The New York herald., 1921-10-23

OF difference" he continued "but they are
all alike in this: they are all devoted to
the highest service and consecrated to the
noblest uses.
This, in the broadcast sense is the real
purpose of a university. In the past they
furnished the leaders in church, in State,
in law, in medicine, in education. To-day
they are providing leaders not only in the
learned professions but the leaders of in
dustry, in commercial enterprises
men, in a word, to whom we entrust the
gravest concerns of the nation in peace
and in war.
I'VE must see to it that these men we
are sending out are not merely men whom
we have taught to win cheap success for
themselves, but men to whom opportunity
means responsibility; men in close SYM
pathy with the people because they are of
the people. Men who know how to be
democratic without being vulgar. Above
all, men touched with the fine fire of patriot
ism caught from the noble spirits of the
past, whom they have learned to revere
and to love-"
Higher Educations Aim Is
Defined in the Catechism
when l was boy" said DR.. Rich
mond. like all other boys who had Scotch
training I had to learn the Westminster
Shorter Catechsm. The very first ques.
tion is: What is the chief end of man.?
and the answer is: Mans chief end Is to
glorify God and to enjoy Him forever
Now, the fine thing about that definition
is that 1t establishes a centre at once and
lifts the whole conception of life. The sun
doesn't revolve about the earth, but the
earth revolves about the sun. A sound
system of education will do exactly what
this old catechism has done. 1t will estab-
lish God as the centre of it. The chief end
of education is to develop in man tho
image Of God. To accept any lower defni-
tion is to cheaper and stultify the whole
business.
"In my opinion this should be empha.
sized with the greatest force For any
one who has kept track of the present cur
rent of thought in education must know
that there are a great many so-called edu-
Gators in positions of influence who are
so much concerned with the mechanics of
the business that they are losing sight alto
gether Of the animating spirit without
which the whole process of education is
only barren monotony and the educator
a dull dog.
THAT Is why, were I to offer a general
criticism on higher education in this coun-
try, I would say that we are giving too
much attention to the technique Of educa-
tion and too little to it's ultimate pur-
pose. We say of certain men that they
cannot see the woods for the trees There
are plenty of men engaged in higher
education who cannot see the college for
the students, who cannot see the curric-
ulum for the courses, who confuse methods
with results, and who are so busy teaching
subjects that they forget they are teaching
boys and girls.
"Of course technique is important. 1t
means economy, efficiency and skill as ap.
piled to man work. But mere tech
nician has no business in any seat of au-
thority. He is only fit to be the servant
of some one who has more imagination
than himself and more understanding of
what the thing is all about.
"The great desideratum in higher edu-
cation and in all education, is men and
women whose minds have risen above
method and whose eyes have looked beyond
to the higher aims of their profession"