The Conservative *
night , eat late and rich lunches , rise in
the morning with nerve and physical
forces nnrecuperated , and , in this de
pleted and dilapidated condition , attempt
to make up for lost time , and repeat the
process from ten to one hundred times
in each school year , is it any wonder
they finish school witli broken health ,
and exhausted nervous energy ? On the
other hand , when Peter has been robbed
to pay Paul , is it fair for Paul to lay all
the blame and responsibility of bank
ruptcy on Peter ? If our youth would
not try to live all of life before they are
of age , to compass and compress three
score and ten years in a single score ,
would look upon the first twelve or four
teen years , as set apart for education
and growth , just as successful business
men set apart , regard and observe busi
ness hours , allowing no encroachments ,
the acquisitions of health and knowl
edge would be augmented , and the
accrued capital would , in no wise , mar
the pleasures and enjoyments of later
life.
A Scientific Theory.
A scientist , named Meinhart , demon
strates there is no such thing as "a tired
brain , " that when one thinks his brain
is tired , it is really his stomach that is
over-fed or some other organ that is
weakened ; that , no matter to what ex
tent you may study or train your mental
faculties ; no matter how much you may
use your brain , you will still be like the
man who has spent five or six cents and
has a million dollars in the bank ; that
the greatest development has never
taxed , even to the slightest degree , the
actual capacity of the mind ; like the
muscles , it is developed by exercise , but ,
unlike them , there is no limit to its
possible development and no age limit to
the growth of mental faculties. Steam
power is incapable of fatigue , although
the machinery , by which it is applied ,
may suifer from use or abuse. Be this
mere theory or fact , it is worthy of in
vestigation.
The Two Systems.
One system is like shutting the pupil
in a valley until he can give a minute
description of every denizen and feature ,
within range of his vision , the other is
like taking him to the top of a high
mountain and showing him the varied
scenery of a world. He derives , from
lectures and hearsay , a notion of the
topography , but his ideas are too in
definite and too loosely organized to beef
of practical value , when he is called
upon to go out into that world and pre
empt a claim. Or , should he make an
incursion into the realm of knowledge ,
he "educational scorcher "
goes as an ,
covering century after century , and the
most that he has to show for the trip is
a weary body and the record of his
cyclometer. Instead of enjoying , as he
goes , the sceneiy , the pure air , the ever-
changing sky , and the thousand and one
little surprises , in keeping for those who
can appreciate the bounties of the in
tellectual world , ho gains as little true
pleasure as the aforesaid wheelman ,
finding scarcely the slightest need of
anything that deserves to be called
mental effort. Libraries are well stocked
with helpful books ; outlines , readymade -
made , classify the superabundance of
material , and volumes of note-books are
filled with cribbed facts as cumbersome
as undigested beans in his stomach.
Suppose he were compelled to make
the trip on his own feet , to explore for
himself , to know , by the pains of ex
perience , every step by which con
clusions were reached , to dig and delve
and quarry for himself , it is impossible
to estimate the mental transformation
that would take place. Too large a part
of the enrolled attendance ore not very
earnest seekers for pearls and gems of
knowledge and wisdom. They look
upon the public school as a right , and
not as a privilege. Many enter the high
school , after going through the grades ,
because it costs nothing , and they may
as well spend the time there , until some
thing else turns up. Instead of com
pulsory education we have , too largely ,
a system of coerced education at publio
expense.
Inefficiency in Commercial Life.
Business men in the city have , again
and again , received applications from
pupils , some of them graduates , and
found they could not , quickly or
correctly , add a column of figures ,
utterly ignored the old-fashioned custom
of putting units under units and tens
under tens ; decimal points were "put"
with the accuracy and expertness of
amateur golf players ; they could not
properly write , fold and direct a busi
ness letter or moke a bill of sale ; knew
nothing of the meaning and use of
ordinary banking and business terms ;
could not find the interest , bank dis
count or present worth of a note , or
when several payments were endorsed ,
determine the amount due ; could not
measure and estimate the amount and
value , by the perch , of stone in a founda
tion , and so on , ad infinitum , although
they had "been through" books , which
furnished all this needful information.
They had not learned to write , because
the time had been devoted to experi
ments in determining the proper slant.
Reading.
As to reading , that is the ability to
obtain , from the printed page , clearly
and quickly , the ideas of the author ;
to reproduce , in tone and expression ,
the thoughts of another , those who have
had occasion to depend upon readers ,
or have listened to the excruciating
efforts in some school rooms , can bear
testimony that some of the requisites of
good reading are wanting.
These things had been taught , and
deposited in the owner's bank of morn-
ory , but in time of need it was found
that the bank had suspended payments.
If it is thought'that these are isolated
cases , suppose it bo tested with any class
from either the high school or from
grades. The most satisfactory and con
clusive method of knowing whether
there is water in a well is to pump
occasionally. It is possible for pupils ,
provided they attain a certain average
in daily recitations , to go from one class
to another , from one grade to the next ,
from the grades to the high school , and
from the high school to the university ,
without a crucial examination.
When the prospect and possibility of
an examination cause graduates , from a
normal school , to have nervous prostra
tion , would it not be better to have
a gradual process of acclimatizing from
youth up , so that "immunes" may prove
trustworthy.
"Impressionist" Theories.
When one stands at a considerable
distance to view a picture of the im
pressionist school , the effect is fascina
ting. It seems the acme of art. But on
nearer approach , all the marvels of at
mosphere , light , and motion , ore mean
ingless daubs and blotches of color. The
modern idea of what is called "general
development , " in education , is of the
impressionist school ; that is , a blending
of all "ologies" and sciences , implies a
sacrifice of accuracy and thoroughness
in detail. Suppose a steam engine were
constructed on the impressionist plan ,
little or no attention paid to the shape
and size of screws , cogs and bearings , or
the symmetry and use of parts , so long
as the construction was diversified , and
the general effect pleasing. It is the
accuracy of detailed construction , per
fection of each screw , bolt and rod , the
centralizing and conservation of force ,
which enables it to dart across conti
nents and over mountains with its freight
of commercial wealth. The impression
ist theory works well in pictures , but it
will not build serviceable engines or
make desirable business men or valuable
citizens.
Higher Education in Lower Grades.
The attempt to apply methods of
higher education to the lower grades
and immature minds , does not enhance
the chances for the perfection of the
individual , but leads to a reckless waste
of time and effort. Given , a mind with
habits of accuracy and thoroughness , a
well-trained memory which can grasp
facts , assort , file , and reproduce them at
will , or , with accumulated material ,
create new combinations , and turn it
loose in a world teeming with a rich ,
exuberant and varied flora , it will , like
the bee , intuitively select the honey-
laden flowers , drain each chalice , and
return , at the close of day , with stores
of treasure for future use. Freedom to use
unfettered thought is a cherished priv-