The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-01-18
Education AS a Safe
Guard to Democracy

from them with regard to our own
prob ems, These studies are valua.
Bile, but only as supplementing self
knowledge. But self knowledge and
self development are essentially one
and the same. Properly speaking we
do not know in order to live; we live
and know. Democracy works out;
intelligently If it may, blindly If II
must. The great purpose of oduca
ton is to make the process as near.
ly as possible an intelligent process
throughout.
Let us turn now to education as IT
is. To what extent is It the method
through which democracy works out.
Life is individual and social. Each
individual must work out his life
purposes in and with some communi-
ty. The child is first a member of
the family, then OF the community
and afterwards Of the school. Long
before he comes to school he is some
distance along in the process Of in
naturalization and Of socialization.
Individual and community grow to-
gether. Therefore any scheme OF
development must provide for both.
Do we make such provision? AS ed.
ucators, how much DO we know OF
community life here in our own
state? What does each teacher know
of his or her own community? Do
we regard boys and girls as mem
bers of a community, or merely as
| receptacles of knowledge subjects OF
discipline, or, at best. organisms to
be developed in a biological or
psychological sense.
We cannot hold the teacher re-
sponsible for any failure OF the
school to meet the needs of the com
munity. The entire system and most
of the requirements made from her
turn her attention quite in the oppo-
site direction. AS rule, provided
she has so much study, acquired in
/ some college or normal school OF
good standing, she need not concern
herself about the community in which
she is employed to teach.
We shall need more than individu-
al effort to obtain that knowledge
which will enable us to make educa-
ton effective for the purposes of de-
mocracy. The school system needs
to be socialized throughout. The
necessary activities, the purposes and
ideals of the community to be edu-
Gated are the first, If not the only
concerns of an education for DEM
ccracy. The activities of a commu-
nifty are conditioned by the resourc-
es available to it. Its purposes and
ideals grow out of these activities.
Therefore, the educational process
should begin at the very bottom OF
community life; not with its devel-
oped conceptions or ideals. That Is,
the process of development, as far as
POSSIBLE, should be made intelligent
instead of blind and haphazard. Oh
= viously we must know the conditions
: of industrial social and civic life in
each community. This means that
we must have first of all the facts
We must have them in order rightly
to shape the school system and II
order rightly to guide pupils in in
tallipent living
There should be in each commun
ity an organization through whicf
the facts of community life can be
: gathered. classified and studied ant
the center of such organization
Y should be the school. 1t should pro
vide for cooperation Of the schoo
, with outside industrial, commercial
, social and civic forces. All these 10
cal organizations should be correlat
I ed with state bureau of information
preferably at the state university
}. which should serve as clearing
s house of information for the who'll