Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-17
8. REID WARREN
On Business Education


THOSE who are shaping the courses 10
l. the preparatory schools are whoNy
missing the mark regarding the prepara',on
necessary for business career, IN INV
opinion Of s. Reid Warren, of the keSs'o"'
Publishing Company.
II recently heard two addresses saio
Mr.. Warren, delivered within few "eese
Of each other and each by man prominently
identified with commercial instruction.
Both showed, by the curricula which they
advocated, that, in their opinions, youth
needs little education to be useful ana sue
cessfu in n business career. ms was eVl
dent from the fact that the courses outiiheS
by them contemplated shutting child on
from cultural and international stuu'ts u.
allotted to the so called commercial studies.
This seems to me to be grave menace
to the economic progress of the Nation, ana
it is the more serious for the reason that TINS
view of business education Is stamped on
all the present. day curricula OF commerclai
high schools and business colleges. Indeed,
the idea of supposed remunerativcness ana
utility has tainted our whole educational
scheme.
I Signs Of a Turn in Sentiment
'Thcre are signs, however, that the tide
has turned in so far as the academic courses
are concerned and here and there evidence
is appearing Of return to classical studies.
"But the business men OF the country
should awaken to the fact that our schools
are not educating commercial students
and I use the word educating advisedly.
They are endcav0ring to train them voca,
tionnlly before giving them the essential
foundation in cultural and mind'deVeloping
studies. .,, l.,
due to the conception that the business world
does not need educated men and women {;
that n superstructure OF commercial STUDIES
on n foundation Of ignorance Is sufficient
education to prepare one for business life !;
that only the professions need cultured and
well Informed followers.
".Why need a boy who is going to enter
business life waste his time In the study OF
Latin Greek, art, music or any OF the gen.
orally termed cultural subjects" they reason.
Teach him business arithmetic, accounting,
economies, stcnography, typcwriting and the
like they advise.
Culture Commercially Valuable
"Aftcr thirty years of business expert.
cnce nv answer to this Is that II a child
of mine uspired to business career would
much rather that he spent his high school
years studying Latin and Greek and acquir-
Ing some knowledge of the arts than in
learning stenography, typewrlting and book
keeping And this is because of the greater
value and usefulness OF the former studies
from a purely commercial standpoint, en-
tircly aside from the greater joy he would
get out of life as a social human being
II make this statement not from the
standpo;nt of college trained man who
feels well educated himself. but because
know what handicap the lack of such edu-
cation is to the business man. l have been
able to observe and estimate the value of
cultural education in business life not from
having n full share of 1t, nor because Of the
entire lack Of 1t, but because ] had to ac-
duire what have after entering business
life. :.
smnttcring thus obtained how great would
have been the business value of n comprc~
hcnsivc education in the cultural and clas-
steal branches.
Business" Meets All Professions
.It would be the best thing In the world
if educators would only awaken to the fact
that business comes into close and constant
contact with all the professions that the
many ramitications of commerce bring info
active use all the education that any one
can acquire In lifetime that the very life
of our Nation is very largely affected by the
intelligence with which business is con-
Quoted that our standing among the ma.
tuns of the world, as well as the solidity
of our economic structure ut home, depcpds
upon the breadth and the depth of The
knowledge Of our business men.
above all, the educators should come 10
realize that business men and women are
really men and women and are not mere