New Britain herald., 1918-02-20
EDUCATION AND
 SOCIAL PROGRESS'
Joseph Wiseltier Speaks at Teach
 erS' Council Meeting

At the meeting of the Teachers Council held last evening at the Cram mar school auditorium, Professor Joseph Wiseltier, head of the art department at the High school, was the speaker of the evening. MT. Wis eltier had as his topic, "Education and Social Progress The topic was
 one of the series to be covered by the { association during the year, and was i very we'll delivered. The speech fol- lows:
 ] Man has since the beginning of i things been changing the world in | which he lives. What is is aim? , What is he striving for? What is his { ultimate goal? By producing certain
 changes and preventing others he has made himself, plants, animals and ; things more serviceable for life's ends Life has by many been measured in terms of it's length instead of in terms 1 of depth and breadth, and in terms ! of the amount of material wealth amassed such as money lands, houses, l instead of in terms of happiness, self ! development and service. Much of ] the unhappiness is caused not by the l lack of friends. property, leisure | beauty, etc., but by purely relative conditions such as not possessing as much m oney as ones neghbor, not being better looking than someone l else not owning so much land as some other fellow, etc. Man has already through his own efforts brought about an age of science, and thereby put himself into possession of a marvel 1OuS instrument of control for the at l tainme ent of any aim he may coceive l f., n coI ha hoS 1 devised means of production and dis | tribution which have so increased the word S wealth that there is enough 1 to provide all with abundance. Yet l in spite of thU wonderful collection l of material wealth what an astonsh- l ing proportion of the earths in ! habitants go to bed hungry each 1 night! Man has invented machinery l which does his work and gives him l time for leisure, yet nspite of modern 1 machinery what a large proportion of 1 men are forced to endure a cruShing 2 1 grinding toll, which, leaves them no
 opportunity for development. He has l developed scientific knowledge which ! gives him power to eradicate most l of the worlds physical suffering and 1 disease, yet in spite of our scientific l knowledge how many preNentablo ! diseases are allowed to claim their mil- 1 lions every year. He has worked out 1 a, psychology which enables him to ] train and utilize his powers with q
 1 minimum of loss and waste, yet in ] spite of our knowledge of scientific l methods of teaching we undoubtedly 1 cause the child to waste half of the 1 time he spends in school! Willing and 1 capable workers, men whose work 1 would benefit mankind, are still often { to q l in enforced idIenesS. Killing, burn ing and stealing are still considered 1 honorable if done on a large enough 1 scale, by a ration. International dis l putes, instead of being settled by a
 court of expert judges are still settled
 1 on the battlefield.
 ] Yet we have made progress What
 we call progress is something which
 :; cannot be explained in a simple way
 ! or defined in a few set phrases. We
 live in a world of change. Nothing l absolutely is, but all is forever becom- l ing. All things are passing over
 1 from what was, through the medium
 l of what is to what will be. Change
 ] offers the sole opportunity for pro-
 l gress. Nothing static changes. How
 i eVer,} change alone is not progress. but
 i moving towards a higher aim it be-
 | comes progress. Social changes which 1 secure a more harmonious adjuStm ent 1 of man to man, which increase the ! mastery of man over nature, which in ] crease the control Of human nature.
 which produce greater efficiency of
 l the group in carrying on it's common
 ! life, greater development of co-opera-
 tion-all these mean social progress.
 progress implies a, complete daptation ! to the requirements of existence and n i'm improvement of the conditions of
 human life. Such changes, therefore,
 as produce greater social harm ony.
 social efficiency and social survival make for social progress
 | ''As I have just shown, it is not { mere knowledge that will lead man l toward that higher ideal for which he
 is striving. If he is to take any great ! step in the direction of progress he 1 will have to construct his lifes aim. ! Is happiness worth more than wealth? 1 Are richly developed powers of more l value than indulgence and ease? Is
 serving others a higher ideal than com ! polling service? What things are most worth while? A clearly defined aim ! can be discovered only in experience. 1 The daily struggle for existence, the 1 joys and sorrows victories and defeats,
 hopes and fears: these are fhe mater 1 ials out of which man constructs his l life's aim. These are the things worth l while, These experiences, belng re- 1 actions towards his environment. are l all social activities. Whatever he does