Evening star., 1960-08-21

willing and able to become
professionals.
To say this is advocating that
only an "elite"Shall be we'll edu-
Gated while the rest of our
children receive an inferior
education, making them for
ever hewers of wood and car
riers of water, is highly if
responsible demagoguery.
To me there is nothing more
important than to change our
educational system in such a
manner that it will provide the
best possible education for every
child, slow average and tai
ented.
At present, few get a really
good public education.
Cheap at the Price
Improving our schools will
be no easy matter. But the dol
lars you spend on education are
the cheapest dollars you can
spend, even if some of them
are wasted. They are by far the
cheapest dollars, and they give
the greatest return.
There is much evidence, how
ever, that the education dollar
buys less really good schooling
in the United States than in
any other country in the world.
I am sure we could make great
improvements simply by spend
ing more wisely and efficiently
| the funds we now have. But
money alone won't do it. 1t
will also require much thought
and effort.
AS an engineer, would say
the first thing We must do is
set up specificationS-what we
want our high school students
to know when they finish at the
age of 18. The minute you do
that. you put courses in eti-
quette and baton twirling in
their proper place; you begin to
see that perhaps you ought not
to pay an athletic coach a
higher salary than a teacher of
trigonometry.
We allow ourselves to be
frightened by arguments that
setting national standards
would mean Federal tyranny
over education. In view of our
profeSsed fear of the Federal
Government, we could not at
the present time set up COM
IpulSory national standards.
Voluntary Goals Urged
But there is nothing in our
form of government to prevent
Congress from setting up some
sort of commission or council
and giving it the task Of work.
ing out different sets Of edu-
cational goals for our public
schools.
The schools could disregard
them if they so wished, and il
the parents in the community
did not force them to pay
attention. But, by having q
national set of standards, every
one could judge where the Local
school stood.
We could get a statement of
policy: This is what we think
is a good education" Such a
statement would give the par
ents a yardstick by which to
measure what their children
should learn and have learned
in school.
Isn't the honest labelling oi
educational diplomas as i'm
portant as the honest labelling
of drugs? We regulate what
goes into peoples mouths, why
can't we even recommend what
goes into their heads?
This would give an enormous
advantage to parents who are
really interested in having
their children educated" ir
contrast to having them mere
ly trained"
The distinction between edu.
cation and training is MOI
thoroughly understood. Wher
you teach a boy how to operate
a lathe you are training him
you are not educating him
Training does not develop thu
mind. Education is a process.
by which the mind is developed
Hits "Know-How" Courses
1t is in education-that is
in transmitting the fundamen.
tails of knowledge, in develop.
ing the ability to think-tha'
we fall down. Too much O.
our so-called education is mer,
training in various kinds O.
know-how.
In the United States it il
quite possible that, left to hi
own devices, a potentially tai,
ented child may squander hi.
best learning years on easy
know-how courses which re.