Evening star., 1928-10-30
KEEPING MENTALLY FIT
By JOSEPH JASTROW.

and are not troubled by conflicting
cares and duties, They are freer TO
learn in more senses than one.
The mature have the advantage OF
knowing better what they want, have
had a longer discipline in holding them
selves to q task, have more flrmiy
organized set of interests, a wider grasp
of relations, a different background OF
experience. There is nothing about the
word scholar" or student" to suggest
the child. You speak of great Shake
spearean scholar and Of his work as
scholarly; you say that so-and-so Is q
fine student OF languages.
Adult education must take tuH &C
count of these differences or 1t Will miss
fire. The notion that life begins where
schooling ends and school ends wtlen
life begins Is again misleading. When
you teach children, you, as an adult
teacher have to bear in mind that they
are still children, and that as you teach
them you must help them to become
adults. It's much easier to teach adults,
because you can concentrate on teach
ing, drop the idea of schooling and
assume interest and application You
are just helping their minds TO help
themselves.
Teachers are just leaders, and the fol-
lowers are on the same footing of iIl-
terest; each stimulates the other. Adult
education isn't limited to those trying to
make up for opportunities they missed
in youth. That lack may be one mo-
tive, but 1t is no different from the gen.
eral desire to feed the mind and satisfy
mental interests that makes US all stu
dents.
If you've been working in a shop or
at an office desk and haven't kept UP
the habit of tackling substantial men,
tai food; II you've just played with
your mind, and let 1t dawdle over ex-
citing stories and never held it to more
than q few minutes attention, you are
going to find your mental muscles
pretty flabby for a while. If you have
responsibilities and the care of FAM
lily and all sorts Of distracting interests
you may be handicapped by lack of
freedom to put your mind on your
newly accepted task. If you have never
given up the habit of being intensely in
terested in something apart from your
livelihood occupation, you are all set
for study at any age. You will be sur
prised to find how soon the rust wears
off, and how smoothly, after little oil
ing, the works run.
Don't think or study as something
peculiar and out Of your element. II
you have serious interests and care to
dig below the surface you can study
Just as science is only organized COM
mon sense, so study is only organized
learning such as you have never given
up. All this arrangement of courses and
exercises is just convenient ma
chinery; its only service Is to organize
your interests and keep you to dietr-a
balanced ration suited to your needs
and appetite.
There is no special psychology oi
study other than that Of any concen-
trated task; your power to study is your
ability to make mental effort, to.
gether with your power to penetrate, tc
get under an idea and absorb 1t, to pick
situation to pieces and put it together
again. A child studies new toy, but
only with childs limited interest. An
adult enrolls for a course with all the
advantage Of sustained interests, ear.
nest purpose and large experience In
| thinking for himself. Every one who
keeps mentally At is studying something
all the time.
(Copyright 1927