The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-07


enriches our knowledge Of man, his
history, his achievements, the pro-
cesses as well as the products of his
mind, his successes and failures, his
good and evil moods, his aspirations,
his hopes and fears. All knowledge
Of the world of thought and Of action
is naturally humanistic knowledge.
To live with men, to work with them,
to serve them and to lead them, there
must be knowledge Of the human
being as the essential basis Of human
interest and human sympathy. The
humanities are not confined, as some
would seem to judge, to the classics.
they embrace the study Of history.
science, literature, art, philosophy,
politics, economies, in short all stu
dies which are concerned with human
needs, human attachments, and the
human cravings of heart and mind.
The significant problems of to-day.
upon whose solution the very stabn-
ity Of civilization itself depends are
essentially human problems. They
are so complex and so difficult be-
cause the factors involved are human
factors, the living struggling men.
women and children, who despite all
the amazing differences of breed and
blood constitute the one family Of hui
mainly. Shall man not know some
thing of the species to which he be-
longs? and shall a theory Of educa-
ton not provide for this significant
study in a large and generous man.
ner?
1t is evident that the needs of this
human world demand an educational
policy wisely considered and more
vigorously administered than in the
old days, and in the old ways before
the shock of the war caused us to
realize the tragedy of wasteful and
misdirected effort. There are two I'M
questionably essential purposes, which
every teacher of the young men and
women Of the coming generation
mind-to quicken in every student an
intellectual curiosity and q sense Of
responsibility-an>ea gerness to know,
not for the purpose Of recitation and
examination, but that knowledge may
become his own possession, and with
this eager impulse TO search in order
to know, there must be recognition
also of the commanding obligation
resting upon him to contribute to the
needs and minister to the welfare of
the great human society of which he
is member. All education fails I'M
less it produces an inquiring mind
and an awakened conscience. There
comes to university teachers this COM
mon experience, namely, that now and
again one of their students will seem
suddenly to acquire an intellectual
interest with n corresponding trans
formation of mental vigor and char
acter. Indifference changes into ac-
tive and sustained intellectual en-
deavor. 1t is a veritable second birth.
This thing happens frequently in the
| upper years of university career,
| with all the lost momentum of the
dormant energies previously un-
aroused and unemployed. The pity Of
it Is that this awakening does not
occur at the beginning, instead Of to-
ward the end of the university career.
Therefore, 1t is of primary Importance
| that the teaching in freshman year
be given new life and meaning. To
that year should be assigned the best
teachers In the university faculty.
The student should feel at the very
| threshold of the university that he
Is entering into a fresh and vigorous
intellectual atmosphere. Freshman
year should be so planned that, in one
course at least, the newly arrived I'M
| dergraduate should be introduced
into a field of study which presents
to him some of the problems of the
world of to-day, problems political,
social and economic, so that he will
be made to realize that this is his
world, that these problems are his
problems, and that 1t is his duty to
prepare himself to the very limit OF
his energy and endurance so as to
enter this world with such knowledge
and disciplined powers that will make
him a useful and honorable member
of it. II his mind is on fire, sense
of responsibility for the proper use
of that mind is apt TO follow. Par
ticularly If you arouse human inter
est, the idea Of an obligation owing
to ones humankind is naturally in
duced.
In the months when our American
universities throughout the whole
country were preparing their young
men through intensive military
courses to take their places as officers
in our army and navy, these two re-
suits, which 1 have been describing,
were gained in a marked degree, and
so suddenly that 1t appeared as though
1t were by magic. A new spirit seized
our undergraduates as soon as they
realized that their sevices were 10 be
OF any real value they must have
our undergraduates as soon as they
realized that their services were need
al nv the country and that IL these