Needed Objectives for Our Schools

THE greatest aids to success and happiness are

(1) A sound and vigorous body.

(2) Ability to think clearly.

(3) Ability to speak and to write one’s own language clearly and forcibly. (Ability to think clearly and ability to use language correctly commonly go together, each being in large measure dependent on the other.)

(4) Character.

The principal aims of our schools, therefore, should be to furnish training of the body, training of the mind to think clearly, training in the use of the English language, and training of character by inculcating high standards of honor. Education of the young should not, as commonly is the case, consist mainly of memorizing book learning and acquiring more or less superficial knowledge relating to a variety of subjects. Of the graduates of our secondary schools, the majority are not well developed physically and have not learned to think clearly or to express themselves in good English. In ancient Athens, education consisted principally of training the body, training the mind, and training in the use of the Greek language. Other languages were not studied and there was little written knowledge; yet the ancient Athenians have never been surpassed in literature, in philosophy, or in art.

Book learning can be acquired at any age; but the body and faculties can be developed only by training in childhood and youth. This training, therefore, should be carried on intensively in the primary and preparatory schools. However, as the preparatory schools are designed to fit boys for college, they cannot materially alter their curricula until the colleges change their entrance and graduation requirements. The lead, therefore, should be taken by the colleges by making their entrance examinations tests of the capacity of applicants for higher education rather than tests of memory.

Training in accurate thinking and apt expression cannot be acquired by merely learning lessons and passing examinations. It can be acquired only by free discussion with competent teachers and by the preparation and criticism of papers. Of course, students must first have informed themselves by reading upon the subjects to be discussed or written about, and the subjects chosen should be such as require clear thinking and discriminating expression. Students should also be required to pursue certain cultural studies such as English literature and history (though these require principally the exercise of memory) and they should devote part of their time to the acquisition of general information by reading books of their own choice. But the principal objective should always be to train the students to think straight and to express themselves in good English. All the teachers, therefore,shouldbe selected with special reference to their clarity of mind and their mastery of the English language.

Ability to speak and to write one’s own language clearly and forcibly and to speak with a good voice and distinct enunciation is the greatest power and the greatest charm that can be acquired. Special attention should, therefore, be given to this subject in all the classrooms. The students should be taught to debate and to speak before an audience.

Thorough physical education should be obligatory, and its main purpose should be to develop a sound and vigorous body. It should include not only gymnasium work, but also tennis, swimming, and other sports that probably will be kept up in after life. Each boy should receive special training according to his physical needs, and any faults of carriage should be corrected.

To obtain the best results, students in the upper grades of a preparatory school and students at college must be taught in groups classified according to their capacity and industry. Only those students who are fitted for training in a particular group should be admitted to it and only those who show industry and make satisfactory progress should be retained. It should be recognized that the education of students of exceptional ability who are likely to become leaders in the community is of the utmost importance. The welfare of a democracy depends in great measure upon the quality of its leaders.

It is suggested that there be established a model secondary boarding school specially designed to furnish the training above recommended to promising boys at moderate cost. It should not be a school for the sons of the rich, but should be of a democratic character. Ample endowment would be necessary so that the cost of board and tuition would be within the reach of parents of moderate means and so that scholarships could be provided for the training of poor children of exceptional ability. It should be recognized that the education of children of exceptional ability, who are likely to become leaders in the community, and also the development of competent teachers for other schools, are matters of national importance. A democracy can exist without the millions of graduates of the kind commonly turned out by the high schools and other secondary schools, but it cannot endure without wellinformed leaders of ability and character whom the voters are willing to follow.