our methods Of secondary educa-
tion have recently suffered rather severe
and just criticism from those who have
observed their shortcomings. Continued
additions to the curriculum OF the high
school, usually made up by courses
which give smattering Of half a dozen
sciences, have wasted the time OF the
students at a period when they should
have been acquiring habits of study and
not have been confused by being intro
GEed to two many new conceptions.
Their time has been largely wasted in
acquiring haZy ideas of a few elemen-
tary principles of chemistry, a subject
for which by reason Of their youth they
are hardly prepared. How much better
it would be for them to exercise their
minds upon some task adapted to their
state of mental development. Here are
two languages-Greek and Latin-difficult
to master. but holding out to them diff
culties with which their minds are pre-
pared to grapple. The training offered is
such that it develops in them a sense Of
intellectual power, a sense which GER
tainly is diminished when they fail. to
appreciate the true significance, let us
say, of atomic weights, no matter how
well they are taught. Habits of clear
thinking and exact expression develop in
them. these being the logical result of
the mastery of the intrcacies of the
grammar and of the putting of the
thought of the ancient writer in the
words Of their mother tongue. Does an
attempt to express a necessarily vague
idea of n modern theory of solutions, for
instance, make for habits of clear think
ing. in precise expression in the mind of
the youth in his early teens? l feel sure
that every teacher who has listened to
the lame and immature attempts Of the
average high school student to give a
statement of some fairly simple scien-
tific theory would much prefer to listen
to his contugation of a Greek verb.
May l repeat-a student, properly
trained in the Greek and Latin languages
and in mathematics, at a period when
these studies by their very nature have
drilled him in habits of industry. clear
ness of thought. and exactness of express
sion, have given him a feeling of mental
power. and have furnished him an in
foundation for a knowledge of
his own language; such a student, 1 say.
comes to the university equipped to at
tack successfully whatever is offered
him. On the other hand, the product of
some of our modern high school meth
DDS. trained by means of a mixture of
half a dozen half-baked courses in SCI
ence, together with a little of this and
that, feels himself overwhelmed for the
first month. and. unless he is an unusual
person. gives up in despair
1T therefore seems to me very clear
that the supporters of the claims Of the
in the high school and the uni
versity have by far the better of the
argument"
Gonxaga Not Only Trains the Mind,
but Develops Character.
1t is this superior training that Coma
ga offers to the students of Washington.
The principal element, however, in the
training at GonZaga-the one 1t empha-
sizes even more than her mental train
ing-is the character formation Of her
the training Of the will and
heart without which true education is
incomplete. An intellectual genius may
be a moral monstrosity. Hence the sys-
tenn of education at Gonzaga insists on a
thorough moral as well as intellectual
Washington, in his farewell
address. gave a wise warning when he
said: Let US, with caution, indulge the
that morality can be MAIN
tanned without religion: whatever may
be conceded to the influence Of refined
on minds of peculiar structure,
reason and experience both forbid us to
expect that national morality can pre-
vail in exclusion of religious principles"
The Jesuit system of education. then. |
aims at developing, side by side, the !,
moral and intellectual faculties of the |
student, and sending forth to the world |!
men of sound Judgment. of acute and
rounded intellect, of upright and manly |
conscience. And since men are not made !,
,etter citizens by the mere accumulation |
II knowledge. without a guiding and |
force, the principal faculties |
% be developed are the moral faculties. |
Moreover, morality is to be taught con-
inuously: it must be the underlying
base. the vital force supporting and ami
mating the whole organic structure of
education. 1t must be the atmosphere
he student breathes; 1t must suffuse |
With its light all that he reads. illumin-
lting what Is noble and exposing what is
,ase. giving to the true and false their
elative light and shade.
The success that has attended and at
ends the following of this method con-
irms Jesuit educators in their loyal ad.
ference to n time-tested system-covering!
,early 400 years-rather than experiment.
ng with so-called modern methods which
ire new expressions for older thoughts
rhe system of education followed at
develops latent mental energies
ounding them into a perfect whole This
s education. as distinguished from mere
Literary Facilities.
At Gonzaga. too. there are various So
'Ieties by means of which, under the
of teachers, the work OF
he classroom is supplemented, or espe-
ial fields of study are cultivated
choice selection of books. in the new
y equipped library. affords the student
mple means both for preparation of les
ons and themes. and for reading In con-
lection with his studies.
Elocution and Debate.
Furthermore. to stimulate and aid tho
tudents in the development of readiness.
onfdence. and self-control in public
peaking, classes of elocution and debate
re held every week, thus furnishing ex-
client material for the various public,
and dramatic exhibitions Of the
chooi year.
Athletics Encouraged.
Gonzaga also provides every legitimate
means and opportunity for recreation
nd encourages the development Of sue
essfnl teams in every branch 6f ath-
etics. The students enjoy the advan-
ages of q large campus for football, III
n seb0ll etc "A woll a . aplonAfd ~vvn iii