Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1921-06-12
OUR EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS
nv PIlEDE X. WARNER

does no, n, the needs VI the children
u our country.
"oh, but" says some u our great
classic educators. I'VE are losing sight
~ the Ideal and the beautiful, We are
drifting into nothing but Industrial cdu.
cation" In Heavens name. how can
you losc an ideal. until YOU have one
to loscy How can you write poetry &C.
n Erea, thesis on the classic things ~
life until you know how 10 spell and
compose few sentences correctlyY
And how can you hope 10 do this until
YOU have nj least finished the seventh
grade IN our public schools" And should
YOU discover ihcre In q germ ~ talent
In YOU and YOU did not have a bank at.
count 10 keep you going how would YOU
ever find a way a. develop that ecrmf
u takes MEANS 10 reach any end. Ana
II You do not happen 10 be born With
means and talent too then way must
he made to develop that talent.
We are not talking about classic Cd
ucation. We arc not talking about tho
Fine Arts. ~ course they are neccs'
@ry. We all want them. Hut why
ARE there no more artists In our coun.
tryg Because only five m ain II our
American children over get past the
seventh grade In school and only una
In ever three hundred ever gets a. Tar
along IN the end 81 the free high school
How many artists IL every Kind d. YOU
suppose are lost 90 the world In the
sgs American children that never have
AN ideal aroused In them until Il II too
late fcr them 10 ~ back ana make
their loves oyery Aud just how many
of the ONE IN every three hundred are
taught 10 do any thing IN our hish
schools that would enable them 60 ~
cn with an ideal u one were discovered
lurking In their systcmf
our great educational problem II not
what shall We teach the few rich ana
capable children who may have cppor'
tunitics thrust upon them. hut what
are We going 10 do to educate the
mnssesy What are We goInG Ia do To
hold the " cut " n hundred In school
instead II sixs How are We GoinG 10
get the fun benefit IL our free school
system Zoe sss instead u ~ What II
IN. natter IL the trouble with ths
children. tho parents, the teachers. or
the schocly There II something wrong
somewhere because We repeat u II Just
as natural for a child IN learn M u n
to grow, A child's mind II q most
wonderful CREATION. II II M tiny and
empty At birth TINT u IL not pcrceptible
at all, bu, day by day II grows 40 long
as w live, Aud Il II 80 constructed
that unless We keep fllinG u With the
best things In life the worst viii flow In
to fill the ,avuums because nature ali
hors vacuum, and let alone, nature
win al, our child's mind with something
The minds of our children are entrust'
I'd to Us as their parents TO be TILED
with the good and, useful things OF life
Are w dung II. II your child Was
born without u mind you would give
cvcrythin. In this world you had to
give I, a mind, hut 0od gives them
their minds when he calls them into
bcing, II II q part VI Ills plan II life.
And without this great plan there could
he no 10y on earth How much do Ne
appreciate our chiidrcn's mindsy Not
enough to feed them, Not enough To
keep them growing naturally We viii
actually starvc our chIldrch's minds ~
feed the hugs and waffle. A. naticn
We spend more money On cigarettes 10
tear down their minds than we do on
education to develop them, About thu
only public expense We ever Kick on
II the taxes to develop our children and
make them az To live. You seldom
ever hear man complain about his
taxes Ia build more asylums, jails. poor
houses. pcnitcntiarlcs, orphans homes.
homes Tor the fricndlcss, or any VI the
innumcrahlc things We would never
need II We only take care VI our chill
drcn's minds and make them strong and
equal to the tasks In life they must
perform,
As a whole nation We ARE asleep,
asleep. asleep, Rip Van Wrinkle was q
wide awake man compared 10 U.s. The
ideals " the next generation ana the
work and life IL tho nett generation
depends an the schools of today. The
home 10 the source of life but the schoo,
sets the standard II the homo. When
the srhool In made to az the needs of
the hume. when the school prcparcs the
masses ~ our youths Ter some useful
work In the great schcme IL life instead
II driving the masses out ~ school
In order 10 prcparc u very. very few tor
rollcgc then the masses IL the people
win feel that they cannot afford To
keep their children out IL school In
stead. Ms Il Ia today. when they feel thst
they cannot afford TO keep their chill