'Cbe Conservative *
BLESSEDNESS IN NATURE.
A quiet hour. Behold the trees ,
Swayed Rently by the morning breeze ;
Each leaf upturned to drink the dew ,
Or catch the light , and life renew.
What charm all nature's movements show !
Life through her pulses doth o'erflow
To leafi to tree , and so to all ,
Each throbbing thing , or great or small.
The tree , the leaf , the breeze , the light ;
The mysteries also of the night ;
Help to complete the cosmic whole ,
Which rules my body and my soul.
A blessing thus to feel and know
From whence we came , and where we go ,
No futile quests our thoughts annoy ;
Peace , peace is ours , without alloy 1
* Pit OF. E. EMERSON , SR.
Haverford , Pa. , June 8,1901.
THE DUTY OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
TO DEMOCRACY.
Written for THE CONSERVATIVE by Prof.
Charles W. French.
The public free school can justify its
right to exist at the expense of the state
only , by proving itself an efficient factor
in the establishment and maintenance
of a righteous and intelligent citizen
ship. There are today , numerous indi
cations in political and social circles ,
that the agencies now working in this
direction , are failing , to a large extent ,
to accomplish the desired result.
Relation of Schools to Democracy.
A democratic form of government
must be endowed with organic functions ,
which will inform and purify its
political constituency , so that its effi
ciency may not become impaired and its
existence endangered by the presence of
corruption and incompetence , and such
agencies , if wisely directed , will per
form the same services for the masses of
the people , and make the social atmos
phere , as well as the political , reasonably
wholesome.
When reform clubs , citizens' associa
tions , civic federations , and similar or
ganizations become necessary to protecl
the public from political and civic dis
honesty and inefficiency , there is some
thing wrong in the machinery of state
and measures looking toward a radical
reconstruction are demanded.
The Functions of Democracy.
A democratic form of government has
two distinct and well-defined functions
one of which is governmental and admin
istrative in its nature , and the other con
structive. In other words , it must noi
only govern the country over which i
holds sway , but it must also build up by
well-defined means an intelligent and
righteous citizenship , which is the only
sure foundation for a permanent and
progressive government by the people
This conserving power the American
democracy has intrusted to the public
school , and has thus placed in its hands
the weal or woe of the future.
That the public school has failed in
part , to meet this obligation is not due
X ) any lack of conscientious effort on the
part of educators , nor can it be traced
; o any notable defect in either the or
ganization or methods of the school. If
; here has been a failure it has come as
; he result of an imperfect adjustment
of the educational system to the life
conditions and demands of the world ,
and this has been caused by a failure to
appreciate fully , the fact that education
is life and not "preparation for life , "
Something Apparently Wrong.
At the present time there is a deep
unrest among educators , a conviction
that there is something wrong some
where in the constitution of the schools.
As a result of this , there has been be-
[ jun an earnest search after the philoso
pher's stone , which shall transmute
this magnificent organization , with such
wrong adjustments as it may have , into
an invincible power for the regenera
tion of the social , political , and com-
PROP. CHARLES W. FRENCH.
meroial institutions of the country , so
far as there may be necessity for it , and
the fact that there is such a necessity is
daily becoming more obvious.
This search after something better has
already resulted in the organization of
manual training schools , courses in do
mestic arts , vacation schools , school de
mocracies , etc. , many of which have
easily proved their efficiency , while
some will no doubt be relegated to the
junk-shop of those educational excres
cences which we are wont to call
"fads. " From those which have been
successful , it is possible to draw some
deductions , which are of supreme inter
est to all students of this problem , and
surely it is one which is worthy of con
sideration at the hands of every Ameri
can citizen.
Candid Inquiry Demanded.
The attitude of such students should
> e one of candid inquiry , and not of
criticism only. In the past many citi
zens , who have approached the question
with honest intentions , have contented
ihemselves with a superficial kind of
'ault-finding , which , however specious
it may have been , has been essentially
lostile and' destructive , and consequently
quently has hindered rather than helped
; he cause. There has been much and
bitter criticism of the expanding curric
ula , and these critics have harked back
to the days of the three R's with regret-
full ongings for the good old times of the
fathers. Yet we have outgrown cheer
fully and without serious regret , nearly
all other phases of the 18th century
civilization , and it would be strange in
deed if the 20th century school , alone ,
should cling to the narrow , old-time
views and practices , and forget that the
world is marching on. The increase
and enrichment of courses of study is
simply an effort to keep in line with ad
vancing life and to minister to the ad
vancing necessities of the child of the
present day. The difference between
the old and the new in this respect is
simply that in the good old days the
child was adapted to the necessities and
pre-possessions of the school , while in
these later , degenerate days we seek to
adapt the school to the necessities of the
child.
The Child , the Center of Interest.
The distinguishing characteristic of
the present system is that all interest is
concentrated in the child , while the
school is becoming merely an agency for
securing his greatest usefulness and hap
piness. Mistakes are made , of course ,
but it is surely better to err a little in
pursuit of a wise and just purpose than
to run never so well if the goal is a mis
taken one.
This criticism in its various
phases is the one which is
most frequently passed upon the schools
and there are few others of this nature
which are worthy of serious attention.
The charges of superficial scholarship ,
overwhelming social demands , and de
generacy in language and methods of
thought simply do not hold. For where
they exist they are characteristic of the
age and not of the schools alone. The
average American school today is doing
broader and more thorough work than
any other similar institution in the
world , not even excepting the much ad
vertised German schools. If social
functions are diverting the attention of
young people from more serious things ,
the fault lies in the home and not in the
schools , which are laboring earnestly ,
and with no small degree of success , to
overcome this unfortunate tendency.
Neither can the use of slang and the
formation of superficial habits of think
ing be traced back to the schools.
Again , the home and the street must
bear the blame. The school stands as
