The Wilmington morning star., 1945-05-11
EDUCATION PLAN
IS BABS0N TOPIC
Ry Roger w. Babson

BY Roger w. Babson
BABSON PARK, Mass, May IL.
We shall be passing up vast oppor-
tunities for national advancement
II we now fail to capitalize our re-
cent lessons on how to educate. l
mean the lessons which have been
taught to us by the new technlques
Of training men and women Tor
war.
It is true that civilian education
Is aimed at peaceful detectives.
AS commonly practiced, the most
popular courses are the so-called
"outside activities, although most
Of them are non-educational. l re-
fer to jitter-bugging, juke-boxing
and those graver pastimes which
may not be immoral, but surely
are a facsimile thereof.I n mill
tary training, the purpose is "HoW
to win and come back alive.
Nevertheless, the two educations
(civilian and military can be alike
in attitude, even if unlike IN SUBJ
ject matter.
The famed super-speed and ultra
efficiency of military training are
not to be explained by mere me-
chanica2 methods alone. Strobosco-
pic or slow-motion pictures, mod
els in miniature, high-pressure
coaching, pocket-size texts,-these
modern boosters are worthy OF at
tention by every school committee.
The inner difference, however,
which puts Army and Navy train
ing long miles ahead of our horse
drawn public schools-is the su-
perior build-up of educational at
titude.
In the schooling of the armed
forces, both trainers and trainees
are consciously dealing in life or
death. However immature in years,
the servicemen are quick to feel
the adult attitude of those who
learn their lessons under live am
munition'' This "adult attitude,
this precocity of maturity, is what
makes military instruction click
and tick. Our public schools should
duplicate, in peacetime, this war
time attitude to raise the mental
age.
When we extend the range Of ed
ucation to cover maturity, we auto
matically increase the power of
education and tap its unexplored
and undreamed possibilities. The
sursst way to raise the standard
OF living and true security is to
raise the average mental age Of
the population. Hence, another
way to raise this average mental
age is to encourage adult educa-
ton. This requires supplementing
our present public school system
with new adult educational sys-
TENS.
Our school SYSTEM in its juve-
nile branches offers alluring pos
sibilities of reformation. Speaking
brutally, but realistically, most Of
today's schools under the joint
influence of hardheaded politicians.
softheaded sentimentalist and en-
pity headed parents-are a mess.
That the school certificates of grad
yates are additionally engrossed
on the skin of the sheep seems
grimIy fitting when we look up the
/. @. of this self-regimented ami
NAL!
Yet, unfortunate is the fate of
those of us who seek to reform the
schools. The prospective controver-
sy, resistance, obstruction and re-
action are shocking to behold. The
possibilities of reform are alluring
but the path of reform is appalling.
It may be better to leave the
schoolmen to stew in their own
juice for awhile longer and turn
attention to development of adult
education. But will say more
about Adult Education next week.
In countless camps all over the
world, it has been demonstrated
that boys and girls become men
and women most promptly and
most surely when the mark of an
educated man or woman is not a
diploma but a dog-tag. I forsee
that my realism will shock the
sentimentalists, but the statement
stands.
Yes, the double failure OF the
antiquated public school system is
that it results in delayed maturity
of the virtues, while prompting pre-
cicity in the vices. If it is hopeless
to re-organze the schools, there
is high hope to organize Adult Ed
ucation. 1t could, it might, it
may become Americas outstand-
ing contribution to world security.
Surely, we can educate for life as
efficiently as we educate for death.
BUY WAR BONDS AND STAMPS