,school ,efficiency ,monographs ,,the ,,reconstructed ,,school by ,,francis ,b4 ,,pearson ,superintendent of ,public ,instruction for ,ohio ,author of ,the ,evolution of the ,teacher1 ,the ,high ,school ,problem1 ,reveries ,of ,a ,schoolmaster1 and ,the ,vitalized ,school ,world ,book ,company #aiba ,,preface ,in our school processes there are many constants which have general recognition as such by thoughtful people4 ,on the other hand1 there are many variables which should be subjected to close scrutiny to the end that they may be made to yield forth the largest possible returns upon the investment of time and effort4 ,these phases of school procedure constitute the real problem in the work of reconstruction1 and the following pages represent an effort to point the way toward larger and better results in the realm of these variables4 ,in general1 the aims and purposes of the worker determine the quality of the work done4 ,if1 therefore1 this volume succeeds in stimulating teachers to elevate the goals of their endeavors1 it will have accomplished its purpose4--,f4,b4,p4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,a ,,preliminary ,,survey ,,of ,,the ,,task ,,before ,,the ,,school ,,ii4 ,,the ,,past ,,as ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,present ,,iii4 ,,the ,,future ,,as ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,present ,,iv4 ,,integrity ,v4 ,,appreciation ,,vi4 ,,aspiration ,,vii4 ,,initiative ,,viii4 ,,imagination ,,ix4 ,,reverence ,x4 ,,sense ,,of ,,responsibility ,,xi4 ,,loyalty ,,xii4 ,,democracy ,,xiii4 ,,serenity ,,xiv4 ,,life ,,index ,,the ,,reconstructed ,,school ,,chapter ,,one ,a ,,preliminary ,,survey ,,of ,,the ,,task ,,before ,,the ,,school ,when people come to think alike1 they tend to act alike2 unison in thinking begets unison in action4 ,it is often said that the man and wife who have spent years together have grown to resemble each other2 but the resemblance is probably in actions rather than in looks2 the fact is that they have had common goals of thinking throughout the many years they have lived together and so have come to act in unison4 ,the wise teacher often adjusts difficult situations in her school by inducing the pupils to think toward a common goal4 ,in their zeal for a common enterprise the children forget their differences and attain unison in action as the result of their unison in thinking4 ,the school superintendent knows full well that if he can bring teachers1 pupils1 and parents to think toward a common goal1 he will soon have unity of action4 ,when people catch step mentally1 they do the same physically1 and as they move forward along the paths of their common thinking1 their ways converge until1 in time1 they find themselves walking side by side in amiable and agreeable converse4 ,in the larger world outside the school1 community enterprises help to generate unity of thinking and consequent unity of action4 ,the pastor finds it one of his larger tasks to establish a focus for the thinking of his people in order to induce concerted action4 ,if the enterprise is one of charity1 the neighbors soon find themselves vying with one another in zeal and good will4 ,in the zest of a common purpose they see one another with new eyes and find delight in working with people whose society they once avoided4 ,they can now do teamwork1 because they are all thinking toward the same high and worthy goal2 lines of demarcation are obliterated and spirits blend in a common purpose4 ,unity of action becomes inevitable as soon as thinking becomes unified4 ,coperation follows close upon the heels of community thinking4 ,in the presence of a great calamity1 rivalries1 differences of creed and party1 and long-established animosities disappear in the zeal for beneficent action4 ,in the case of fire or flood people are at one in their actions because they are thinking toward the common goal of rescue4 ,they act together only when they think together4 ,indeed1 coperation is an impossibility apart from unified thinking4 ,herein lies the efficacy of leadership4 ,it is the province of the leader to induce unity of thinking1 to animate with a common purpose1 knowing that united action will certainly ensue4 ,if he can cause the thinking of people to center upon a focal point1 he establishes his claim to leadership4 ,what is true of individuals is true1 also1 of nations4 ,before they can act in concert1 they must think in concert1 and1 to do this1 they must acquire the ability to think toward common goals4 ,if1 to illustrate1 all nations should come to think toward the goal of democracy1 there would ensue a closer sympathy among them1 and1 in time1 modifications of their forms of government would come about as a natural result of their unity of thinking4 ,again1 if all nations of the world should set up the quality of courage as one of the objectives of their thinking they would be drawn closer together in their feelings and in their conduct4 ,if the parents and teachers of all these nations should strive to exorcise fear in the training of children1 this purpose would constitute a bond of sympathy among them and they would be encouraged by the reflection that this high purpose was animating parents and teachers the world around4 ,courage1 of course1 is of the spirit and typifies many spiritual qualities that characterize civilization of high grade4 ,it is quite conceivable that these qualities of the spirit may become the goals of thinking in all lands4 ,thus the nations would be brought into a relation of closer harmony4 ,had a score of boys shared the experience of the lad who grew into the likeness of the ,great ,stone ,face1 their differences and disparities would have disappeared in the zeal of a common purpose and they would have become a unified organization in thinking toward the same goal4 ,we cannot hope to achieve the brotherhood of man until the nations of the world have directed their thinking toward the same goals4 ,what these goals shall be must be determined by competent leadership through the process of education4 ,when we think in unison we are taken out of ourselves and become merged in the spirit of the goal toward which we are thinking4 ,if we were to agree upon courage as one of the spiritual qualities that should characterize all nations and organize all educational forces for the development of this quality1 we should find the nations coming closer to one another with this quality as a common possession4 ,courage gives freedom1 and in this freedom the nations would touch spiritual elbows and would thus become spiritual confederates and comrades4 ,by generating and developing this and other spiritual qualities the nations would become merged and unity of feeling and actions would surely ensue4 ,since love is the greatest thing in the world1 this quality may well be made the major goal toward which the thinking of all nations shall be directed4 ,when all peoples come to think and yearn toward this goal1 hatred and strife will be banished and peace and righteousness will be enthroned in the hearts of men4 ,when there has been developed in all the nations of the earth an ardent love for the true1 the beautiful1 and the good1 civilization will step up to a higher level and we shall see the dawn of unity4 ,we who are indulging in dreams of the brotherhood of man must enlarge our concept of society before we can hope to have our dreams come true4 ,it is a far cry from society as a strictly ,american affair to society as a world affair4 ,the teaching of our schools has had a distinct tendency to restrict our notion of society to that within our own national boundaries4 ,in this we convict ourselves of provincialism4 ,society is far larger than ,america1 or ,china1 or ,russia1 or all the islands of the sea in combination4 ,it may entail some straining at the mental leash to win this concept of society1 but it must be won as a condition precedent to a fair and just estimate of what the function of education really is and what it is of which the schoolhouse must be an exponent4 ,society must be thought of as including all nations1 tribes1 and tongues4 ,in our thinking1 the word society must suggest the hut that nestles on the mountain-side as well as the palace that fronts the stately boulevard4 ,it must suggest the cape that indents the sea as well as the vast plain that stretches out from river to river4 ,and it must suggest the toiler at his task1 the employer at his desk1 the man of leisure in his home1 the voyager on the ocean1 the soldier in the ranks1 the child at his lessons1 and the mother crooning her baby to sleep4 ,we descant volubly upon the subjects of citizenship and civilization but1 as yet1 have achieved no adequate definition of either of the terms upon which we expatiate so fluently4 ,our books teem with admonitions to train for citizenship in order that we may attain civilization of better quality4 ,but1 in all this1 we imply ,american citizenship and ,american civilization1 and here1 again1 we show forth our provincialism4 ,but even in this restricted field we arrive at our hazy concept of a good citizen by the process of elimination4 ,we aver that a good citizen does not do this and does not do that2 yet the teachers in our schools would find it difficult to describe a good citizen adequately1 in positive terms4 ,our notions of good citizenship are more or less vague and misty and1 therefore1 our concept of civilization is equally so4 ,granting1 however1 that we may finally achieve satisfactory definitions of citizenship and civilization as applying to our own country1 it does not follow that the same definitions will obtain in other lands4 ,a good citizen according to the ,chinese conception may differ widely from a good citizen in the ,united ,states4 ,topography1 climate1 associations1 occupations1 traditions1 and racial tendencies must all be taken into account in formulating a definition4 ,before we can gain a right concept of good citizenship as a world affair we must make a thoughtful study of world conditions4 ,in so doing1 we may have occasion to modify and correct some of our own preconceived notions and thus extend the horizon of our education4 ,what society is and should be in the world at large2 what good citizenship is and ought to be in the whole world2 and what civilization is1 should be1 and may be as a world enterprise--these considerations are the foundation stones upon which we must build the temple of education now in the process of reconstruction4 ,otherwise the work will be narrow1 illiberal1 spasmodic1 and sporadic4 ,it must be possible to arrive at a common denominator of the concepts of society1 citizenship1 and civilization as pertaining to all nations2 it must be possible to contrive a composite of all these concepts to which all nations will subscribe2 and it must be possible to discover some fundamental principles that will constitute a focal point toward which the thinking of all nations can be directed4 ,once this focal point is determined and the thinking of the world focused upon it1 the work of reconstruction has been inaugurated4 ,but the task is not a simple one by any means2 quite the contrary1 for it is world-embracing in its scope4 ,however difficult the task1 it is1 none the less1 altogether alluring and worthy4 ,it is quite within the range of possibilities for a book to be written1 even a textbook1 that would serve a useful purpose and meet a distinct need in the schools of all lands4 ,at this point the question of languages obtrudes itself4 ,when people think in unison a common language is reduced to the plane of a mere convenience1 not a necessity4 ,the buyer and the seller may not speak the same language but1 somehow1 they contrive to effect a satisfactory adjustment because their thinking is centered upon the same objective4 ,when thinking becomes cosmopolitan1 conduct becomes equally so4 ,if this be conceded1 then it is quite within the range of possibilities to formulate a course of study for all the schools of the world1 if only we set up as goals the qualities that will make for the well-being of people in all lands4 ,true1 the means may differ in different lands1 but1 even so1 the ends will remain constant4 ,a thousand people may set out from their homes with ,rome as their destination4 ,they will use all means of travel and speak many languages as they journey forward1 but their destination continues constant and they will use the best means at their command to attain the common goal4 ,similarly1 if we set up the quality of loyalty as one of our educational goals1 the means may differ but the goal does not change and1 therefore1 the nations will be actuated by a common purpose in their educational endeavors4 ,the one thing needful for the execution of this ambitious program of securing concerted thinking is to have in our schools teachers who are world-minded1 who think in world units4 ,such teachers1 and only such1 can plan for world education and world affairs1 and bring their plans to a successful issue4 ,some teachers seem able to think only of a schoolroom2 others of a building2 others of a town or township2 still others of a state2 some of a country2 and fewer yet of the world as a single thing4 ,a person can be no larger than his unit of thinking4 ,one who thinks in small units convicts himself of provincialism and soon becomes intolerant4 ,such a person arrogates to himself superiority and inclines to feel somewhat contemptuous of people outside the narrow limits of his thinking4 ,if he thinks his restricted horizon bounds all that is worth knowing1 he will not exert himself to climb to a higher level in order that he may gain a wider view4 ,he is disdainful and intolerant of whatever lies beyond his horizon1 and his attitude1 if not his words1 repeats the question of the culpable ,cain1 ,am ,i my brother's keeper8 ,he is encased in an armor that is impervious to ordinary appeal4 ,he is satisfied with himself and asks merely to be let alone4 ,he is quite content to be held fast bound in his traditional moorings without any feeling of sympathy for the world as a whole4 ,the reverse side of the picture reveals the teacher who is world-minded4 ,such a teacher is never less than magnanimous2 intolerance has no place in his scheme of life2 he is in sympathy with all nations in their progress toward light and right2 and he is interested in all world progress whether in science1 in art1 in literature1 in economics1 in industry1 or in education4 ,to this end he is careful to inform himself as to world movements and notes with keen interest the trend and development of civilization4 ,being a world-citizen himself1 he strives1 in his school work1 to develop in his pupils the capacity and the desire for world-citizenship4 ,with no abatement of thoroughness in the work of his school1 he still finds time to look up from his tasks to catch the view beyond his own national boundaries4 ,if the superintendent who is world-minded has the hearty coperation of teachers who are also world-minded1 together they will be able to develop a plan of education that is world-wide4 ,to produce teachers of this type may require a readjustment and reconstruction of the work of colleges and training schools to the end that the teachers they send forth may measure up to the requirements of this world-wide concept of education4 ,but these institutions can hardly hope to be immune to the process of reconstruction4 ,they can hardly hope to cite the past as a guide for the future1 for traditional lines are being obliterated and new lines are being marked out for civilization1 including education in its larger and newer import4 ,,chapter ,,two ,,the ,,past ,,as ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,present ,in a significant degree the present is the heritage of the past1 and any critical appraisement of the present must take cognizance of the influence of the past4 ,that there are weak places in our present civilization1 no one will deny2 nor will it be denied that the sources of some of these may be found in the past4 ,we have it on good authority that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge4 ,had the eating of sour grapes in the past been more restricted1 the present generation would stand less in need of dentistry4 ,when we take an inventory of the people of the present who are defective in body1 in mind1 or in spirit1 it seems obvious that the consumption of sour grapes1 in the past1 must have been quite extensive4 ,if the blood of the grandfather was tainted1 it is probable that the blood of the grandchild is impure4 ,the defects of the present would seem to constitute a valid indictment against the educational agencies of the past4 ,these agencies are not confined to the school but include law1 medicine1 civics1 sociology1 government1 hygiene1 eugenics1 home life1 and physical training4 ,had all these phases of education done their perfect work in the past1 the present would be in better case4 ,it seems a great pity that it required a world war to render us conscious of many of the defects of society4 ,the draft board made discoveries of facts that seem to have eluded the home1 the school1 the family physician1 and the boards of health4 ,many of these discoveries are most disquieting and reflect unfavorably upon some of the educational practices of the past4 ,the many cases of physical unfitness and the fewer cases of athletic hearts seem to have escaped the attention of physical directors and athletic coaches1 not to mention parents and physicians4 ,seeing that one fourth of our young men have been pronounced physically unsound1 it behooves us to turn our gaze toward the past to determine1 if possible1 wherein our educational processes have been at fault4 ,the thoughtful person who stands on the street-corner watching the promiscuous throng pass by and making a careful appraisement of their physical1 mental1 and spiritual qualities1 will not find the experience particularly edifying4 ,he will note many facts that will depress rather than encourage and inspire4 ,in the throng he will see many men and women1 young and old1 who1 as specimens of physical manhood and womanhood1 are far from perfect4 ,he will see many who are young in years but who are old in looks and physical bearing4 ,they creep or shuffle along as if bowed down with the weight of years1 lacking the graces of buoyancy and abounding youth4 ,they are bent1 gnarled1 shriveled1 faded1 weak1 and wizened4 ,their faces reveal the absence of the looks that betoken hope1 courage1 aspiration1 and high purpose4 ,their lineaments and their gait show forth a ghastly forlornness that excites pity and despair4 ,they seem the veriest derelicts1 tossed to and fro by the currents of life without hope of redemption4 ,their whole bearing indicates that they are languid1 morbid1 misanthropic1 and nerveless4 ,they seem ill-nourished as well as mentally and spiritually starved4 ,they seem the victims of inherited or acquired weaknesses that stamp them as belonging among the physically unfit4 ,if the farmer should discover among his animals as large a percentage of unfitness and imperfection1 he would reach the conclusion at once that something was radically wrong and would immediately set on foot well-thought-out plans to rectify the situation4 ,but1 seeing that these derelicts are human beings and not farm stock1 we bestow upon them a sneer1 or possibly a pittance by way of alms1 and pass on our complacent ways4 ,looking upon the imperfect passersby1 the observer is reminded of the tens of thousands of children who are defective in mind and body and are hidden away from public gaze1 a charge upon the resources of the state4 ,such a setting forth of the less agreeable side of present conditions would seem out of place1 if not actually impertinent1 were we inclined to ignore the fact that diagnosis must precede treatment4 ,the surgeon knows full well that there will be pain1 but he is comforted by the reflection that restoration to health will succeed the pain4 ,we need to look squarely at the facts as they are in order to determine what must be done to avert a repetition in the future4 ,we have seen the sins of the fathers visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation and still retained our complacency4 ,we preach temperance to the young men of our day1 but fail to set forth the fact that right living on their part will make for the well-being of their grandchildren4 ,we exhibit our thoroughbred live stock at our fairs and plume ourselves upon our ability to produce stock of such quality4 ,in the case of live stock we know that the present is the product of the past1 but seem less ready to acknowledge the same fact as touching human animals4 ,we may know that our ancestors planted thorns and yet we seem surprised that we cannot gather a harvest of grapes1 and we would fain gather figs from a planting of thistles4 ,but this may not be4 ,we harvest according to the planting of our ancestors1 and1 with equal certainty1 if we eat sour grapes the teeth of our descendants will surely be put on edge4 ,if we are to reconstruct our educational processes we must make a critical survey of the entire situation that we may be fully advised of the magnitude of the problem to which we are to address ourselves4 ,we may not blink the facts but must face them squarely2 otherwise we shall not get on4 ,we may take unction to ourselves for our philanthropic zeal in caring for our unfortunates in penal and eleemosynary institutions1 but that will not suffice4 ,we must frankly consider by what means the number of these unfortunates may be reduced4 ,if we fail to do this we convict ourselves of cowardice or impotence4 ,we pile up our millions in buildings for the insane1 the feeble-minded1 the vicious1 the epileptic1 and plume ourselves upon our munificence4 ,but if all these unfortunates could be redeemed from their thralldom1 and these countless millions turned back into the channels of trade1 civilization would take on a new meaning4 ,here is one of the problems that calls aloud to education for a solution and will not be denied4 ,one of the avowed purposes of education is to lift society to a higher plane of thinking and acting1 and it is always and altogether pertinent to make an inventory to discover if this laudable purpose is being accomplished4 ,such an inventory can be made only by an analyst2 the work cannot be delegated either to a pessimist or to an optimist4 ,in his efforts to determine whether society is advancing or receding1 the analyst often makes disquieting discoveries4 ,it must be admitted by the most devoted and patriotic ,american that our civilization includes many elements that can truly be denominated frivolous1 superficial1 artificial1 and inconsequential4 ,as a people1 we seek to be entertained1 but fail to make a nice distinction between entertainment and amusement4 ,war1 it is true1 has caused us to think more soberly and feel more deeply2 but the bizarre1 the gaudy1 and the superficial still make a strong appeal to us4 ,we are quite happy to wear paste diamonds1 provided only that they sparkle4 ,so long have we been substituting the fictitious for the genuine that we have contracted the habit of loose1 fictitious thinking4 ,so much does the show element appeal to us that we incline to parade even our troubles4 ,simplicity and sincerity1 whether in dress1 in speech1 or in conduct1 have so long been foreign to our daily living and thinking that we incline to style these qualities as old-fogyish4 ,a hundred or more young men came to a certain city to enlist for the war4 ,as they marched out through the railway station they rent the air with whooping and yells and other manifestations of boisterous conduct4 ,these young fellows may have hearts of gold1 but their real manhood was overlaid with a veneer of rudeness that could not commend them to the admiration of cultivated persons4 ,inside the station was another group of young men in khaki who were quiet1 dignified1 and decorous4 ,the contrast between the two groups was most striking1 and the bystanders were led to wonder whether it requires a world-war to teach our young men manners and whether the schools and homes have abdicated in favor of the cantonment in the teaching of deportment4 ,in the schools and the homes that are to be in our good land we may well hope that decorum will be emphasized and magnified2 for decorum is evermore the fruitage of intellectuality and genuine culture4 ,as a nation1 we have been prodigal of our resources and1 especially1 of our time4 ,we have failed to regard our leisure hours as a liability but1 like the lotus eaters1 have dallied in the realm of pleasure4 ,like children at play1 we have gone on our pleasure-seeking ways all heedless of the clock1 and1 when misfortune came and necessity arose1 many of us were unwilling and more of us unable to engage in the work of production4 ,in some localities legislation was invoked to urge us toward the fields and gardens4 ,we have shown ourselves a wasteful people1 and in the wake of our wastefulness have followed a dismal train of disasters1 cold1 hunger1 and many another form of distress4 ,deplore and repent of our prodigality as we may1 the effects abide to remind us of our decline from the high plane of industry1 frugality1 and conservation of leisure4 ,nor can we hope to avert a repetition of this crisis unless education comes in to guide our minds and hands aright4 ,again1 we have been wont to estimate men by what they have rather than by what they are1 and to regard as of value only such things as are quoted in the markets4 ,wall ,street takes precedence over the university and to the millionaire we accord the front seat even in some of our churches4 ,we accept the widow's mite but do not inscribe her name upon the roll of honor4 ,we give money prizes for work in our schools and thus strive to commercialize the things of the mind and of the spirit4 ,we have laid waste our forests1 impoverished our fields1 and defiled our landscapes to stimulate increased activity in our clearing-houses4 ,like ,jason of old1 we have wandered far in quest of the golden fleece4 ,we welcome the rainbow1 not for its beauty but for the bag of gold at its end4 ,we seek to scale the heights of ,olympus by stairways of gold1 fondly nursing the conceit that1 once we have scaled these heights1 we shall be equal to the gods4 ,to indulge in even such a brief review of some of the weak places and defections of society is not an agreeable task1 but diagnosis must necessarily precede the application of remedies4 ,if we are to reconstruct education in order to effect a reconstruction of society we must know our problem in advance1 that we may proceed in a rational way4 ,reconstruction cannot be made permanently effective by haphazard methods4 ,we must visualize clearly the objectives of our endeavors in order to obviate wrong methods and futility4 ,we must have the whole matter laid bare before our eyes or we shall not get on in the work of reconstruction4 ,it were more agreeable to dwell upon our achievements1 and they are many1 but the process of reconstruction has to do with the affected parts4 ,these must be our special care1 these the realm for our kindly surgery and the arts of healing4 ,we need to become acutely conscious that the present will become the past and that there will be a new present which will take on the same qualities that now characterize our present4 ,we need to feel that the future will look back to our present and commend or condemn according to the practices of this generation4 ,and the only way to make a sane and right future is to create a sane and right present4 ,,chapter ,,three ,,the ,,future ,,as ,,related ,,to ,,the ,,present ,in planning a journey the one constant is the destination4 ,all the other elements are variable1 and1 therefore1 subordinate4 ,so1 also1 in planning a course of study4 ,the qualities to be developed through the educational processes are the constants1 while the agencies by which these qualities are to be attained are subject to change4 ,the course of study provides for the school activities for the child for a period of twelve years1 and it is altogether pertinent to inquire what qualities we hope to develop by means of these school activities4 ,to do this effectively we must visualize the pupil when he emerges from the school period and ask ourselves what qualities we hope to have him possess at the close of this period4 ,if we decide upon such qualities as imagination1 initiative1 aspiration1 appreciation1 courage1 loyalty1 reverence1 a sense of responsibility1 integrity1 and serenity1 we have discovered some of the constants toward which all the work of the twelve years must be directed4 ,in planning a course of study toward these constants we do not restrict the scope of the pupil's activities2 quite the reverse4 ,we thus enlarge the concept of education both for himself and his teachers and emphasize the fact that education is a continuous process and may not be marked by grades or subjects4 ,for the teachers we establish goals of school endeavor and thus unify and articulate all their efforts4 ,we focus their attention upon the pupil as they would all wish to see him when he completes the work of the school4 ,if children are asked why they go to school1 nine out of ten1 perhaps1 will reply that they go to school to learn arithmetic1 grammar1 geography1 and history4 ,asked what their big purpose is in teaching1 probably three out of five teachers will answer that they are actuated by a desire to cause their pupils to know arithmetic1 grammar1 geography1 and history4 ,one of the other five teachers may echo something out of her past accumulations to the effect that her work is the training for citizenship1 and the fifth will say quite frankly that she is groping about1 all the while1 searching for the answer to that very question4 ,it would be futile to ask the children why they desire knowledge of these subjects and there might be hazard in propounding the same question to the three teachers4 ,they teach arithmetic because it is in the course of study2 it is in the course of study because the superintendent put it there2 and the superintendent put it there because some other superintendent has it in his course of study4 ,now arithmetic may1 in reality1 be one of the best things a child can study2 but the child takes it because the teacher prescribes it1 and the teacher takes it on faith because the superintendent takes it on faith and she cannot go counter to the dictum of the superintendent4 ,besides1 it is far easier to teach arithmetic than it would be to challenge the right of this subject to a place in the course of study4 ,to most people1 including many teachers1 arithmetic is but a habit of thinking4 ,they have been contracting this habit through all the years since the beginning of their school experience1 until now it seems as inevitable as any other habitual affair4 ,it is quite as much a habit of their thinking as eating1 sleeping1 or walking4 ,if there were no arithmetic1 they argue subconsciously1 there could be no school2 for arithmetic and school are synonymous4 ,again1 let it be said that there is no thought here of inveighing against arithmetic or any other subject of the curriculum4 ,not arithmetic in itself1 but the arithmetic habit constitutes the incubus1 the evil spirit that needs to be exorcised4 ,this arithmetic habit had its origin1 doubtless1 in the traditional concept of knowledge as power4 ,an adage is not easily controverted or eradicated4 ,the copy-books of the fathers proclaimed boldly that knowledge is power1 and the children accepted the dictum as inviolable4 ,if it were true that knowledge is power1 the procedure of the schools and the course of conduct of the teachers during all these years would have ample justification4 ,the entire process would seem simplicity itself4 ,so soon as we acquire knowledge we should have power--and power is altogether desirable4 ,the trouble is that we have been confusing knowledge and wisdom in the face of the poet's declaration that ,knowledge and wisdom1 far from being one1 have ofttimes no connection4 ,our experience should have taught us that many people who have much knowledge are relatively impotent for the reason that they have not learned how to use their knowledge in the way of generating power4 ,gasoline is an inert substance1 but1 under well-understood conditions1 it affords power4 ,water is not power1 but man has learned how to use it in generating power4 ,knowledge is convenient and serviceable1 but its greatest utility lies in the fact that it can be employed in producing power4 ,we are prone to take our judgments ready-made and have been relying upon the copy-books of the fathers rather than our own reasoning powers4 ,if we had only learned in childhood the distinction between knowledge and wisdom2 if we had learned that knowledge is not power but merely potential2 and if we had learned that knowledge is but the means to an end and not the end itself1 we should have been spared many a delusion and our educational sky would not now be so overcast with clouds4 ,we have been proceeding upon the agreeable assumption that arithmetic1 geography1 and history are the goals of every school endeavor1 the ,ultima ,thule of every educational quest4 ,the child studies arithmetic1 is subjected to an examination that may represent the bent or caprice of the teacher1 manages to struggle through seventy per cent of the answers1 is promoted to the next higher grade1 and1 thereupon1 starts on his journey around another circle4 ,and we call this education4 ,these processes constitute the mechanics of education1 but1 in and of themselves1 they are not education4 ,one of the big problems of the school today is to emancipate both teachers and pupils from the erroneous notion that they are4 ,the child does not go to school to learn arithmetic and spelling and grammar4 ,the goal to be attained is far higher and better than either of these or all combined4 ,the study of arithmetic may prove a highly profitable means1 never the end to be gained4 ,this statement will be boldly challenged by the traditional teacher1 but it is so strongly intrenched in logic and sound pedagogy that it is impregnable4 ,the goal might1 possibly1 be reached without the aid of arithmetic1 but1 if a knowledge of this subject will facilitate the process1 then1 of course1 it becomes of value and should be used4 ,let us assume1 for the moment1 that the teacher decides to set up thoroughness as one of the large objectives of her teaching4 ,while she may be able to reach this goal sooner by means of arithmetic1 no one will contend that arithmetic is indispensable4 ,nor1 indeed1 will any one contend that arithmetic is comparable to thoroughness as a goal to be attained4 ,if the teacher's constant aim is thoroughness1 she will achieve even better results in the arithmetic and will inculcate habits in her pupils that serve them in good stead throughout life4 ,for the quality of thoroughness is desirable in every activity of life1 and we do well to emphasize every study and every activity of the school that helps in the development of this quality4 ,if the superintendent were challenged to adduce a satisfactory reason why he has not written thoroughness into his course of study he might be hard put to it to justify the omission4 ,he hopes1 of course1 that the quality of thoroughness will issue somehow from the study of arithmetic and science1 but he lacks the courage1 apparently1 to proclaim this hope in print4 ,he says that education is a spiritual process1 while his course of study proves that he is striving to produce mental acrobats1 relegating the spiritual qualities to the rank of by-products4 ,his course of study shows conclusively that he thinks that knowledge is power4 ,once disillusion him on this point and his course of study will cease to be to him the sacrosanct affair it has always appeared and he will no longer look upon it as a sort of sacrilege to inject into this course of study some elements that seem to violate the sanctities of tradition4 ,advancing another brief step1 we may try to imagine the superintendent's suggesting to the teachers at the opening of the school year that they devote the year to inculcating in their pupils the qualities of thoroughness1 self-control1 courage1 and reverence4 ,the faces of the teachers1 at such a proposal1 would undoubtedly afford opportunity for an interesting study and the linguistic reactions of some of them would be forcible to the point of picturesqueness4 ,the traditional teachers would demand to know by what right he presumed to impose upon them such an unheard-of program4 ,others might welcome the suggestion as a means of relief from irritating and devastating drudgery4 ,in their quaint innocence and guilelessness their souls would revel in rainbow dreams of preachments1 homilies1 and wise counsel that would cause the qualities of self-control and reverence to spring into being full-grown even as ,minerva from the head of ,jove4 ,but their beatific visions would dissolve upon hearing the superintendent name certain teachers to act as a committee to determine and report upon the studies that would best serve the purpose of generating reverence1 and another committee to select the studies that would most effectively stimulate and develop self-control1 and so on through the list4 ,it is here that we find the crux of the whole matter4 ,here the program collides with tradition and with stereotyped habits of thinking4 ,many superintendents and teachers will contend that such a problem is impossible of solution because no one has ever essayed such a task4 ,no one1 they argue1 has ever determined what subjects will effectually generate the specific qualities self-control or reverence1 no one has ever discovered what school studies will function in given spiritual qualities4 ,according to their course of reasoning nothing is possible that has not already been done4 ,however1 there are some progressive1 dynamic superintendents and teachers who will welcome the opportunity to test their resourcefulness in seeking the solution of a problem that is both new and big4 ,to these dynamic ones we must look for results and when this solution is evolved1 the work of reconstruction will move on apace4 ,reverting1 for the moment1 to the subject of thoroughness3 it must be clear that this quality is worthy a place in the course of study because it is worthy the best efforts of the pupil4 ,furthermore1 it is worthy the best efforts of the pupil because it is an important element of civilization4 ,these statements all need reiteration and emphasis to the end that they may become thoroughly enmeshed in the social consciousness4 ,if we can cause people to think toward thoroughness rather than toward arithmetic or other school studies1 we shall win the feeling that we are making progress4 ,thoroughness must be distinguished1 of course1 from a smattering knowledge of details that have no value4 ,in the right sense thoroughness must be interpreted as the habit of mastery4 ,we may well indulge the hope that the time will come when parents will invoke the aid of the schools to assist their children in acquiring this habit of mastery4 ,when that time comes the schools will be working toward larger and higher objectives and education will have become a spiritual process in reality4 ,it will be readily conceded that the habit of mastery is a desirable quality in every vocation and in every avocation4 ,it is a very real asset on the farm1 in the factory1 in legislative halls1 in the offices of lawyer and physician1 in the study1 in the shop1 and in the home4 ,when mastery becomes habitual with people in all these activities society will thrill with the pulsations of new life and civilization will rise to a higher level4 ,but how may the child acquire this habit of mastery8 ,on what meat shall this our pupil feed that he may become master of himself1 master of all his powers1 and master of every situation in which he finds himself8 ,how shall he win that mastery that will enable him to interpret every obstacle as a new challenge to his powers1 and to translate temporary defeat into ultimate victory8 ,how may he enter into such complete sense of mastery that he will not quail in the presence of difficulties1 that he will never display the white flag or the white feather1 that he will ever show forth the spirit of ,henley's ,invictus1 and that nothing short of death may avail to absolve him from his obligations to his high standards8 ,these questions are referred1 with all proper respect1 to the superintendent1 the principal1 and the teachers1 whose province it is to vouchsafe satisfactory answers4 ,if they tell us that arithmetic will be of assistance in the way of inculcating this habit of mastery1 then we shall hail arithmetic with joyous acclaim and accord it a place of honor in the school regime1--but only as an auxiliary1 only as a means to the great end of mastery4 ,if they assure us that science will be equally serviceable in our enterprise of developing mastery1 then we shall give to science an equally hearty welcome4 ,however1 we shall emphasize the right to stipulate that1 in the course of study1 the capitals shall be reserved for the big objective thoroughness1 of the habit of mastery1 and that the means be given in small letters and as sub-heads4 ,we may indulge in the conceit that a flag floats at the summit of a lofty and more or less rugged elevation4 ,the youth who essays the task of reaching that flag will need to reinforce his strength at supply stations along the way4 ,if we style one of these stations arithmetic1 it will be evident1 at once1 that this station is a subsidiary element in the enterprise and not the goal1 for that is the flag at the top4 ,these supply stations are useful in helping the youth to reach his goal4 ,we may conceive of many of these stations1 such as algebra1 or history1 or ,greek1 or ,chinese4 ,whatever their names1 they are all but means to an end and when that end has been attained the youth can afford to forget them1 in large part1 save only in gratitude for their help in enabling him to win the goal of thoroughness4 ,the child eats beefsteak because it is palatable2 the mother prescribes beefsteak and prepares it carefully with the child's health as the goal of her interests4 ,moreover1 she has a more vital interest in beefsteak because she is thinking of health as the goal4 ,for another child1 she may prescribe eggs and1 for still another1 milk or oatmeal1 according to each one's needs4 ,health is the big goal and these foods are the supply stations along the way4 ,the physician must assist in determining what articles of food will best serve the purpose and to this end he must cooperate with the mother in knowing his patients4 ,he must have knowledge of foods and must know how to adapt means to ends1 never losing sight of the real goal4 ,the inference is altogether obvious4 ,a superintendent must write the prescription in the form of a course of study and he may not with impunity mistake a supply station for the goal4 ,he must have knowledge of the pupils and know their individual needs and native interests4 ,having gained this knowledge1 he will supply abundant electives in order to assist each child in the best possible way toward the goal4 ,if1 then1 the relation between major ends and minor means has been made clear1 we are ready for the statement that these major ends may be made the common goals of endeavor in the schools of all lands4 ,thoroughness is quite as necessary in the rice fields of ,china as in the wheat fields of ,america1 as necessary in the banks of ,rome as in the banks of ,new ,york1 quite as essential to mercantile transactions in ,cape ,town as in ,chicago1 and quite as essential to home life in ,tokyo as in ,san ,francisco4 ,if these big objectives are set up in the schools of all countries pupils1 teachers1 and people will come to think in unison and thus their ways will converge and they will come to act in unison4 ,the same high purposes will actuate and animate society as a whole and this1 in turn1 will make for a higher type of civilization and accelerate progress toward unity in school procedure4 ,,chapter ,,four ,,integrity ,integrity connotes many qualities that are necessary to success in the high art of right and rational living and that are conspicuous1 therefore1 in society of high grade4 ,it is an inclusive quality1 and is1 in reality1 a federation of qualities that are esteemed essential to a highly developed civilization4 ,the term1 like the word from which it is derived1 integer1 signifies completeness1 wholeness1 entirety1 soundness1 rectitude1 unimpaired state4 ,it implies no scarification1 no blemish1 no unsoundness1 no abrasion1 no disfigurement1 no distortion1 no defect4 ,in ordinary parlance integrity and honesty are regarded as synonyms1 but a close analysis discovers honesty to be but one of the many manifestations of integrity4 ,lincoln displayed honesty in returning the pennies by way of rectifying a mistake1 but that act1 honest as it was1 did not engage all his integrity4 ,this big quality manifested itself at ,gettysburg1 in the letter to ,mrs4 ,bixby1 in visiting the hospitals to comfort and cheer the wounded soldiers1 and in his magnanimity to those who maligned him4 ,in every individual the inward quality determines the outward conduct in all its ramifications1 whether in his speech1 in his actions1 or in his attitude toward other individuals4 ,it is quite as true in a pedagogical sense as in the scriptural sense that ,men do not gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles1 and1 also1 that ,by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,the stream does not rise higher than the source4 ,what a man is doing and how he is doing it tells us what he is4 ,when we would appraise a man's character we take note of his habits1 his daily walk and conversation in all his relations to his fellows4 ,if we find a blemish in his conduct1 we arrive at the judgment that his character is not without blemish4 ,in short1 his habitual acts and speech1 in the marts of trade1 in the office1 in the field1 in the home1 and in the forum betoken the presence or absence of integrity4 ,it follows1 then1 as a corollary that1 if we hope to have in the stream of life that we call society the elements that make for a high type of civilization we must have integrity at the source2 and with this quality at the source these elements will inevitably issue forth into the life currents4 ,this being true1 we have clear warrant for the affirmation that integrity is a worthy goal toward which we do well to direct the activities of the school4 ,integrity in its large import implies physical soundness1 mental soundness1 and moral soundness4 ,in time we may come to realize that physical soundness and mental soundness are but sequences of moral soundness1 or1 in other words1 that a sound body and a sound mind are manifestations of a right spirit4 ,but1 for the present1 we may waive this consideration and think of the three phases of integrity--physical1 mental and moral4 ,if1 at the age of eighteen years1 the boy or girl emerges from school experience sound in body1 in mind1 and in spirit1 society will affirm that education has been effective4 ,to develop young persons of this type is a work that is worthy the best efforts of the home1 the school1 the church and society1 nor can any one of these agencies shift or shirk responsibility4 ,the school has a large share of this responsibility1 and those whose duty it is to formulate a course of study may well ask themselves what procedure of the school will best assist the child to attain integrity by means of the school activities4 ,in our efforts to generate this quality of integrity1 or1 indeed1 any quality1 it must be kept clearly in mind every day and every hour of the day that the children with whom we have to do are not all alike4 ,on the contrary1 they differ1 and often differ widely1 in respect of mental ability1 environment1 inheritances1 and native disposition4 ,if they were all alike1 it would be most unfortunate1 but we could treat them all alike in our teaching and so fix and perpetuate their likeness to one another4 ,some teachers have heard and read a hundred times that our teaching should attach itself to the native tendencies of the child2 yet1 in spite of this1 the teacher proceeds as if all children were alike and all possessed the same native tendencies4 ,herein lies a part of the tragedy of our traditional1 stereotyped1 race-track teaching4 ,we assume that children are all alike1 that they are standardized children1 and so we prescribe for them a standardized diet and serve it by standardized methods4 ,if we were producing bricks instead of embryo men and women our procedure would be laudable1 for1 in the making of bricks1 uniformity is a prime necessity4 ,each brick must be exactly like every other brick1 and1 in consequence1 we use for each one ingredients of the same quality and in like amount1 and then subject them all to precisely the same treatment4 ,this procedure is well enough in the case of inanimate bricks1 but it is far from well enough in the case of animate1 sentient human beings4 ,it would be a calamity to have duplicate human beings1 and yet the traditional school seems to be doing its utmost to produce duplicates4 ,the native tendencies of one boy impel him toward the realms of nature1 but1 all heedless of this big fact1 we bind him hard and fast to some academic post with traditional bonds of rules and regulations and then strive to coerce him into partaking of our traditional pabulum4 ,his inevitable rebellion against this regime we style incorrigibility1 or stupidity1 and then by main strength and authority strive to reduce him to submission and1 failing in this1 we banish him from the school branded for life4 ,our treatment of this boy is due to the fact that another boy in the school is endowed with other native tendencies and the teacher is striving to fashion both boys in the same mold4 ,in striving to inculcate the quality of integrity1 wholeness1 soundness1 rectitude in ,sam ,brown our aim is to develop this specific boy into the best ,sam ,brown possible and not to try to make of him another ,harry ,smith4 ,we need one best ,sam ,brown and one best ,harry ,smith but not two ,harry ,smiths4 ,if we try to make our ,sam ,brown into a second ,harry ,smith1 society is certain to be the loser to the value of ,sam ,brown4 ,we want to see ,sam ,brown realize all his possibilities to the utmost1 for only so will he win integrity4 ,better a complete ,sam ,brown1 though only half the size of ,harry ,smith1 than an incomplete ,sam ,brown of any size4 ,if the native tendencies of ,sam ,brown lead toward nature1 certain it is that by denying him the stimulus of nature study1 we shall restrict his growth and render him less than complete4 ,if we would produce a complete ,sam ,brown1 if we would have him attain integrity1 we must see to it that the process of teaching engages all his powers and does not permit some of these powers to lie fallow4 ,if ,sam ,brown is a nature boy1 no amount of coercion can transform him into a mathematics boy4 ,true he may1 in time1 gain proficiency in mathematics1 but only if he is led into the field of mathematics through the gateway of nature4 ,he may ultimately achieve distinction as a writer1 but not unless his pen becomes facile in depicting nature4 ,unless his native interests are taken fully into account and all his powers are enlisted in the enterprise of education toward integrity1 he will never become the ,sam ,brown he might have been and the teacher cannot win special comfort in the reflection that she has helped to produce a cripple4 ,we can better afford to depart from the beaten path1 and even do violence to the sanctity of the course of study1 than to lose or deform ,sam ,brown4 ,if his soul yearns for green fields and budding trees1 it is cruel if not criminal to fail to cater to this yearning4 ,and only by cultivating and ministering to this native disposition can we hope to be of service in aiding him to achieve integrity4 ,it needs to be emphasized that integrity signifies one hundred per cent1 nothing less1 and that such a goal is quite worth working toward4 ,on the physical side1 the problem looms large before us4 ,since we can produce thoroughbred live stock that scores one hundred per cent1 we ought to produce one hundred per cent men and women4 ,in a great university1 physical examinations covering a period of seventeen years discovered one physically perfect young woman and not one physically perfect young man4 ,our live stock records make a better showing than this4 ,for years we have been quoting a sound mind in a sound body in various languages but have failed in a large degree to achieve sound bodies4 ,nor1 indeed1 may we hope to win this goal until we become aroused to the importance of physical training in its widest import for all young people and not merely for the already physically fit1 who constitute the ball teams4 ,if the child is physically sound at the age of six1 he ought to be no less so at the age of eighteen4 ,if he is not so1 there must have been some blundering in the course of his school life1 either on the part of the school itself or of the home4 ,when we set up physical soundness as the goal of our endeavors and this ideal becomes enmeshed in the consciousness of all citizens1 then activities toward this end will inevitably ensue4 ,physical training will be made an integral part of the course of study1 medical and dental inspection will obtain both in the school and in the home1 insanitary conditions will no longer be tolerated1 intemperance in every form will disappear1 and every child will receive the same careful nurture that we now bestow upon the prize winners at our live-stock exhibition4 ,the thinking of people will be intent toward the one hundred per cent standard and1 in consequence1 they will strive in unison to achieve this goal4 ,the large amount of incompleteness that is to be found among the products of our schools may be traced1 in a large measure1 to our irrational and fictitious procedure in the matter of grading4 ,we must keep records1 of course1 but it will be recalled that in the parable of the talents men were commended or condemned according to the use they made of the talents they had and were not graded according to a fixed standard4 ,seeing that seventy-five per cent will win him promotion1 the boy devotes only so much of himself to the enterprise as will enable him to attain the goal and directs the remainder of himself to adventures along the line of his native tendencies4 ,the only way by which we can develop a complete ,sam ,brown is so to arrange matters that the whole of ,sam ,brown is enlisted in the work4 ,otherwise we shall have one part of the boy working in one direction and another part in another direction1 and that plan does not make for completeness4 ,we must enlist the whole boy or we shall fail to develop a complete boy4 ,if we can find some study to which he will devote himself unreservedly1 then we may well rejoice and can afford to let the traditional subjects of the course of study wait4 ,we are interested in ,sam ,brown just now and he is far more important than some man-made course of study4 ,we are interested1 too1 in one hundred per cent of ,sam ,brown1 and not in three fourths of him4 ,if arithmetic will not enlist all of this boy and nature will enlist all of him1 then arithmetic must be held in abeyance in the interest of the whole boy4 ,the seventy-five per cent standard is repudiated by the world of affairs even though it is emphasized by the school4 ,seventy-five per cent of accuracy will not do in the transactions of the bank4 ,the accounts must balance to the penny4 ,the figures are right or else they are wrong4 ,there is no middle ground4 ,in the school the boy solves three problems but fails with the fourth4 ,none the less he wins the goal of promotion4 ,not so at the bank4 ,he is denied admission because of his failure with the fourth problem4 ,seventy-five will not do in joining the spans of the great bridge across the river4 ,we must have absolute accuracy if we would avoid a wreck with its attendant horrors4 ,the druggist must not fall below one hundred per cent in compounding the prescription unless he would face a charge of criminal negligence4 ,the wireless operator must transcribe the message with absolute accuracy or dire consequences may ensue4 ,the railway crew must read the order without a mistake if they would save life and property from disaster4 ,but1 in the school1 the teachers rejoice and congratulate one another when their pupils achieve a grade of seventy-five4 ,it matters nothing1 apparently1 that this grade of seventy-five is a fictitious thing with no basis in logic or reason1 in short a mere habit that has no justification save in tradition1 and that1 in very truth1 it is a concession to inaccuracy and ignorance4 ,when we promote the boy for solving three out of four problems we virtually say to him that the fourth problem is negligible and he may as well forget all about it4 ,sometimes a teacher grieves over a grade of seventy-three1 never realizing that another teacher might have given to that same paper a grade of eighty-three4 ,we proclaim education to be a spiritual process1 and then1 in some instances1 employ mechanics to administer this process4 ,by what process of reasoning the superintendent or the teacher arrives at the judgment that seventy-five is good enough is yet to be explained4 ,our zeal for grades and credits indicates a greater interest in the label than in the contents of the package4 ,teaching is a noble work if only it is directed toward worthy goals4 ,nothing in the way of human endeavor can be more inspiring than the work of striving to integrate boys and girls4 ,the mere droning over geography1 and history1 and grammar is petty by comparison4 ,and yet all these studies and many others may be found essential factors in the work and they will be learned with greater thoroughness as means to a great end than as ends in themselves4 ,the supply stations take on a new meaning to the boy who is yearning to reach the flag at the top4 ,but it needs to be said here that the traditional superintendent and teacher will greet this entire plan with a supercilious smile4 ,they will call it visionary1 unpractical1 and idealistic--then return to their seventy-five per cent regime with the utmost complacency and self-satisfaction4 ,it is ever so with the traditional teacher4 ,he seeks to be let alone1 that he may go on his complacent way without hindrance4 ,to him every innovation is an interference1 if not a positive impertinence4 ,but1 in spite of the traditional teacher1 the school is destined to rise to a higher level and enter upon a more rational procedure4 ,and we must look to the dynamic teacher to usher in the renaissance--the teacher who has the vitality and the courage to break away from tradition and write integrity into the course of study as one of the big goals and think all the while toward integrity1 physical1 mental1 and moral4 ,,chapter ,,five ,,appreciation ,education may be defined as the process of raising the level of appreciation4 ,this definition will stand the ultimate test4 ,here is bed-rock2 here is the foundation upon which we may predicate appreciation as a goal in every rational system of education4 ,appreciation has been defined as a judgment of values1 a feeling for the essential worth of things1 and1 as such1 it lies at the very heart of real education4 ,it must be so or civilization cannot be4 ,without appreciation there can be no distinction between the coarse and the fine1 none between the high and the low1 none between the beautiful and the ugly1 none between the sublime and the commonplace1 none between zenith and nadir4 ,hence1 appreciation is inevitable in every course of study1 whether the authorities have the courage to proclaim it or not4 ,just why it has not been written into the course of study is inexplicable1 seeing that it is fundamental in the educational process4 ,it is far from clear why the superintendent permits teachers and pupils to go on their way year after year thinking that arithmetic is their final destination1 or why he fails to take the tax-payers into his confidence and explain to them that appreciation is one of the lode-stars toward which the schools are advancing4 ,in his heart he hopes that the schools may achieve appreciation1 and it would be the part of frankness and fairness for him to reveal this hope to his teachers and to all others concerned4 ,it is common knowledge that business affairs do not require more than ten pages of arithmetic and it would seem only fair that the study of the other pages should be justified4 ,these other pages must serve some useful purpose in the thinking of those who retain them1 and1 certainly1 no harm would ensue from a revelation of this purpose4 ,if they are studied as a means to some high end1 they will prove no less important after this fact has been explained4 ,we may need more arithmetic than we have1 but it is our due to be informed why we need it2 to what use it is to be put4 ,these things we have a right to know1 and no superintendent1 who is charged with the responsibility of making the course of study1 has a right to withhold the information4 ,if he does not know the explanation of the course of study he has devised1 he ought to make known that fact and throw himself on the mercy of the court4 ,in these days of conservation and elimination of waste every subject that seeks admission to the course of study should be challenged at the door and be made to show what useful purpose it is to serve4 ,nor should any subject be admitted on any specious pretext4 ,if there are subjects that are better adapted to the high purposes of education than the ones we are now using1 then1 by all means1 let us give them a hearty welcome4 ,above all1 we should be careful not to retain a subject unless it has a more valid passport than old age to justify its retention4 ,if ,chinese will help us win the goal of appreciation more effectively than ,latin1 then1 by all means1 we should make the substitution4 ,but1 in doing so1 we must exercise care not to be carried away by a yearning for novelty4 ,least of all should any subject be admitted to the course of study that does not have behind it something more substantial and enduring than whim or caprice4 ,the subjects that avail in generating and stimulating the growth of appreciation are many and of great variety4 ,nor are they all found in the proverbial course of study of the schools4 ,when the boy first really sees an ear of corn from another viewpoint than the economic1 he finds it eloquent of the marvelous adaptations of nature4 ,from being a mere ear of corn it becomes a revelation of design and beauty4 ,no change has taken place in the ear of corn1 but a most important change has been wrought in the boy4 ,such a change is so subtle1 so delicate1 and so intangible that it cannot be measured in terms of per cents2 but it is no less real for all that4 ,it is a spiritual process and1 therefore1 aptly illustrates the accepted definition of education4 ,though it defies analysis and the rule of thumb1 the boy is conscious of it and can say with the man who was born blind1 ,one thing ,i know1 that1 whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see1 and no cabalistic marks in a grade-book can express the value of the change indicated by that statement4 ,the sluggard deems the sunrise an impertinence because it disturbs his morning slumber2 but such a change may be wrought in him as to cause him to stand in reverence before the very thing he once condemned4 ,the sunrise1 once an affront1 is now nothing less than a miracle1 and he stands in the sublime presence with uncovered and lowered head4 ,he is a reverent witness of the re-birth of the world4 ,an hour ago there was darkness2 now there is light4 ,an hour ago the world was dead2 now it is gloriously alive4 ,an hour ago there was silence2 now there is sound of such exquisite quality as to ravish the soul with delight4 ,as the first beams of sunlight come streaming over the hills1 ten thousand birds join in a mighty chorus of welcome to the newborn day and the world is flooded with song2 and the whilom sluggard thrills under the spell of the scene and feels himself a part of the world that is vibrant with music4 ,can it be denied that this man is all the better citizen for his ability to appreciate the wonderfulness of a sunrise8 ,but while we extol and magnify the quality of appreciation1 it is well to note that it cannot be superinduced by any imperial mandate nor does it spring into being at the behest of didacticism4 ,it can be caught but not taught4 ,indeed1 it is worthy of general observation that the choice things which young people receive from the schools1 colleges1 and normal schools are caught and not taught1 however much the teachers may plume themselves upon their ability to impart instruction4 ,education1 at its best1 is a process of inoculation4 ,the teacher is an important factor in this process of generating situations that render inoculation far more easy2 and we omit one of the most vital things in education when we refer only to the teacher's ability to impart instruction4 ,the pupil gets certain things in that room1 but the teacher does not give them4 ,the teacher's function is to create situations in which the spirit of the pupil will become inoculated with the germs of truth in all its aspects4 ,if he could give the things that the pupils get1 then all would share alike in the distribution4 ,if the teacher could impart instruction1 he certainly would not fail to lift all his pupils over the seventy-five per cent hurdle4 ,if instruction or knowledge could be imparted1 education would no longer be a spiritual process but rather one of driving the boy into a corner1 imparting such instruction as the teacher might decree and keeping on until the point of saturation was reached or the supply of instruction became exhausted1 when the trick would be done4 ,the process would be as simple as pouring water from one vessel into another4 ,sometimes the teacher of literature strives to engender appreciation in a pupil by rhapsodizing over some passage4 ,she reads the passage in a frenzy of simulated enthusiasm1 with a quaver in her voice and moisture in her eyes1 only to find1 at the end1 that her patient has fallen asleep4 ,appreciation cannot be generated in such fashion4 ,the boy cannot light his torch of appreciation at a mere phosphorescent glow4 ,there must be heat behind the light or there can be no ignition4 ,the boy senses the fictitious at once and cannot react to what he knows to be spurious4 ,only the genuine can win his interest4 ,napoleon ,bonaparte once said that no one can gaze into the starry sky at night for five minutes and not believe in the existence of ,god4 ,but to people who lack such appreciation the night sky is devoid of significance4 ,there are teachers who never go forth to revel in the glories of this star-lit masterpiece of creation1 because1 forsooth1 they are too busy grading papers in literature4 ,such a teacher is not likely to be the cause of a spiritual ignition in her pupils1 for she herself lacks the divine fire of appreciation4 ,if she only possessed this quality no words would be needed to reveal its presence to the boy2 he would know it even as the homing-pigeon knows its course4 ,when the spirits of teacher and pupils become merged as they must become in all true teaching1 the boy will find himself in possession of this spiritual quality4 ,he knows that he has it1 the teacher knows that he has it1 and his associates know that he has it1 and one and all know that it is well worth having4 ,it is related of ,keats that in reading ,spenser he was thrown into a paroxysm of delight over the expression sea-shouldering whales4 ,the churl would not give a second thought to the phrase1 or1 indeed1 a first one2 but the man of appreciation finds in it a source of pleasure4 ,arlo ,bates speaks with enthusiasm of the word highly as used in the ,gettysburg ,speech1 and the teacher's work reaches a high point of excellence when it has given to the pupil such a feeling of appreciation as enables him to discover and rejoice in such niceties of literary expression4 ,it widens the horizon of life to him and gives him a deeper and closer sympathy with every form and manifestation of life4 ,every phase of life makes an appeal to him1 from bird on the wing to rushing avalanche2 from the blade of grass to the boundless plains2 from the prattle of the child to the word miracles of ,shakespeare2 from the stable of ,bethany to the ,mount of ,transfiguration4 ,geography lends itself admirably to the development of appreciation if it is well taught4 ,indeed1 to develop appreciation seems to be the prime function of geography1 and the marvel is that it has not been so proclaimed4 ,in this field geography finds a clear justification1 and the superintendent who sets forth appreciation as the end and geography as the means is certain to win the plaudits of many people who have long been wondering why there is so much geography in the present course of study4 ,certainly no appreciation can develop from the question and answer method1 for no spiritual quality can thrive under such deadening conditions4 ,if the questions emanated from the pupils1 the situation would be improved1 but such is rarely the case4 ,teaching is1 in reality1 a transfusion of spirit1 and when this flow of spirit from teacher to pupil is unimpeded teaching is at high tide4 ,when the subject is artfully and artistically developed the effect upon the child is much the same as that of unrolling a great and beautiful picture4 ,the ,mississippi ,river can be taught as a great drama1 from its rise in ,lake ,itasca to its triumphal entry into the ,gulf4 ,as it takes its way southward pine forests wave their salutes1 then wheat fields1 then corn fields1 and1 later1 cotton fields4 ,then its tributaries may be seen coming upon the stage to help swell the mighty sweep of progress toward the sea4 ,when geography is taught as a drama1 appreciation is inevitable4 ,the resourceful teacher can find a thousand dramas in the books on geography if she knows how to interpret the pages of the books1 and with these inspiring dramas she can lift her pupils to the very pinnacle of appreciation4 ,such tales are as fascinating as fairy stories and have the added charm of being true to the teachings of science4 ,a raindrop seems a common thing1 but cast in dramatic form it becomes of rare charm4 ,it slides from the roof of the house and finds its way into the tiny rivulet1 then into the brook1 then into the river and thus finally reaches the sea4 ,by the process of evaporation1 it is transformed into vapor and is carried over the land by currents of air4 ,as it comes into contact with colder currents1 condensation ensues and then precipitation1 and our raindrop descends to earth once more4 ,sinking into the soil at the foot of the tree it is taken up into the tree by capillary attraction1 out through the branches and then into the fruit4 ,then comes the sunshine to ripen the fruit1 and finally this fruit is harvested and borne to the market1 whence it reaches the home4 ,here it is served at the breakfast table and the curtain of our drama goes down with our raindrop as orange-juice on the lip of the little girl4 ,when we come to realize1 in our enlarged vision1 the possibilities of geography in fostering the quality of appreciation1 our teaching of the subject will be changed and vitalized1 our textbooks will be written from a different angle1 and our pupils will receive a much larger return upon their investment of time and effort4 ,the study of geography will be far less like the conning of a gazetteer or a city directory and more like a fascinating story4 ,in our astronomical geography we shall make many a pleasing excursion into the far spaces and win stimulating glimpses into the infinities4 ,in our physical geography we shall read marvelous stories that outrival the romances of ,dumas and ,hugo4 ,and geography as a whole will reveal herself as the cherishing mother of us all1 providing us with food1 and drink1 and shelter1 and raiment1 giving us poetry1 and song1 and story1 and weaving golden fancies for the fabric of our daily dreams4 ,and when1 at length1 through the agency of geography and the other means at hand1 our young people have achieved the endowment of appreciation1 life will be for them a fuller and richer experience and they will be better fitted to play their parts as intelligent1 cultivated men and women4 ,the gateways will stand wide open through which they can enter into the palace of life to revel in all its beauteous splendor4 ,they will receive a welcome into the friendship of the worthy good and great of all ages4 ,when they have gained an appreciation of the real meaning of literature1 children who have become immortal will cluster about them and nestle close in their thoughts and affections1--,tiny ,tim1 ,little ,jo1 ,little ,nell1 ,little ,boy ,blue1 and ,eppie4 ,a visitor in ,turner's studio once said to the artist1 ,really1 ,mr4 ,turner1 ,i can't see in nature the colors you portray on canvas4 ,whereupon the artist replied1 ,don't you wish you could8 ,when our pupils gain the ability to read and enjoy the message of the artist they will be able to hold communion with ,raphael1 ,michael ,angelo1 ,murillo1 ,rembrandt1 ,rosa ,bonheur1 ,titian1 ,corot1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 ,correggio1 ,fra ,angelico1 and ,ghiberti4 ,in the realms of poetry they will be able to hold agreeable converse with ,shelley1 ,keats1 ,southey1 ,mrs4 ,browning1 ,milton1 ,victor ,hugo1 ,hawthorne1 ,poe1 and ,shakespeare4 ,and when the great procession of artists1 poets1 scientists1 historians1 dramatists1 statesmen1 and philanthropists file by to greet their gaze1 entranced they will be able to applaud4 ,,chapter ,,six ,,aspiration ,browning says1 ',tis not what man ,does which exalts him1 but what man ,would do4 ,the boy who has acquired the habit of wishing ardently in right directions is well on the way toward becoming educated4 ,for earnest wishing precedes and conditions every achievement that is worthy the name4 ,the man who does not wish does not achieve1 and the man who does wish with persistency and consistency does not fail of achievement4 ,had ,columbus not wished with consuming ardor to circumnavigate the globe1 he would never have encountered ,america4 ,the ,atlantic cable figured in the dreams and wishes of ,cyrus ,w4 ,field long before even the preliminaries became realities4 ,the wish evermore precedes the blueprint4 ,it required forty-two years for ,ghiberti to translate his dream into the reality that we know as the bronze doors of the ,baptistry4 ,but had there been no dreams there had been no bronze doors1 and the world of art would have been the poorer4 ,every tunnel that pierces a mountain2 every bridge that spans a river2 every building whose turrets pierce the sky2 every invention that lifts a burden from the shoulders of humanity2 every reform that gilds the world with the glow of hope1 was preceded by a wish whose gossamer strands were woven in a human brain4 ,the ,red ,cross of today is but a dream of ,henri ,dunant realized and grown large4 ,the student who scans the records of historical achievements and of the triumphs of art1 music1 science1 literature1 and philanthropy must realize that ardent wishing is the condition precedent to further extension in any of these lines1 and he must be aware1 too1 that the ranks of wishers must be recruited from among the children of our schools4 ,the yearning to achieve is the urge of the divine part of each one of us1 and it naturally follows that whoever does not have this yearning has been reduced to the plane of abnormality in that the divine part of him has been subordinated1 submerged1 stifled4 ,every fervent wish is a prayer that emanates from this divine part of us1 and1 in all reverence1 it may be said that we help to answer our own prayers4 ,when we wish ardently we work earnestly to cause our dreams to come true4 ,we are told that every wish comes true if we only wish hard enough1 and this statement finds abundant confirmation in the experiences of those who have achieved4 ,the child's wishes have their origin and abode in his native interests and when we have determined what his wishes are1 we have in hand the clue that will lead us to the inmost shrine of his native tendencies4 ,this1 as has been so frequently said1 is the point of attack for all our teaching1 this the particular point that is most sensitive to educational inoculation4 ,if we find that the boy is eager to have a wireless outfit and is working with supreme intensity to crystallize his wish into tangible and workable form1 quite heedless of clock hours1 it were unkind to the point of cruelty and altogether unpedagogical to force him away from this congenial task into some other work that he will do only in a heartless and perfunctory way4 ,if we yearn to have him study ,latin1 we shall do well to carry the wireless outfit over into the ,latin field1 for the boy will surely follow wherever this outfit leads4 ,but if we destroy the wireless apparatus1 in the hope that we shall thus stimulate his interest in ,latin1 the scar that we shall leave upon his spirit will rise in judgment against us to the end of life4 ,the ,latin may be desirable and necessary for the boy1 but the wireless comes first in his wishes and we must go to the ,latin by way of the wireless4 ,it is the high privilege of the teacher to make and keep her pupils hungry1 to stimulate in them an incessant ardent longing and yearning4 ,this is her chief function4 ,if she does this she will have great occasion to congratulate herself upon her own progress as well as theirs4 ,if they are kept hungry1 the sources of supply will not be able to elude them1 for children have great facility and resourcefulness in the art of foraging4 ,they readily discover the lurking places of the substantials as well as of the tid-bits and the sweets4 ,they easily scent the trail of the food for which their spiritual or bodily hunger calls4 ,the boy who yearns for the wireless need not be told where he may find screws1 bolts1 and hammer4 ,the girl who yearns to paint will somehow achieve pigments1 brushes1 palette1 and teachers4 ,appetite is the principal thing2 the rest comes easy4 ,the hungry child lays the whole world under tribute and cheerfully appropriates whatever fits into his wishes4 ,if his neighbor a mile distant has a book for which he feels a craving1 the two-mile walk in quest of that book is invested with supreme charm1 no matter what the weather4 ,the apple may be hanging on the topmost bough1 but the boy who is apple-hungry recks not of height nor of the labyrinth of hostile branches4 ,he gets the apple4 ,as some one has said1 ,the soul reaches out for the cloak that fits it4 ,there is nothing more pathetic in the whole realm of school procedure than the frantic efforts of some teachers to feed their pupils instead of striving to create spiritual hunger4 ,they require pupils to take so many problems1 con so many words of spelling1 turn so many pages of a book on history1 and then have them try to repeat in an agony of effort words from a book that they neither understand nor feel an interest in4 ,the teacher would feed them whether they have any craving for food or not4 ,such teachers seem to be immune to the teachings of psychology and pedagogy2 they continue to travel the way their grandparents trod1 spurning the practices of ,pestalozzi1 ,froebel1 and ,francis ,parker4 ,they seem not to know that their pupils are predatory beings who are quite capable of ransacking creation to get the food for which they feel a craving4 ,not appreciating the nature of their pupils1 they continue the process of feeding and stuffing them and thus fall into the fatal blunder of mistaking distention for education4 ,ruth ,mc,enery ,stuart has set out this whole matter most lucidly and cogently in her volume entitled ,sonny4 ,in this story the boy had four teachers who took no account of his aspirations and natural tendencies1 but insisted upon feeding him traditional food by traditional methods4 ,to them it mattered not that he was unlike other boys4 ,what was suitable for them must be equally suitable for him4 ,the story goes that a certain school-master was expounding the passage ,be ye pure in heart4 ,turning to the boys he exclaimed1 ,are you pure in heart8 ,if you're not1 ,i'll flog you till you are4 ,so with ,sonny's four teachers4 ,if he had no appetite for their kind of food1 they'd feed it to him till he had4 ,but when the appetite failed to come as the result of their much feeding1 they banished him to outer darkness with epithets expressive of their disappointment and disgust4 ,they washed their hands of him and were glad to be rid of him4 ,his next teacher1 however1 was different4 ,she sensed his unlikeness to other boys and knew1 instinctively1 that his case demanded and deserved special treatment4 ,she consulted his aspirations and appraised his native tendencies4 ,in doing so1 she discovered an embryo naturalist and thus became aware of the task to which she must address herself4 ,so she spread her nets for all living and creeping things1 for the beasts of the forest1 the birds of the air1 for plants1 and flowers1 and stones1--in short1 for all the works of nature4 ,in name she was his teacher1 but in reality she was his pupil1 and his other four teachers might have become members of the class with rich profit to themselves4 ,in his examination for graduation the boy utterly confounded and routed the members of the examining committee by the profundity and breadth of his knowledge and they were glad to check his onslaught upon the ramparts of their ignorance by awarding him a diploma4 ,it devolves upon the superintendent and teachers1 therefore1 to determine what studies already in the schools or what others that may be introduced will best serve the purpose of fostering aspiration4 ,they cannot deny that this quality is an essential element in the spiritual composition of every well-conditioned child as well as of every rightly constituted man and woman4 ,for aspiration means life1 and the lack of aspiration means death4 ,the man who lacks aspiration is static1 dormant1 lifeless1 inert2 the man who has aspiration is dynamic1 forceful1 potent1 regnant4 ,aspiration is the animating power that gives wings to the forces of life4 ,it is the motive power that induces the currents of life4 ,the man who has aspiration yearns to climb to higher levels1 to make excursions into the realms that lie beyond his present horizon1 and to traverse the region that lies between what he now is and what he may become4 ,it is the dove that goes forth from the ark to make discovery of the new lands that beckon4 ,in a former book the author tried to set forth the influence of the poet in generating aspiration1 and in this attempt used the following words3 ,when he would teach men to aspire he writes ,excelsior and so causes them to know that only he who aspires really lives4 ,they see the groundling1 the boor1 the drudge1 and the clown content to dwell in the valley amid the loaves and fishes of animal desires1 while the man who aspires is struggling toward the heights whence he may gain an outlook upon the glories that are1 know the throb and thrill of new life1 and experience the swing and sweep of spiritual impulses4 ,he makes them to know that the man who aspires recks not of cold1 of storm1 or of snow1 if only he may reach the summit and lave his soul in the glory that crowns the marriage of earth and sky4 ,they feel that the aspirant is but yielding obedience to the behests of his better self to scale the heights where sublimity dwells4 ,it were useless for teachers to pooh-pooh this matter as visionary and inconsequential or to disregard aspiration as a vital factor in the scheme of education4 ,this quality is fundamental and may not1 therefore1 be either disregarded or slurred4 ,fundamental qualities must engage the thoughtful attention of all true educators1 for these fundamentals must constitute the ground-work of every reform in our school procedure4 ,there can be life without arithmetic1 but there can be no real life without aspiration4 ,it points to higher and fairer levels of life and impels its possessor onward and upward4 ,this needs to be fully recognized by the schools that would perform their high functions worthily1 and no teacher can with impunity evade this responsibility4 ,somehow1 we must contrive to instill the quality of aspiration into the lives of our pupils if we would acquit ourselves of this obligation4 ,to do less than this is to convict ourselves of stolidity or impotence4 ,chief among the agencies that may be made to contribute generously in this high enterprise is history1 or more specifically1 biography1 which is quintessential history4 ,a boy proceeds upon the assumption that what has been done may be done again and1 possibly1 done even better4 ,when he reads of the beneficent achievements of ,edison he becomes fired with zeal to equal if not surpass these achievements4 ,obstacles do not daunt the boy who aspires4 ,everything becomes possible in the light and heat of his zeal4 ,since ,edison did it1 he can do it1 and no amount of discouragement can dissuade him from his lofty purpose4 ,he sets his goal high and marches toward it with dauntless courage4 ,if a wireless outfit is his goal1 bells may ring and clocks may strike1 but he hears or heeds them not4 ,to be effective the teaching of history must be far more than the mere droning over the pages of a book4 ,it must be so vital that it will set the currents of life in motion4 ,in his illuminating report upon the schools of ,denmark1 ,mr4 ,edwin ,g4 ,cooley quotes ,bogtrup on the teaching of history as follows3 ,history does not mean books and maps2 it is not to be divided into lessons and gone through with a pointer like any other paltry school subject4 ,history lies before our eyes like a mighty and turbulent ocean1 into which the ages run like rivers4 ,its rushing waves bring to our listening ears the sound of a thousand voices from the olden time4 ,with our pupils we stand on the edge of a cliff and gaze over this great sea2 we strive to open their eyes to its power and beauty2 we point out the laws of the rise and fall of the waves1 and of the strong under-currents4 ,we strive by poetic speech to open their ears to the voices of the sea which in our very blood run through the veins from generation to generation1 and1 humming and singing1 echo in our innermost being4 ,such teaching of history as is here portrayed will never fall upon dull ears or unresponsive spirits4 ,it will thrill the youth with a consuming desire to be up and doing4 ,he will ignite at touch of the living fire4 ,his soul will become incandescent and the glow will warm him into noble action4 ,he yearns to emulate the triumphs of those who have preceded him on the stage of endeavor4 ,if he reads ,the ,message to ,garcia he feels himself pulsating with the zeal to do deeds of valor and heroism4 ,whether the records deal with ,clara ,barton1 ,nathan ,hale1 ,frances ,willard1 ,mrs4 ,stowe1 ,columbus1 ,lincoln1 ,william the ,silent1 ,erasmus1 or ,raphael1 if these people are present as vital entities the young people will thrill under the spell of the entrancing stories4 ,then will history and biography come into their own as means to a great end1 and then will aspiration take its rightful place as one of the large goals in the scheme of education4 ,as ,browning says1 ,a man's reach should exceed his grasp1 or what's a heaven for8 and again3 ,what ,i aspired to be ,and was not1 comforts me4 ,,chapter ,,seven ,,initiative ,no one who gives the matter thoughtful consideration will ever deprecate or disparage the possession of the virtue of obedience2 but1 on the other hand1 no such thoughtful person will attempt to deny that this virtue1 desirable as it is1 may be fostered and emphasized to such a degree that its possessor will become a mere automaton4 ,and this is bad2 indeed1 very bad4 ,we extol obedience1 to be sure1 but not the sort of blind1 unthinking obedience that will reduce its possessor to the status of the mechanical toy which needs only to be wound up and set going4 ,the factory superintendent is glad to have men about him who are able to work efficiently from blueprints2 but he is glad1 also1 to have men about him who can dispense with blueprints altogether or can make their own4 ,the difference between these two types of operatives spells the difference between leadership and mere blind1 automatic following4 ,were all the workers in the factory mere followers1 the work would be stereotyped and the factory would be unable to compete with the other factory1 where initiative and leadership obtain4 ,one psychologist avers that ninety per cent of our education comes through imitation2 but1 even so1 it is quite pertinent to inquire into the remaining ten per cent4 ,conceding that we adopt our styles of wearing apparel at the behest of society2 that we fashion and furnish our homes in conformity to prevailing customs2 that we permit press and pulpit to formulate for us our opinions and beliefs2 in short1 that we are imitators up to the full ninety per cent limit1 it still must seem obvious to the close observer that the remaining ten per cent has afforded us a vast number and variety of improvements that tend to make life more agreeable4 ,this ten per cent has substituted the modern harvester for the sickle and cradle with which our ancestors harvested their grain2 it has brought us the tractor for the turning of the soil in place of the primitive plow2 it has enabled us to use the auto-truck in marketing our products instead of the ox-teams of the olden times2 it has brought us the telegraph and telephone with which to send the message of our desires across far spaces2 and it has supplied us with conveniences and luxuries that our grandparents could not imagine even in their wildest fancies4 ,a close scrutiny will convince even the most incredulous that many teachers and schools arc doing their utmost1 in actual practice if not in theory1 to eliminate the ten per cent margin and render their pupils imitators to the full one hundred per cent limit4 ,we force the children to travel our standard pedagogical tracks and strive to fashion and fix them in our standard pedagogical molds4 ,and woe betide the pupil who jumps the track or shows an inclination to travel a route not of the teacher's choosing6 ,he is haled into court forthwith and enjoined to render a strict accounting for his misdoing2 for anything that is either less or more than a strict conformity to type is accounted a defection4 ,we demand absolute obedience to the oracular edicts of the school as a passport to favor4 ,conformity spells salvation for the child and1 in the interests of peace1 he yields1 albeit grudgingly1 to the inevitable4 ,in world affairs we deem initiative a real asset1 but one of the saddest of our mistakes in ordering school activities consists in our fervid attempts to prove that the school is detached from life and something quite apart from the world4 ,we would have our pupils believe that1 when they are in school1 they are neither in nor of the world4 ,at our commencement exercises we tell the graduates that they are now passing across a threshold out into the world2 that they are now entering into the realms of real life2 and that on the morrow they will experience the initial impact of practical life4 ,these time-worn expressions pass current1 at face value1 among enthusiastic relatives and friends1 but there are those in the audience who know them to be the veriest cant1 with no basis either in logic or in common sense4 ,it is nothing short of foolishness to assert that a young person must attain the age of eighteen years before he enters real life4 ,the child knows that his home is a part of the world and an element in life1 that the grocery is another part1 the post-office still another part1 and so on through an almost endless list4 ,equally well does he know that the school is a part of life1 because it enters into his daily experiences the same as the grocery and the post-office4 ,full well does he know that he is not outside of life when he is in school1 and no amount of sophistry can convince him otherwise4 ,if the school is not an integral part of the world and of life1 so much the worse for the school and1 by the same token1 so much the worse for the teacher4 ,either the school is a part of the world or else it is neither a real nor a worthy school4 ,the hours which the child spends in school are quite as much a part of his life as any other portion of the day1 no matter what activities the school provides1 and we do violence to the facts when we assume or argue otherwise4 ,here is a place for emphasis4 ,here is the rock on which many a pedagogical bark has suffered shipwreck4 ,we become so engrossed in the mechanics of our task--grades1 tests1 examinations1 and promotions--that we lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with real life in a situation that is a part of the real world4 ,the best preparation for life is to practice life aright1 and this is the real function of the school4 ,if teachers only could or would give full recognition to this simple1 open truth1 there would soon ensue a wide departure from some of our present mechanized methods4 ,but so long as we cling to the traditional notion that school is detached from real life1 so long shall we continue to pursue our merry-go-round methods4 ,if we could fully realize that we are teaching life by the laboratory method1 many a vague and misty phase of our work would soon become clarified4 ,seeing1 then1 that the school is a cross-section of life1 it follows1 naturally1 that it embodies the identical elements that constitute life as a whole4 ,we all know1 by experience1 that life abounds in vicissitudes1 discouragements1 trials1 and obstacles1 and the school1 being a part of real life1 must furnish forth the same elements even if of less magnitude4 ,there are obstacles1 to be sure1 and there should be4 ,abraham ,lincoln once said1 ,when you can't remove an obstacle1 plow around it4 ,but teachers are prone to remove the obstacles from the pathway of their pupils when they should be training them to surmount these obstacles or1 failing that for the time being1 to plow around them4 ,it is far easier1 however1 for the teacher to solve the problem for the boy than to stimulate him to solve it independently4 ,if we would train the boy to leap over hurdles1 we must supply the hurdles and not remove them from his path4 ,still further1 we must elevate the hurdles1 by easy gradations1 if we would increase the boy's powers and prowess4 ,professor ,edgar ,james ,swift says1 ,man expends just energy enough to satisfy the demands of the situation in which he is placed4 ,this statement is big with meaning for all who have a true conception of pedagogy and of life4 ,in this sentence we see the finger-board that points toward high achievements in teaching4 ,if the hurdles are too low1 the boy becomes flaccid1 flabby1 sluggish1 and lethargic4 ,the hurdles should be just high enough to engage his full strength1 physical1 mental1 and moral4 ,they should ever be a challenge to his best efforts4 ,but they should never be so high that they will invite discouragement1 disaster1 and failure4 ,the teacher should guard against elevating hurdles as an exhibition of her own reach4 ,the gymnasium is not a stage for exhibitions4 ,on the contrary1 it is a place for graduated1 cumulative training4 ,our inclination is to make life easy and agreeable to our pupils rather than real4 ,to this end we help them over the difficulties1 answer questions which they do not ask1 and supply them with crutches when we should be training them to walk without artificial aids4 ,the passing mark rather than real training seems to be made the goal of our endeavors even if we enfeeble the child by so doing4 ,we seem to measure our success by the number of promotions and not by the quality of the training we give4 ,we seem to be content to produce weaklings if only we can push them through the gateway of promotion4 ,it matters not that they are unable to find their way alone through the mazes of life2 let them acquire that ability later1 after they have passed beyond our control4 ,again quoting from ,professor ,swift1 ,following a leader1 even though that leader be the teacher1 tends to take from children whatever latent ability for initiative they may have4 ,there is a story of an indulgent mother who was quite eager that her boy should have a pleasant birthday and so asked him what he would most like to do4 ,the answer came in a flash3 ,thank you1 ,mother1 ,i should most like just to be let alone4 ,this answer leads us at once to the inner sanctuary of childhood4 ,children yearn to be let alone and must grow restive under the incessant attentions of their elders4 ,in school there is ever such a continuous fusillade of questions and answers1 assigning of lessons1 recitations1 corrections1 explanations1 and promulgations1 rules and restrictions that the children have no time for growing inside4 ,they are not left to their own devices but are pulled and pushed about1 and managed1 and coddled or coerced all day long1 so that there is neither time nor scope for the exercise and development of initiative4 ,the teacher1 at times1 seems to think of the school as a mammoth syringe with which she is called upon to pump information into her bored but passive pupils4 ,silence is the element in which initiative thrives1 but our school programs rarely provide any periods of silence4 ,they assume that to be effective a school must be a place of bustle1 and hurry1 and excitement1 not to mention entertainment4 ,sometimes the child is intent upon explorations among the infinities when the teacher summons him back to earth to cross a t or dot an i4 ,the teacher who would implant a thought-germ in the minds of her pupils and then allow fifteen minutes of silence for the process of germination1 should be ranked as an excellent teacher4 ,when the child is thinking out things for himself the process is favorable to initiative2 but when the teacher directs his every movement1 thought1 and impulse1 she is repressing the very quality that makes for initiative and ultimate leadership4 ,when the boy would do some things on his own1 the teacher is striving to force him to travel in her groove4 ,henderson well says3 ,we do not invariably cultivate initiative by letting children alone1 but in nine cases out of ten it is a highly effective method4 ,in our honest desire for their betterment1 the temptation is always to jump in and to do for them1 when we would much better keep hands off1 and allow them1 under favorable conditions1 to do for themselves4 ,they may do something which1 from an objective point of view1 is much less excellent than our own well-considered plan4 ,but education is not an objective process4 ,it is subjective and was wrapped up in the funny blundering little enterprise of the child1 rather than in our own intrusive one4 ,the crude product of the boy's work in manual training is far better for him and for the whole process of education than the finished product of the teacher's skill which sometimes passes for the boy's own work4 ,some manual training teachers have many a sin charged to their account in this line that stands in dire need of forgiveness4 ,there are many worthy enterprises through which initiative may be fostered4 ,prominent among these are some of the home and school projects that are in vogue4 ,these projects1 when wisely selected with reference to the child's powers and inclination1 give scope for the exercise of ingenuity1 resourcefulness1 perseverance1 and unhampered thinking and acting4 ,besides1 some of the by-products are of value1 notably self-reliance and self-respect4 ,a child yearns to play a thinking part in the drama of life and not the part of a marionette or jumping-jack that moves only when someone pulls the string4 ,he yearns to be an entity and not a mere echo4 ,paternalism1 in our school work1 does not make for self-reliance1 and1 therefore1 is to be deplored4 ,there is small hope for the child without initiative1 who is helped over every slightest obstacle1 and who acquires the habit of calling for help whenever he encounters a difficulty4 ,here we have ample scope for the problem element in teaching and we are recreant to our opportunities and do violence to child-nature if we fail to utilize this method4 ,we are much given to the analytic in our teaching1 whereas the pupil enjoys the synthetic4 ,he yearns to make things4 ,constructing problems in arithmetic1 or history1 or physics makes a special appeal to him and we do violence to his natural bent if we fail to accord him the opportunity4 ,we can send him in quest of dramatic situations in the poem1 or derivatives in his reading lesson1 set him thinking of the construction of farm buildings or machinery1 or lead him to seek the causes that led up to events in history4 ,in brief1 we can appeal to his curiosity and intelligence and so engage the intensest interest of the whole boy4 ,a school girl assumed the task of looking after all the repairs in the way of plumbing in the home and1 certainly1 was none the worse for the experience4 ,she is now a dentist and has achieved distinction both at home and abroad in her chosen profession4 ,she gained the habit of meeting difficult situations without abatement of dignity or refinement4 ,the school1 at its best1 is a favorable situation for self-education and the wise teacher will see to it that it does not decline from this high plane4 ,only so will its products be young men and women who need no leading strings1 who can find their way about through the labyrinth of life and not be abashed4 ,they are the ones to whom we must look for leadership in all the enterprises of life1 for they have learned how to initiate work and carry it through to success4 ,that school will win distinction which makes initiative one of its big goals and is diligent in causing the activities of the pupils to reach upward toward the achievement of this end4 ,we may well conclude with a quotation from ,dr4 ,henry van ,dyke3 ,the mere pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an emancipating thing4 ,there is a kind of reading which is as passive as massage4 ,there is a kind of study which fattens the mind for examination like a prize pig for a county fair4 ,no doubt the beginning of instruction must lie chiefly in exercises of perception and memory4 ,but at a certain point the reason and the judgment must be awakened and brought into voluntary play4 ,as a teacher ,i would far rather have a pupil give an incorrect answer in a way which showed that he had really been thinking about the subject1 than a literally correct answer in a way which showed that he had merely swallowed what ,i had told him1 and regurgitated it on the examination paper4 ,,chapter ,,eight ,,imagination ,in his very stimulating book1 ,learning and ,doing1 ,professor ,swift quotes from a business man as follows3 ,modern business no longer waits for men to qualify after promotion4 ,through anticipation and prior preparation every growing man must be largely ready for his new job when it comes to him4 ,i find very few individuals make any effort to think out better ways of doing things4 ,they do not anticipate needs1 do not keep themselves fresh at the growing point4 ,if ever they had any imagination they seem to have lost it1 and imagination is needed in a growing business1 for it is through the imagination that one anticipates future changes and so prepares for them before they come4 ,accordingly1 as a general proposition1 the selection of a man for a vacancy within the organization is more or less a matter of guesswork4 ,now and then an ambitious1 wide-awake young man works into the organization and in a very short time is spotted by various department managers for future promotion1 but the number of such individuals is discouragingly small4 ,the difficulty with which we are always confronted is that our business grows faster than do those within it4 ,the men do not keep up with our changes4 ,the business grows away from them1 and quite reluctantly the management is frequently compelled to go outside for necessary material4 ,we need1 at the present time1 four or five subordinate chiefs in various parts of the factory and ,i can fill none of the positions satisfactorily from material in hand4 ,this business man1 unconsciously perhaps1 puts his finger upon one of the weak places in our school procedure4 ,he convicts us of stifling and repressing the imagination of our pupils4 ,for it is a matter of common knowledge that every normal child is endowed with a vivid imagination when he enters school4 ,no one will challenge this statement who has entered into the heart of childhood through the gateway of play4 ,he has seen a rag doll invested with all the graces of a princess2 he has seen empty spools take on all the attributes of the railway train2 and he has seen the child's world peopled with entities of which the unimaginative person cannot know4 ,children revel in the lore of fairyland1 and in this realm nothing seems impossible to them4 ,their toys are the material which their imagination uses in building new and delightful worlds for them4 ,if this imagination is unimpaired when they become grown-ups1 these toys are called ideals1 and these ideals are the material that enter into the lives of poets1 artists1 inventors1 scientists1 orators1 statesmen1 and reformers4 ,if the child lacks this quality at the end of his school life1 the school must be held responsible1 at least in part1 and so must face the charge of doing him an irreparable injury4 ,it were better by far for the child to lose a leg or an arm somewhere along the school way than to lose his imagination4 ,better abandon the school altogether if it tends to quench the divine fire of imagination4 ,better still1 devise some plan of so reconstructing the work of the school that we shall forever forestall the possibility of producing a generation of spiritual cripples4 ,the business man already quoted gives to the schools their cue4 ,he shows the need of imagination in practical affairs and1 by implication1 shows that the school has been recreant to its opportunities in the way of stimulating this requisite quality4 ,we must be quite aware that the men and women who have done things as well as those who are doing things have had or have imagination4 ,otherwise no achievements would be set down to their credit4 ,it is the very acme of unwisdom to expect our pupils to accomplish things and then take from them the tools of their craft4 ,imagination is an indispensable tool1 and the teacher assumes a grave responsibility who either destroys or blunts it4 ,unless the school promotes imagination it is not really a school1 seeing that it omits from its plans and practices this basic quality4 ,too much emphasis cannot be laid upon this patent truth1 nor can we deplore too earnestly the tendency of many teachers to strangle imagination4 ,we all recognize ,c4 ,hanford ,henderson as one of our most fertile and sane writers on educational themes and we cannot do better just here than to quote1 even at some length1 from his facile pen3 ,to say of man or woman that they have no imagination is to convict them of many actual and potential sins4 ,such a defect means obtuseness in manners and morals1 sterility in arts and science1 blundering in the general conduct of life4 ,children are often accused of having too much imagination1 but in reality that is hardly possible4 ,the imagination may run riot1 and1 growing by what it feeds upon1 come dangerously near to untruthfulness1--the store of facts may have been too small4 ,but the remedy is not to cripple or kill the imagination2 it is rather to provide the needed equipment of facts and to train the imagination to work within the limits of truth and probability4 ,the unimaginative man is exceedingly dull company4 ,from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until he closes them at night1 he is prone to the sins of both omission and commission4 ,no matter how good his intentions1 he constantly offends4 ,no matter how great his industry1 he fails to attain4 ,one can trace many immoralities1 from slight breaches of manners to grave criminal offenses1 to a simple lack of imagination4 ,the offender failed to see1--he was1 to all intents and purposes1 blind4 ,at its best1 imagination is insight4 ,it is the direct source of most of our social amenities1 of toleration1 charity1 consideration1--in a word1 of all those social virtues which distinguish the child of light4 ,another fertile writer says3 ,many a child has been driven with a soul-wound into corroding silence by parents who thought they were punishing falsehood when they were in reality repressing the imagination--the faculty which master-artists denote as the first and loveliest possession of the creative mind4 ,some of our boys will be farmers but1 if they lack imagination1 they will be dull fellows1 at the very best1 and1 relatively speaking1 not far above the horse that draws the plow4 ,the girls will be able to talk1 but if they lack imagination they can never become conversationalists4 ,the person who has imagination can cause the facts of the multiplication table to scintillate and glow4 ,the person who lacks imagination is unable to invest with interest and charm even the mountain1 the river1 the landscape1 or the poem4 ,the gossip1 the scandal-monger1 or the coarse jester proves his lack of imagination and his consequent inability to hold his own in real conversation4 ,we hope1 of course1 that some of our pupils may become inventors1 but this will be impossible unless they possess imagination4 ,a sociologist states the case in this fashion3 ,wealth1 the transient1 is material2 achievement1 the enduring1 is immaterial4 ,the products of achievement are not material things at all4 ,they are not ends1 but means4 ,they are methods1 ways1 devices1 arts1 systems1 institutions4 ,in a word1 they are inventions4 ,in short1 to say that one is an inventor is but another way of saying that he has imagination4 ,it is one thing to know facts but quite another thing to know the significance of facts4 ,and imagination is the alembic that discovers the significance of the facts4 ,a thousand men of ,england knew the facts touching the life and education of the children of that country1 but the facts remained mere facts until the imagination of ,dickens interpreted them and thus emancipated childhood from the thralldom of ignorance and cruelty4 ,a thousand men knew the fact touching the steam that issues from the tea-kettle1 but not until ,watts discovered the significance of the fact did the tea-kettle become the precursor of the steam-engine that has transformed civilization4 ,it required the imagination of ,newton to interpret the falling of the apple and to cause this simple1 common fact to lead on to the discovery of the great truth of gravitation4 ,had ,galileo lacked imagination1 the chandelier might have kept on swinging but the discovery of the rotation of the earth would certainly have been postponed4 ,in this view of the matter we can see one of the weaknesses of some of the work in our colleges as well as in other schools4 ,the teachers are fertile in arriving at facts1 but seem to think their tasks completed with these discoveries and so proclaim the discovery of facts to be education4 ,it matters not that the facts are devoid of significance to their students1 they simply proceed to the discovery of more facts4 ,they combine two or more substances in a test-tube and thus produce a new substance4 ,this fact is solemnly inscribed in a notebook and the incident is closed4 ,but the student who has imagination and industry inquires ,what then8 and proceeds with investigations on his own initiative that result in a positive boon to humanity4 ,imagination takes the facts and makes something of them1 while the college teacher has disclosed his inability to cope with his own students in fields that only imagination can render productive4 ,to quote ,henderson once again3 ,in most of our current education1 instead of cultivating so valuable a quality1 we have stupidly done all that we can to suppress it4 ,we have not sufficiently studied the actual boy before us to find out what he is up to1 and what end he has in mind4 ,on the contrary1 we proclaim1 with curious indifference1 some end of our own devising1 and with what really amounts to spiritual brutality1 we try to drive him towards it4 ,we do this1 we irresponsible parents and teachers1 because we ourselves lack imagination1 and do not see that we are blunting1 instead of sharpening1 our human tool4 ,yet we define education in terms of imagination when we say that education is the unfolding and perfecting of the human spirit2 or1 that education is a setting-up in the heart of the child of a moral and sthetic revelation of the universe2 for the human spirit which we are trying to establish is not a fact1 but a gracious possibility of the future4 ,happy is the child whose teacher possesses imagination2 who can touch the common things of life with the magic wand of her fancy and invest them with supreme charm2 who can peer into the future with her pupils and help them translate the bright dreams of today into triumphs in the realms of art1 music1 science1 philosophy1 language1 and philanthropy2 and who builds air-castles of her own and thus has the skill to help the children build theirs4 ,it is not easy1 if1 indeed1 it is possible1 for the teacher to quicken imagination in her pupils unless she herself is endowed with this animating quality4 ,dr4 ,henry van ,dyke puts the case thus3 ,i care not whether a man is called a tutor1 an instructor1 or a full professor2 nor whether any academic degrees adorn his name2 nor how many facts or symbols of facts he has stored away in his brain4 ,if he has these four powers--clear sight1 quick imagination1 sound reason1 strong will--,i call him an educated man and fit to be a teacher4 ,and1 of a surety1 imagination is not the least of these4 ,to this end every teacher should use every means possible to keep her imagination alive and luxuriant1 and never1 on any account1 permit the exigencies of her task to repress it4 ,the success of her pupils depends upon her1 and she should strive against stagnation as she would against death4 ,the passing out1 the evaporation of imagination is an insidious process1 and when it is gone she is but a barren fig-tree4 ,if her imagination is strong and healthy she cannot have a poor school and her pupils will bless her memory throughout the years4 ,as applying to every grade of school we may well note the words of ,van ,dyke3 ,every true university should make room in its scheme for life out-of-doors4 ,there is much to be said for ,john ,milton's plan of a school whose pupils should go together each year on long horseback journeys and sailing cruises to see the world4 ,walter ,bagehot said of ,shakespeare that he could not walk down a street without knowing what was in it4 ,john ,burroughs has a college on a little farm beside the ,hudson2 and ,john ,muir has a university called ,yosemite4 ,if such men cross a field or a thicket they see more than the seven wonders of the world4 ,that is culture4 ,and without it1 all scholastic learning is arid1 and all the academic degrees known to man are but china oranges hang on a dry tree4 ,and without imagination this type of culture is impossible4 ,all reforms and1 indeed1 all progress depend upon imagination4 ,we must be able to picture the world as it ought to be before we can set on foot plans for betterment4 ,it is the high province of the imagination to enter into the feelings and aspirations of others and so be able to lend a hand2 to build a better future out of the materials of the present2 to soar above the solemnities and conventions of tradition and to smile while soaring2 to see the invisible and touch the intangible2 and to see the things that are not and call them forth as realities4 ,seeing that the business man1 the fertile-brained essayist1 and the gifted poet agree in extolling the potential value of imagination1 we have full warrant for according to it an honored place in the curriculum of the school4 ,too long has it been an incidental minor2 it is now high time to advance it to the rank of a major4 ,,chapter ,,nine ,,reverence ,at the basis of reverence is respect2 and reverence is respect amplified and sublimated4 ,a boy must be either dull or heedless who can look at a bird sailing in the air for five minutes and not become surcharged with curiosity to know how it can do it4 ,his curiosity must lead him to an examination of the wing of a bird1 and his scrutiny will reveal it as a marvelous bit of mechanism4 ,the adjustment and overlapping of the feathers will convince him that it presents a wonderful design and a no less wonderful adaptation of means to ends4 ,he sees that when the bird is poised in the air the wing is essentially air-tight and that when the bird elects to ascend or descend the feathers open a free passage for the air4 ,even a cursory examination of the bird's wing must persuade the boy that1 with any skill he might attain1 he could never fabricate anything so wonderful4 ,this knowledge must1 in the nature of things1 beget a feeling of respect1 and thereafter1 whenever the boy sees a bird1 he will experience a resurgence of this feeling4 ,some one has said1 ,everything is infinitely high that we can't see over1 and because the boy comes to know that he cannot duplicate the bird's wing it becomes infinitely high or great to him and so wins his respect4 ,to the boy who has been taught to think seriously1 the mode of locomotion of a worm or a snake is likewise a marvel1 and he observes it with awe4 ,the boy who treads a worm underfoot gives indisputable evidence that he has never given serious thought to its mode of travel4 ,had he done so1 he would never commit so ruthless an act4 ,the worm would have won his respect by its ability to do a thing at which he himself would certainly fail4 ,he sees the worm scaling the trunk of a tree with the greatest ease1 but when he essays the same task he finds it a very difficult matter4 ,so he tips his cap figuratively to the worm and1 in boyish fashion1 admits that it is the better man of the two4 ,and never again1 unless inadvertently1 will he crush a worm4 ,even a snake he will kill only in what he conceives to be self-defense4 ,an ,american was making his first trip to ,europe4 ,on the way between the ,azores and ,gibraltar the ship encountered a storm of great violence4 ,for an hour or more the traveler stood on the forward deck1 watching the titanic struggle1 feeling the ship tremble at each impact of the waves1 and hearing the roar that only a storm at sea can produce4 ,upon returning to his friends he said1 ,never again can ,i speak flippantly of the ocean2 never again can ,i use the expression1 'crossing the pond4' ,the sea is too vast and too sublime for that4 ,he had achieved reverence4 ,many a child in school can spell the name of the ocean and give a book definition rather glibly1 who1 nevertheless1 has not the faintest conception of what an ocean really is4 ,the tragedy of the matter is that the teacher gives him a perfect mark for his parrot-like definition and spelling and leaves him in crass ignorance of the reality4 ,the boy deals only with the husk and misses the kernel4 ,when he can spell and define1 the work has only just begun1 and not until the teacher has contrived to have him emotionalize the ocean will he enter into the heart of its greatness1 and power1 and utility in promoting life1 and so come to experience a feeling of respect for it4 ,when it has won his respect he can read ,victor ,hugo's matchless description of the sea with understanding1 measurable appreciation1 and1 certainly1 a thrill of delight4 ,it is rare fun for children1 and even for grown-ups1 to locate the constellations1 planets1 and stars4 ,of course1 the ,north ,star is everybody's favorite because it is so steady1 so reliable1 so dependable4 ,we know just where to find it1 and it never disappoints us4 ,two boys who once were crossing from ,new ,york to ,naples found great delight in a star in the ,southern sky that retained its relative position throughout the journey4 ,at the conclusion of dinner in the evening the boys were wont to repair to the deck to find their star and receive its greetings4 ,in their passage through the ,mediterranean they became curious1 wondering how it came about that the star failed to change its relative position in their journey of three thousand miles4 ,when they realized that their star is the apex of a triangle whose base is three thousand miles but whose other legs are so long that the base is infinitesimally short by comparison1 their amazement knew no bounds and for the first time in their lives they gained a profound respect for space4 ,this new concept of space was worth the trip across the ocean to those boys1 and the wonder is that space had never before meant anything more or other than a word to be spelled4 ,the school and the home had had boundless opportunities to inculcate in them a sense of space1 yet this delightful task was left to a passenger on board the ship4 ,but for his kindly offices those boys might have gone on for years conceiving of space as merely a word of five letters4 ,it would have been easy for parent or teacher to engender in them some appreciation of space by explaining to them that if they were to travel thirty miles a day it would require twenty-two years to reach the moon1--which is1 in reality1 our next-door neighbor1--and that to reach the sun1 at the same rate of travel1 would require more than eight thousand years1 or the added lifetimes of almost three hundred generations4 ,but they were sent abroad to see the wonders of the ,old ,world with no real conception of space and1 therefore1 no feeling of respect for it4 ,before their trip abroad they never could have read the last two verses of the eighth chapter of ,romans with any real appreciation4 ,still our schools go on their complacent way1 teaching words1 words1 words that are utterly devoid of meaning to the pupils1 and1 sad to relate1 seem to think their mission accomplished4 ,the pupils are required to spell words1 define words1 write words1 and parse words day after day as if these words were lifeless and meaningless blocks of wood to be merely tossed up and down and moved hither and thither4 ,so soon as a word becomes instinct with life and meaning1 it kindles the child's interest at its every recurrence and it becomes as truly an entity as a person4 ,it is then endowed with attributes that distinguish it clearly from its fellows and becomes1 to the child1 a vivid reality in the scheme of life4 ,to our two boys every star that meets their gaze conjures up a host of memories and helps to renew their spiritual experience and widen their horizon4 ,space is a reality1 to them1 a mighty reality1 and they cannot think of it without a deep sense of respect4 ,there are people of mature years who have never given to their hands a close examination4 ,such an examination will disclose the fact that the hand is an instrument of marvelous design4 ,it will be seen that the fingers all differ in length but1 when they grasp an orange or a ball1 it will be noted that they are conterminous--that the ends form a straight line4 ,this gives them added purchase and far greater power of resistance4 ,were they of equal length the pressure upon the ball would be distributed and it could be wrested from the grasp far more readily4 ,no mechanical contrivance has ever been designed that is comparable to the hand in flexibility1 deftness1 adaptability1 or power of prehension4 ,it can pick up a needle or a cannon-ball at will4 ,its touch is as light as a feather or as stark as a catapult4 ,it can be as gentle as mercy or as harsh as battle4 ,it can soothe to repose or rouse to fury4 ,it can express itself in the gentle zephyr or in the devastating whirlwind4 ,its versatility is altogether worthy of notice1 and we may well hold the lesson in history in abeyance1 for the nonce1 while we inculcate due respect for the hand4 ,for no one can contemplate his hand for five minutes and not gain for it a feeling of profound respect4 ,what is true of the hand is true of the whole human body4 ,this is the very acme of created things2 this is ,god's masterpiece4 ,how any one can fail to respect such a wonderful piece of work is beyond explanation4 ,the process of walking or of breathing must hold the thoughtful person enthralled and enchanted4 ,but1 strange as it may seem1 there are those who seem not to realize in what a marvelous abode their spirits have their home4 ,such scant respect do they have for their bodies that they defile them and treat them with shameless ignominy4 ,they saturate them with poisons and vulgarize them with unseemly practices4 ,they seem to regard them as mere property to be used or abused at pleasure and not temples to be honored4 ,the man who does not respect his own body can feel no respect or reverence for its ,creator nor for the soul that dwells within it4 ,such a man lacks self-respect and self-respect is the fertile soil in which many virtues flourish4 ,the teaching of physiology that fails to generate a feeling of deep respect for the human body is not the sort of teaching that should obtain in our schools4 ,again1 a person who is possessed of fine sensibilities sees in the apple tree in full bloom a creation of transcendant beauty and charm4 ,the poet cannot describe it1 nor can the artist reproduce it4 ,it is both a mystery and a miracle4 ,into this miracle nature has poured her lavish treasures of fertility1 of rain1 of sunshine1 and of zephyrs1 and from it at the zenith of its beauty the full-throated robin pours forth his heart in melodious greeting4 ,it may be well to dismiss the school to see the circus parade1 but even more fitting is it to dismiss the school to see this burst of splendor4 ,in its glorious presence silence is the only language that is befitting4 ,in such a presence sound is discord1 for such enchantment as it begets cannot be made articulate4 ,its influence steals into the senses and lifts the spirit up4 ,to defile or despoil such beauty would be to desecrate a shrine4 ,but the sordid man sees in this symphony of color nothing else than a promise of fruit4 ,his response is wholly physical1 not spiritual at all4 ,his spiritual sense seems atrophied and he can do nothing but estimate the bushels of fruit4 ,he feels no respect for the beauty before him and it is evident that somewhere along the line his spiritual education was neglected4 ,he excites our sympathy and our hope that his children may not share his fate4 ,in the way of illustrating this quality of respect1 we reach the climax in the thirty-eighth chapter of the ,book of ,job and following4 ,the dramatic element of literature here reaches its zenith4 ,god is the speaker1 the stricken1 outcast ,job is the sole auditor1 and the stage is a whirlwind4 ,it is related of the late ,professor ,hodge that1 on one occasion when he was about to perform an experiment in his laboratory1 he said to some students who stood near1 ,gentlemen1 please remove your hats2 ,i am about to ask ,god a question4 ,but here in this chapter we have a still more sublime situation1 for ,god is here asking questions of the man4 ,and these questions dig deep into the life of the man and show him how puny and impotent is the finite in the presence of the ,infinite4 ,in this presence there is neither pomp1 nor parade1 nor vaunting1 nor self-aggrandizement1 nor arrogance4 ,even the printed page cannot but induce respect1 devoutness1 and profound reverence1 for it tells of nature's wonders--the snow-crystals1 the rain1 the dewdrop1 the light1 the cloud1 the lightning--and reveals to the bewildered sight some apprehension of the ,author of them all4 ,the reader must1 by now1 have divined the conclusion of the whole matter4 ,without respect there can be no reverence2 and1 without reverence1 there can be neither education nor civilization that is worth while4 ,some one has defined reverence as that exquisite constraint which leads a man to hate all that is unsuitable and sordid and exaggerated and to love all that is excellent and temperate and beautiful4 ,this definition is both comprehensive and inclusive1 and the superintendent may well promulgate it in his directions to his teachers4 ,all teaching has to do with ,truth and1 in the presence of ,truth1 whether in mathematics1 or science1 or history1 or language1 the teacher should feel that he stands in the presence of the ,burning ,bush and hears the command1 ,put off thy shoes from off thy feet1 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground4 ,it seems a thousand pities that even college students rush into the presence of the ,burning ,bush in hobnailed shoes1 shouting forth the college yell as they go4 ,the man who is reverent disclaims everything that is cheap1 or vulgar1 or coarse1 or unseemly4 ,he is so essentially fine that the gaudy1 the bizarre1 and the intemperate1 in whatever form1 grate upon his sensibilities4 ,he respects himself too much to be lacking in respect to others4 ,he instinctively shrinks away from ugly vulgarization as from a pestilence4 ,he is kindly1 charitable1 sympathetic1 and sincere4 ,exaggeration1 insinuation1 and caricature are altogether foreign to his spirit4 ,in his society we feel inspired and ennobled4 ,his very presence is a tonic1 and his tongue distills only purity4 ,his example is the lodestar of our aspirations1 and we fain would be his disciples4 ,we feel him to be something worshipful in that his life constantly beckons to our better selves4 ,to be reverent is to be liberally educated1 while to be irreverent is to dwell in darkness and ignorance4 ,to be reverent is to live on the heights1 where the air is pure and tonic and where the sunlight is free from taint4 ,to be reverent is to acknowledge our indebtedness to all those who1 in art1 in science1 in literature1 in music1 or in philanthropy1 have caused the waters of life to gush forth in clear abundance4 ,to be reverent is to stand uncovered in the presence of ,life and to experience the thrill of the spiritual impulses that only an appreciation of life can generate4 ,if this is reverence1 then the school honors itself by giving this quality a place of honor4 ,,chapter ,,ten ,,sense ,,of ,,responsibility ,every one who has had to do with ,harvey's ,grammar will readily recall the sentence1 ,milo began to lift the ox when he was a calf4 ,aside from the interest which this sentence aroused as to the antecedent of the pronoun1 it also enunciated a bit of philosophy which caused the pupils to wonder about the possibility of such a feat4 ,they were led to consider such examples of physical strength as ,samson1 ,hercules1 and the more modern ,sandow and to wonder1 perhaps1 just what course of training brought these men to their attainment of physical power4 ,it is comparatively easy for adults to realize that such feats as these men accomplished could only come through a long process of training4 ,if a man can lift a given weight on one day1 he may be able to lift a slightly heavier weight the next day1 and so on until he has achieved distinction by reason of his ability to lift great weights4 ,so it is in this matter of responsibility4 ,it need hardly be said that responsibility is the heaviest burden that men and women are called upon to lift or carry4 ,we need only think of the responsibilities pertaining to the office of the chief ruler of a country in time of war1 or of the commanding general of armies1 or of the president of large industrial concerns1 and so on through the list4 ,such men bear burdens of responsibility that cannot be estimated in terms of weights or measures4 ,we can easily think of the time when the manager of a great industrial concern was a child in school1 but it is not so easy to think of the six-year-old boy performing the functions of this same manager4 ,however1 we do know that the future rulers1 generals1 managers1 and superintendents are now sitting at desks in the schools and it behooves all teachers to inquire by what process these pupils may be so trained that in time they will be able to execute these functions4 ,in some such way we gain a right concept of responsibility4 ,we cannot think of the six-year-old boy as a bank president but1 in our thinking1 we can watch his progress1 in one-day intervals1 from his initial experience in school to his assumption of the duties pertaining to the presidency of the bank4 ,in thus tracing his progress there is no strain or stress in our thinking nor does the element of improbability obtrude itself4 ,we think along a straight and level road where no hills arise to obstruct the view4 ,each succeeding day marks an inch or so of progress toward the goal4 ,but should we set the responsibilities of the bank president over against the powers of the child1 the disparity would overwhelm our thinking and our minds would be thrown into confusion4 ,our thinking is level and easy only when we conceive of strength and responsibility advancing side by side and at the same rate4 ,it would be an interesting experience to overhear the teacher inquiring of the superintendent how she should proceed in order to inculcate in her pupils a sense of responsibility4 ,we should be acutely alert to catch every word of the superintendent's reply4 ,if he were dealing with such a concrete problem as ,milo and the calf1 his response would probably be satisfactory2 but when such an abstract quality as responsibility is presented to him his reply might be vague and unsatisfactory4 ,his thinking may have had to do with concrete problems so long that an abstract quality presents a real difficulty to his mental operations4 ,yet the question which the teacher propounds is altogether pertinent and reasonable and1 if he fails to give a satisfactory reply1 he will certainly decline in her esteem4 ,the normal child welcomes such a measure of responsibility as falls within the compass of his powers and acquits himself of it in a manner that is worthy of commendation4 ,this open truth encourages the conviction that the superintendent who can give to the teacher a definite plan by which she will be able to develop a sense of responsibility1 will commend himself to her favor1 if not admiration4 ,they both know full well that if the pupil emerges from the school period lacking this quality he will be a helpless weight upon society and a burden to himself and his family1 no matter what his mental attainments4 ,he will be but a child in his ability to cope with situations that confront him and cannot perform the functions of manhood4 ,though a man in physical stature he will shrink from the ordinary duties that fall to the lot of a man and1 like a child1 will cling to the hand of his mother for guidance4 ,in all situations he will show himself a spiritual coward4 ,the problem is easy of statement but by no means so easy of solution4 ,at the age of six the boy takes his place at a desk in the school4 ,twenty years hence1 let us say1 he will be a railway engineer4 ,as such he must drive his engine at forty miles an hour through blinding storm1 or in inky darkness1 or through menacing and stifling tunnels1 or over dizzy bridges1 or around the curve on the edge of the precipice--and do this with no shadow of fear or hint of trepidation1 but always with a keen eye1 a cool head1 and a steady hand4 ,in his keeping are the lives of many persons1 and any wavering or unsteadiness1 on his part1 may lead to speedy disaster4 ,somewhere along the way between the ages of six and twenty-six he must gain the ability to assume a heavy responsibility1 and it would seem a travesty upon rational education to force him to acquire this ability wholly during the eight years succeeding his school experience4 ,if1 at the age of eighteen1 he does not exhibit some ability in this respect1 the school may justly be charged with dereliction4 ,or1 twenty years hence1 this boy may be a physician4 ,if so1 he will find a weeping mother clinging to him and imploring him to save her baby4 ,he will see a strong man broken with sobs and offering him a fortune to save his wife from being engulfed in the dark shadows4 ,his ears will be assailed with delirious ravings that call to him for relief and life4 ,he will be importuned by the grief-crushed child not to let her mother go4 ,he will be called upon to grapple with plague1 with pestilence1 with death itself4 ,unless he can give succor1 hope departs and darkness enshrouds and blights4 ,he alone can hold disease and death at bay and bid darkness give place to light and cause sorrow to vanish before the smile of joy4 ,he stands alone at the portal to do battle against the demons of devastation and desolation4 ,and1 if he fails1 the plaints of grief will penetrate the innermost chambers of his soul4 ,he must not fail4 ,so he toils on through the long night watches1 disdaining food and rest1 that the breaking day may bring in gladness and crown the arts of healing4 ,and the school that does not share in the glory of such achievement misses a noble opportunity4 ,again1 twenty years hence1 the little girl who now sits at her desk1 crowned with golden ringlets1 will be a wife and mother1 and the mistress of a well-conditioned home4 ,she is a composite of ,mary and ,martha and in her kingdom reigns supreme and benign4 ,in her home there is no hint of raw haste1 half-sister to delay1 for long since she acquired the habit of serene mastery4 ,she meets her manifold responsibilities with a smile and sings her way through them all4 ,if clouds arise1 she banishes them with the magic of her poise and amiability4 ,she can say with ,napoleon1 ,i do not permit myself to become a victim of circumstances2 ,i make circumstances4 ,back in the school she learned order1 system1 method1 and acquired the sense of responsibility4 ,at first the teacher's desk was her special care1 and by easy gradations the scope of her activities was widened until she came to feel responsible for the appearance of the entire schoolroom4 ,now in her womanhood she is a delight to her husband1 her children1 her guests1 and her neighbors4 ,emergencies neither daunt her nor render her timorous1 but1 serene and masterful1 she meets the new situation as a welcome novelty1 and1 with supreme amiability1 accepts it as a friendly challenge to her resourcefulness4 ,she needs not to apologize or explain1 for difficulties disappear at her approach because1 in the school1 responsibility was one of the major goals of her training4 ,or1 again1 two decades hence this child may have attained to a position in the world of affairs where good taste1 judgment1 perseverance1 self-control1 graciousness1 and tact are accounted assets of value4 ,but these qualities1 gained through experience1 are as much a part of herself as her hands4 ,a thousand times in the past has the responsibility been laid upon her of making selections touching shapes1 colors1 materials1 or types1 till now her judgment is regarded as final4 ,her self-control has become proverbial1 but it is not the miracle that it seems1 for it has become grooved into a habit by much experience4 ,she met all these lions in her path at school and vanquished them all1 with the aid of the teacher's counsel and encouragement4 ,she can perform heroisms now because she long since contracted the habit of heroisms4 ,and responsibility is most becoming to her now because in the years past she learned how to wear it4 ,she has multiplied her powers and usefulness a hundred-fold by reason of having learned to assume responsibility4 ,she has learned to lift her eyes and scan the far horizon and not be afraid4 ,with gentle1 kindly eyes she can look into the faces of men and women in all lands and not be abashed in their presence4 ,she can soothe the child to rest and prove herself a scourge to evil-doers1 all within the hour4 ,she knows herself equal to the best1 but not above the least4 ,she does not need to pose1 for she knows her own power without ever vaunting it4 ,her simplicity and sincerity are the fragrant bloom of her sense of responsibility both to herself and her kind4 ,she gives of herself and her means as a gracious discharge of obligation to the less fortunate1 but never as charity4 ,she feels herself bound up in the interests of humanity and would do her full part in helping to make life more worth while4 ,her touch has the gift of healing and her tongue distills kindness4 ,her obligations to the human family are privileges to be esteemed and enjoyed and not bur-dens to be endured and reviled4 ,and she thinks of her superintendent and teachers with gratitude for their part in the process of developing her into what she is1 and what she may yet become4 ,only such as the defiant1 wicked1 and rebellious ,cain can ask the question1 ,am ,i my brother's keeper8 ,the man who feels no responsibility for the character and good name of the community of which he is a member is a spiritual outcast and will become a social pariah if he persists in maintaining his attitude of indifference4 ,for1 after all1 responsibility amounts to a spiritual attitude4 ,if the man feels no responsibility to his community he will begrudge it the taxes he pays1 the improvements he is required to make1 and will be irked by every advance that makes for civic betterment4 ,to him the church and school will seem excrescences and superfluities1 nor would he grieve to see them obliterated4 ,his exodus would prove a distinct boon to the community4 ,he may have a noble physique1 good mentality1 much knowledge1 and large wealth1 and yet1 with all these things in his favor1 he is nevertheless a liability for the single reason that he lacks a sense of responsibility4 ,could his teachers have foreseen his present attitude no efforts1 on their part1 would have seemed too great if only they could have forestalled his misfortune4 ,and it is for the teachers to determine whether the boy of today shall become a duplicate of the man here portrayed4 ,every man who lives under a democratic form of government has the opportunity before him each day to raise or lower the level of democracy4 ,when the night comes on1 if he reflects upon the matter1 he must become conscious that he has done either the one or the other4 ,either democracy is a better thing for humanity because of his day's work and influence1 or it is a worse thing4 ,this is a responsibility that he can neither shift nor shirk4 ,it is fastened upon him with or against his will4 ,it rests with him to determine whether he would have every other man and every boy in the land select him as their model and follow his example to the last detail4 ,he alone can decide whether he would have all men indulge in the practices that constitute his daily life1 consort with his companions1 hold his views on all subjects1 read only the books that engage his interest1 duplicate his thoughts1 aspirations1 impulses1 and language1 and become1 each one1 his other self4 ,every boy who now sits in the school must answer these questions for himself sooner or later1 nor can he hope to evade them4 ,happy is that boy1 therefore1 whose teacher has the foresight and the wisdom to train him into such a sense of responsibility as will enable him to answer them in such a way that the future will bring to him no pang of remorse4 ,thomas ,a4 ,edison is one of the benefactors of his time4 ,he reached out into space and grasped a substance that is both invisible and intangible1 harnessed it with trappings1 pushed a button1 and the world was illumined4 ,there were years of unremitting toil behind this achievement1 years of discouragement bordering on despair1 but years in which the light of hope was kept burning4 ,we accept his gift with the very acme of nonchalance and with little or no feeling of gratitude4 ,perhaps he would not have it otherwise4 ,we do not know4 ,but certain it is that his marvelous achievement has made life more agreeable to millions of people and he must be conscious of this fact4 ,at some time in his life he must have achieved a sense of responsibility to his fellows and this worthy sentiment must have become the guiding principle in all his labors4 ,if some teacher fostered in him this sense of responsibility1 she did a piece of work for the world that can never be measured in terms of salary4 ,she did not teach arithmetic1 or grammar1 or geography4 ,she taught ,edison4 ,and one of the big results of her teaching was his attainment of this sense of responsibility which far overtops all the arithmetic and history that he ever learned4 ,the man who carried the message to ,garcia is another fitting illustration of this same principle4 ,in executing his commission he overcame difficulties that would have seemed insurmountable to a less intrepid man4 ,he kept his eye on the goal and endured almost unspeakable hardships in pressing forward toward this goal4 ,somehow and somewhere in his life he had learned the meaning of responsibility and so felt that he must not fail4 ,the world came to know him as a hero because he was a hero at heart and his heroic achievement had its origin in the training that led him to feel a sense of responsibility4 ,,chapter ,,eleven ,,loyalty ,when the boy overhears a companion put a slight upon the good name of his mother1 he does not deliberate but1 like a flash1 smites the mouth that defames4 ,he may deliberate afterward1 for the mind then has a fact upon which to work1 but if he is a worthy son it is not till afterwards4 ,spiritual impulses are as quick as powder and as direct as a shaft of light4 ,so quick are they that we are prone to disregard them in our contemplation of their results4 ,we see the boy strike and conclude1 in a superficial way1 that his hand initiated the action1 nor take pains to trace this action back to the primal cause in the spiritual impulse4 ,true1 both mind and body are called into action1 but only as auxiliaries to carry out the behests of the spirit4 ,when the man utters an exclamation of delight at sight of his country's flag in a foreign port1 the sound that we hear is but the conclusion or completion of the series of happenings4 ,it is not the initial happening at all4 ,on the instant when his eyes caught sight of the flag something took place inside the man's nature4 ,this spiritual explosion was telegraphed to the mind1 the mind1 in turn1 issued a command to the body1 and the sound that was noted was the final result4 ,in a general way1 education is the process of training mind and body to obey and execute right commands of the spirit4 ,this definition will justify our characterization of education as a spiritual process4 ,seeing1 then1 that the body is but a helper whose function is to execute the mandates of the spirit1 and seeing1 too1 that education is a process of the spirit1 it follows that our concern must be primarily and always with the spirit as major4 ,it is the spirit that reacts1 not the mind or the body1 and education is1 therefore1 the process of inducing right reactions of the spirit4 ,the nature of these reactions depends upon the quality of the external stimuli4 ,if we provide the right sort of stimuli the reactions will be right4 ,if1 today1 the spirit reacts to a beautiful picture1 tomorrow1 to the tree in bloom1 the next day to an alluring landscape1 and the next to the glory of a sunrise1 in time its reactions to beauty in every form will become habitual4 ,if we can induce reactions1 day by day1 to beautiful or sublime passages in literature1 in due time the spirit will refuse to react to what is shoddy and commonplace4 ,by inducing reactions to increasingly better musical compositions1 day after day1 we finally inculcate the habit of reacting only to high-grade music1 and the lower type makes no appeal4 ,by such a process we shall finally produce an educated1 cultivated man or woman1 the crowning glory of education4 ,the measure of our success in this process of education will be the number of reactions we can induce to the right sort of stimuli4 ,in this1 we shall have occasion to make many substitutions4 ,the boy who has been reacting to ugliness must be lured away by the substitution of beauty4 ,the beautiful picture will take the place of the bizarre until nothing but such a picture will give pleasure and satisfaction4 ,indeed1 the substitution of beauty for ugliness will1 in time1 induce a revolt against what is ugly and stimulate the boy to desire to transform the ugly thing into a thing of beauty4 ,many a home shows the effects of reaction in the school to artistic surroundings4 ,the child reacts to beauty in the school and so yearns for the same sort of stimuli in the home4 ,when the little girl entreats her mother to provide for her such a ribbon as the teacher wears1 we see an exemplification of this principle4 ,when only the best in literature1 in art1 in nature1 in music1 and in conduct avail to produce reactions1 we may well proclaim the one who reacts to these stimuli an educated person4 ,it is well to repeat that these reactions are all spiritual manifestations and that the conduct of mind and body is a resultant4 ,to casual thinking it may seem a far cry from reactions and external stimuli to loyalty1 but not so by any means4 ,the man or woman who has been led to react to the ,madonna of the ,chair1 the ,plow ,oxen1 or the ceiling of the ,sistine ,chapel will experience a revival and recurrence of the reaction at every sight of the masterpiece1 whether the original or a reproduction4 ,that masterpiece has become this person's standard of art and neither argument1 nor persuasion1 nor sophistry can divorce him from his ideal4 ,the boy's mother is one of his ideals4 ,he believes her to be the best woman alive1 and it were a sorry fact if he did not4 ,hence1 when her good qualities are assailed his spirit explodes and commands his right arm to become a battering-ram4 ,the kindness of the mother has caused the boy's spirit to react a thousand times1 and his reaction in defending her name from calumny was but another evidence of an acquired spiritual habit4 ,hence it is that we find loyalty enmeshed in these elements that pertain to the province of psychology4 ,it must be so1 seeing that these elements and loyalty have to do with the spirit1 for loyalty is nothing other than a reaction to the same external stimuli that have induced reactions many times before4 ,in setting up loyalty1 therefore1 as one of the big goals of school endeavor the superintendent has only to make a list of the external stimuli that will induce proper reactions and so groove these reactions into habit4 ,his problem1 thus stated1 seems altogether simple but1 in working out the details1 he will find himself facing the entire scheme of education4 ,if he would induce reactions that spell loyalty he must make no mistake in respect of external stimuli1 for it must be reiterated that the character of the stimuli conditions the reactions4 ,we may not hope to achieve loyalty unless through the years of training we have provided stimuli of the right sort4 ,if the sentiment of loyalty concerns itself with the teachings of the ,bible and the tenets of the church1 we call it religion2 if it has to do with one's country and what its flag represents1 we call it patriotism2 and in many another relation we call it fidelity4 ,hence it is obvious that loyalty is an inclusive quality and in its ramifications reaches out into every phase of life4 ,this gives us clear warrant for making it one of the prime objectives in a rational1 as distinguished from a traditional1 scheme of education4 ,the progressive superintendent who is endowed with perspicacity1 resourcefulness1 altruism1 and faith in himself will consult the highest interests of the boys and girls of his school before he relegates the matter to oblivion4 ,to such as he we must look for advance and for the redemption of our schools from their traditional moorings4 ,to such as he we must look for the inoculation of the teachers with such virus as will render them vital1 dynamic1 and eager to essay any new task that gives promise of a larger and better outlook for their pupils4 ,in the second chapter of ,revelation1 tenth verse1 we read1 ,be thou faithful unto death and ,i will give thee the crown of life4 ,now this is quite as true in a psychological sense as it is in a scriptural sense4 ,it is a great pity that we do not read the ,bible far more for lessons in pedagogy4 ,however1 too many people misread the quoted passage4 ,they interpret the expression unto death as if it were until death4 ,this interpretation would weaken the expression4 ,the martyrs would not recant even when the fires were blazing all about them or when their bodies were lacerated4 ,they were faithful unto death4 ,in his poem ,invictus ,henley says1 ,in the fell clutch of circumstance ,i have not winced nor cried aloud2 ,under the bludgeonings of chance1 ,my head is bloody but unbowed4 ,and only so can the spirit hope to achieve emancipation and win out into the clear4 ,this is the crown of life4 ,michael ,angelo represents ,joseph of ,arimathea standing at the tomb of the ,master with head erect and with the mien of faith4 ,he did not understand at all1 and yet his faithful heart encouraged him to hope and to hold his head from drooping4 ,he was faithful even in the darkness and on the morning of the ,resurrection he received his crown4 ,when we set up loyalty as one of our major goals we shall become alert to every illustration of it that falls under our gaze4 ,the story of ,nathan ,hale will become newly alive and will thrill as never before4 ,over against ,nathan ,hale we shall set ,philip ,nolan for the sake of comparison and contrast4 ,even though our pupils may regard ,joan of ,arc as a fanatic1 her heroism and her fidelity to her convictions will shine forth as a star in the night and her example as illustrating loyalty will be as seed planted in fertile soil4 ,in our quest for exemplars we shall find the pages of history palpitating with life4 ,we may sow dead dragon's teeth1 but armed men will spring into being4 ,thermopyl will become a new story1 while ,william ,tell and ,arnold ,winkelried will take rank among the demigods4 ,sidney ,carton will become far more than a mere character of fiction1 for on his head we shall find a halo1 and ,horace ,mann will become far more than a mere schoolmaster4 ,historians1 poets1 novelists1 statesmen1 and philanthropists will rally about us to reinforce our efforts and to cite to us men and women of all times who shone resplendent by reason of their loyalty4 ,our objective being loyalty1 we shall omit the lesson in grammar for today in order to induce the spirits of our pupils to react to the story of ,jephthah's daughter4 ,for once they have emotionalized it1 have really felt its power1 this story will become to them a rare possession and will entwine itself in the warp and woof of their lives and form a pattern of exceeding beauty whose colors will not fade4 ,they shall hear the solemn vow of the father to sacrifice unto the ,lord the first living creature that meets his gaze after the victory over his enemies4 ,they shall see him returning invested with the glory of the victor4 ,then the child will be seen running forth to meet him1 the first living creature his gaze has fallen upon since the battle4 ,they will note her gladness to see him and to know that he is safe4 ,they will see the dancing of her eyes and hear her rippling1 joyous laughter4 ,they will become tense as the father is telling her of his vow4 ,but the climax is reached when they hear her saying1 ,my father1 if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the ,lord1 do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth4 ,and1 with bated breath1 they see her meeting death with a smile that her father may keep his covenant with the ,lord4 ,ever after this story will mark to them the very zenith of loyalty1 and the lesson in grammar can await another day4 ,again1 instead of the regular reading lesson the school may well substitute the story of ,david1 as given in the eleventh chapter of ,chronicles4 ,now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to ,david1 into the cave of ,adullam2 and the host of the ,philistines encamped in the valley of ,rephaim4 ,and ,david was then in the hold1 and the ,philistines' garrison was then at ,bethlehem4 ,and ,david longed1 and said1 ',o that one would give me drink of the water of the well of ,bethlehem that is at the gate4' ,and the three brake through the host of the ,philistines1 and drew water out of the well of ,bethlehem1 that was by the gate1 and took it1 and brought it to ,david2 but ,david would not drink of it1 but poured it out to the ,lord1 and said1 ',my ,god forbid it me1 that ,i should do this thing4 ,shall ,i drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy8 for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought4' ,therefore he would not drink it4 ,without any semblance of irreverence we may paraphrase this story slightly and have our own ,general ,pershing stand in the place of ,david asking for water4 ,then we can see three of his soldiers going across ,no ,man's ,land in quest of the water which he craves4 ,when they return1 bearing the water to him from the spring in the enemy's territory1 we can see him pouring the water upon the ground and refusing to drink it because of the hazard of the enterprise4 ,no fulsome explanation will need to be given to impress upon the pupils the loyalty of the soldiers to their general1 nor yet the loyalty of the general to his soldiers4 ,or again1 in the oral ,english two of the pupils may be asked to tell the stories of ,ruth and ,esther1 and certain it is1 if these stories are told effectively1 the pupils will thrill with admiration for the loyalty of these two noble characters4 ,on his way home for vacation a college student was telling his companion on the train of the trip ahead1 relating that at such a time he would reach the junction and at a certain hour he would walk into his home just in time for supper2 he concluded by paying a tribute to the noble qualities of his mother4 ,this man is now an attorney in a large city and it is inconceivable that he can ever be guilty of apostasy from the ideals and principles to which he reacted in his boyhood in that village home4 ,whatever temptations may come to him1 the mother's face and voice and the memory of her high principles will forbid his yielding and hold him steady and loyal to that mother and her teaching4 ,he must feel that if he should debase himself he would dishonor her1 and that he cannot do4 ,he can still hear her voice echoing from the years long gone1 and feel the kindly touch of her hand upon his brow4 ,when troubles came1 mother knew just what to do and soon the sun was shining again4 ,it was her magic that made the rough places smooth1 her voice that exorcised all evil spirits4 ,she it was who drove the lions from his path and made it a place of peace and joy4 ,to be disloyal to her would be to lose his manhood4 ,whatever vicissitudes befall1 we yearn to return to the old homestead1 for there1 and there alone1 can we experience1 in full measure1 the reactions that came from our early associations with the old well1 the bridge that spans the brook1 the trees bending low with their luscious fruit1 the grape arbor1 the spring that bubbles and laughs as it gives forth its limpid treasure1 the fields that are redolent of the harvest season1 and the royal meal on the back porch4 ,the man who does not smile in recalling such scenes of his boyhood days is abnormal1 disloyal1 and an apostate4 ,these are the scenes that anchor the soul and give meaning to civilization4 ,the man who will not fight for the old home1 and for the memory of father and mother1 will not fight for the flag of his country and is1 at heart1 an alien4 ,but the man who is loyal to the home of his early years1 loyal to the memory of his parents1 and loyal to the principles which they implanted in his life1 such a man can never be less than loyal to the flag that floats over him1 loyal to the land in which he finds his home1 and ever loyal to the best and highest interests of that land4 ,never1 because of him1 will the colors of the flag lose their luster or the stars grow dim4 ,he will be faithful even unto death1 because loyalty throbs in his every pulsation1 is proclaimed by his every word1 is enmeshed in every drop of his blood and has become a vital part of himself4 ,,chapter ,,twelve ,,democracy ,in a recent book ,h4,g4 ,wells says that education has lost its way4 ,whether we give assent to this statement or not1 it must be admitted that it is a direct challenge to the school1 the home1 the pulpit1 the press1 to government1 and to society4 ,if education has indeed lost its way1 the responsibility rests with these educational agencies4 ,if education has lost its way1 these agencies must unite in a benevolent conspiracy to help it find it again4 ,the war has brought these agencies into much closer fellowship and they are now working in greater harmony than ever before4 ,this is due to the fact that they are working to a common end1 that they are animated by a common purpose4 ,the war is producing many readjustments and a new scale of values4 ,many things that were once considered majors are now thought of as minors1 and the work of reconstruction has only just begun4 ,civilization is now in the throes of a re-birth and people are awakening from their complacency and thinking out toward the big things of life4 ,they are lifting their gaze above and beyond party1 and creed1 and racial ties1 and territorial boundaries1 and fixing it upon their big common interests4 ,more and more has their thinking been focused upon democracy1 until this has become a watchword throughout the world4 ,about this focal point people's thoughts are rallying day by day1 and their community of feeling and thinking is leading to community of action4 ,primarily1 democracy is a spiritual impulse1 the quintessence of the ,golden ,rule4 ,as a man thinketh in his heart so is he1 and this spiritual quality inevitably precedes and conditions democracy in its outward manifestations4 ,feeling1 thinking1 willing1 doing--these are the stages in the law of life4 ,the ,golden ,rule in action has its inception in the love of man for his fellow-man4 ,the action is but the visible fruitage of the invisible spiritual impulse4 ,the soldier in the trench1 the sailor on the ship1 the nurse in the hospital1 the worker in the factory1 and the official at his desk1 all exemplify this principle4 ,the outward manifestations of the inward impulse1 democracy1 are many and varied1 and the demands of the war greatly increased both the number and variety4 ,people essayed tasks that1 a few years ago1 would have seemed impossible2 nor did they demean themselves in so doing4 ,the production and conservation of food has become a national enterprise that has enlisted the active coperation of men1 women1 and children of all classes1 creeds1 and conditions4 ,rich and poor joined in the work of war gardens1 thinking all the while not only of their own larders but quite as much of their friends across the sea4 ,and while they helped win the war1 they were winning their own souls1 for they were yielding obedience to a spiritual impulse and not a mere animal desire4 ,thus ,americans and the people of other lands1 like children at school1 are learning the lesson of democracy4 ,moreover1 they are now appalled at the wastage of former years and at the cheapness of many of the things that once held their interest4 ,in this process of achieving an access of democracy it holds true that ,there is no impression without expression4 ,each reaction of the spirit tends to groove the impression into a habit1 and this process has had a thousand exemplifications before our eyes since the opening of the war4 ,people who were only mildly inoculated with the democratic spirit at first became surcharged with this spirit because of their many reactions4 ,they have been obeying the behests of spiritual impulse1 working in war gardens1 eliminating luxuries1 purchasing bonds1 contributing to benevolent enterprises1 until democracy is their ruling passion4 ,every effort a man puts forth in the interest of humanity has a reflex influence upon his inner self and he experiences a spiritual expansion4 ,so it has come to pass that men and women are doing two1 three1 or ten times the amount of work they did in the past and doing it better4 ,their aroused and enlarged spiritual impulses are the enginery that is driving their minds and bodies forward into virgin territory1 into new and larger enterprises1 and thus into a wider1 deeper realization of their own capabilities4 ,so the leaven of democracy is working through difficulties of surpassing obduracy and resolving situations that seemed1 in the past1 to be beyond human achievement4 ,and of democracy it may be said1 as of ,dame ,rumor of old1 ,she grows strong by motion and gains power by going4 ,small at first through fear1 she presently raises herself into the air1 she walks upon the ground and lifts her head among the clouds4 ,on the side of democracy1 at any rate1 it would seem that education is beginning to find its way again4 ,in the thinking of most people democracy is a form of government2 but primarily it is not this at all4 ,rather it is a spiritual attitude4 ,the form of government is an outward manifestation of the inward feeling4 ,our ancestors held democracy hidden in their hearts as they crossed the ocean long before it became visible as a form of government4 ,the form of government was inevitable1 seeing that they possessed the feeling of democracy1 and that they were journeying to land in obedience to the dictates of this feeling4 ,in education for democracy the form of government is an after-consideration2 that will come as a natural sequence4 ,the chief thing is to inoculate the spirits of people with a feeling for democracy4 ,this germ will grow out into a form of government because of the unity of feeling and consequent thinking4 ,when this spiritual attitude is generated1 not only does the form of government follow1 but people meet upon the plane of a common purpose and give expression to their inner selves in like movements4 ,they come to realize that1 in a large way1 each one is his brother's keeper4 ,they are drawn together in closer sympathy and good-will2 artificial barriers disappear2 and they all become interested in the common good4 ,their interests1 purposes1 and activities become unified1 and life becomes better and richer4 ,actuated by a common impulse1 they exemplify what ,kipling says in his ,sons of ,martha3 ,lift ye the stone or cleave the wood to make a path more fair or flat1 ,lo1 it is black already with blood some ,son of ,martha spilled for that1 ,not as a ladder from ,earth to ,heaven1 not as an altar to any creed1 ,but simple ,service1 simply given1 to their own kind1 in their common need4 ,as ,dr4 ,henry van ,dyke well says1 ,it is the silent ideal in the hearts of the people which molds character and guides action4 ,it will be admitted without qualification that the school1 when well administered1 constitutes a force that a altogether favorable to the development of the spirit of democracy1 and no one will deny that democracy is a worthy goal toward which the activities of the school should be directed4 ,it is easy to see just how geography1 for instance1 may be made a means to this end4 ,the members of the class represent many conditions of society1 but in the study of geography they unite in a common enterprise and have interests in common4 ,thus their spirits merge and1 for the time1 they become unified in a common quest4 ,they become coordinates and confederates in this quest of geography1 and the spirit of democracy expands in an atmosphere so favorable to growth4 ,these pupils may differ in race1 in creed1 or in color1 but these differences are submerged in the zeal of a common purpose4 ,lines of demarcation are obliterated and they are drawn together because of their thinking and feeling in unison4 ,the caste system does not thrive in the geography class and snobbery languishes4 ,the pupils have the same books1 the same assignments1 the same teacher1 and share alike in all the privileges and pleasures which the class provides4 ,their grades are given on merit1 with no semblance of discrimination4 ,in short1 they achieve the democratic attitude of spirit by means of the study of geography4 ,if the teacher holds democracy in mind1 all the while1 as the goal of endeavor1 she will find abundant opportunities to inculcate and develop the democratic ideal4 ,by tactful suggestion she directs the activities of the children into channels that lead to unity of purpose4 ,where help is needed1 she arranges that help may be forthcoming4 ,where sympathy will prove a solace1 sympathy will be given1 for sympathy grows spontaneously in a democratic atmosphere4 ,books1 pictures1 and flowers come forth as if by magic to bear their kindly messages and to render their appointed service4 ,by the subtle alchemy of her very presence1 the teacher who is deeply imbued with the spirit of democracy fuses the spirits of her pupils and causes them to blend in the pursuit of truth4 ,thus she brings it to pass that the spirit of democracy dominates the school and each pupil comes to feel a sense of responsibility for the well-being of all the others4 ,so the school achieves the goal of democracy by means of the studies pursued1 and the pupils come to experience the altruism1 the impulse to serve1 and the centrifugal urge of the democratic spirit4 ,,chapter ,,thirteen ,,serenity ,serenity does not mean either stolidity or lethargy2 far otherwise4 ,nor does it mean sluggishness1 apathy or phlegmatism2 quite the contrary4 ,it does mean depth as opposed to shallowness1 bigness as opposed to littleness1 and vision as opposed to spiritual myopia4 ,it means dignity1 poise1 aplomb1 balance4 ,it means that there is sufficient ballast to hold the ship steady on its way1 no matter how much sail it spreads4 ,when we see serenity1 we are quite aware of other spiritual qualities that foster it and lift it into view4 ,we know that courage is one of the hidden pillars on which it rests and that sincerity contributes to its grace and charm4 ,it is a vital crescent quality as staunch as the oak and as graceful as the rainbow4 ,it evermore stands upon a pedestal1 and a host of devotees do it homage4 ,it is as majestic and beautiful as the iceberg but as warm-hearted as love4 ,it has reserve1 and yet it attracts rather than repels4 ,a thousand influences are poured into the alembic of the spirit1 and serenity issues forth in modest splendor4 ,this quality of the spirit both betokens and embodies power1 and power governs the universe4 ,its power is not that of the storm that harries and devastates1 but rather that of the sunshine that fructifies1 purifies1 chastens1 and ripens4 ,it does not rush or crash into a situation but steals in as quietly as the dawn1 without noise or bombast1 and1 by its gentle influence1 softens asperities and wins a smile from the face of sorrow1 or discouragement1 or anger4 ,its presence transforms discord into harmony1 irradiates gloom1 and evokes rare flowers from the murky soil of discontent4 ,whatever storms may rage elsewhere and whatever darkness may enshroud1 it ever keeps its place as the center of a circle of calm and light4 ,it is ,venus of ,milo come to life1 silently distilling the beauty and splendor of living4 ,in its presence harshness becomes gentleness1 hysteria becomes equanimity1 and sound becomes silence4 ,from its presence vaunting and vainglory and arrogance hasten away to be with their own kind4 ,by its power1 as of a miracle1 it changes the dross into fine gold1 the grotesque into the seemly1 the vulgar into the pure1 the water into wine4 ,into the midst of commotion and confusion it quietly moves1 saying1 ,peace1 be still6 and there is quiet and repose4 ,like the sun-crowned summit of the mountain1 it stands erect and sublime nor heeds the cloudy tumult at its feet4 ,in the school1 the teacher who exemplifies and typifies this quality of serenity is never less than dignified but1 withal1 is never either cold or rigid4 ,children nestle about her in their affections and expand in her presence as flowers open in the sunshine4 ,she cannot be a martinet nor1 in her presence1 can the children become sycophants4 ,her very presence generates an atmosphere that is conducive to healthy growth4 ,there is that impelling force about her that draws people to her as iron filings are drawn to the magnet4 ,her smile stills the tumult of youthful exuberance and when the children look at her they gain a comprehensive definition of a lady4 ,her poise steadies the children in all the ramifications of their work1 her complete mastery of herself wins their admiration1 and her complete mastery of the situation wins their respect4 ,they become inoculated with her spirit and make daily advances toward the goal of serenity4 ,knowledge is her meat and drink and1 through the subtle alchemy of sublimation1 her knowledge issues forth into wisdom4 ,she does not pose1 for her simplicity and sincerity have no need of artificial garnishings4 ,her outward mien is but the expression of her spiritual power1 and when we contemplate her we know of a truth that education is a spiritual process4 ,to the teacher without serenity1 the days abound in troubles4 ,she is nervous1 peevish1 querulous1 and irritable1 and her pupils become equally so4 ,she thinks of them as incorrigibles and tells them so4 ,to her they seem bad and she tells them so4 ,her animadversions reflect upon their parents and their home life as well as themselves and she takes unction to herself by reason of her strictures4 ,her spiritual ballast is unequal to the sail she carries and her craft in consequence careens and every day ships water of icy coldness that chills her pupils to the heart4 ,she has knowledge1 indeed much knowledge1 but she lacks wisdom1 hence her knowledge becomes weakness and not power4 ,she has spiritual hysteria which manifests itself in her manner1 in her looks1 and in her voice4 ,her spiritual strength is insufficient for the load she tries to carry and her path shows uneven and tortuous4 ,she nags and scolds in strident tones that ruffle and rasp the spirits of her pupils and beget in them a longing to become whatever she is not4 ,she is noisy where quiet is needful2 she causes disturbance where there should be peace2 and she disquiets where she should soothe4 ,she may have had training1 but she lacks education1 for her spiritual qualities show only chaos4 ,the waters of her soul are shallow and so are lashed into tumult by the slightest storm4 ,she lacks serenity4 ,the test of a real teacher is not whether she will be good to the children but1 rather1 whether she will be good for the children1 and these concepts are wide apart4 ,if our colleges and normal schools could but gain the notion that their function is to prepare teachers who will be good for children they might find occasion to modify their courses radically4 ,unless she has serenity the teacher is not good for children1 for serenity is one of the qualities which they themselves should possess as the result of their school experience and it is not easy for them to achieve this quality if the teacher's example and influence are adverse4 ,we test prospective teachers for their knowledge of this subject and that1 when1 in reality1 we should be trying to determine whether they will be good for the pupils4 ,but we have contracted the habit of thinking that knowledge is power and so test for knowledge1 thinking1 futilely1 that we are testing for power4 ,we judge of a teacher's efficacy by some marks that examiners inscribe upon a bit of paper1 a thing laughable to gods and men4 ,she may be proficient in languages1 sciences1 and arts and still not be good for the children by reason of the absence of spiritual qualities4 ,none the less1 we admit her to the school as teacher when we would decline to admit her to the hospital as nurse4 ,we say she would not be good for the patients in the hospital but nevertheless accept her as the teacher of our children4 ,in ,ephesians we read1 ,but the fruit of the ,spirit is love1 joy1 peace1 longsuffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance1 and such an array of excellent spiritual qualities should attract the attention of all the agencies that have to do with the preparation of teachers4 ,we need only to make a list of the opposites of these qualities to be convinced that the teacher who possesses these opposites would not be good for the children4 ,now serenity embodies all the foregoing excellent qualities and1 therefore1 the teacher who has serenity has a host of qualities that will make for the success and well-being of her pupils4 ,again1 quoting from ,henderson3 ,my whole point is that these spiritual qualities in a boy are infinitely more important to his present charm and future achievement than any amount of academic training1 than the most complete knowledge of reading1 writing1 arithmetic1 history1 geography1 grammar1 spelling1 classics1 and natural science4 ,for charm and achievement are of the ,spirit4 ,it is very clear1 then1 that we ought to make these spiritual qualities the major end of all our endeavor during those wonderful years of grace2 and that we ought to allow the intellectual development1 up to fourteen years at least1 to be a by-product1 valuable and welcome certainly1 but not primarily sought after4 ,in the end we should get much the larger harvest of intellectual power1 and much the larger man4 ,we cannot hope to achieve the reconstructed school until our notion of teaching and teachers has been reconstructed4 ,when we secure teachers who have education and not mere knowledge1 we may begin to hope4 ,we must look to the colleges and normal schools to furnish such teachers4 ,if they cannot do so1 our schools must plod along on the path of tradition without hope of finding the better way4 ,there are faint indications1 however1 here and there1 that the colleges and normal schools are beginning to stir in their sleep and are becoming somewhat aware of their opportunities and responsibilities4 ,we shall hail with acclaim the glad day when they come to realize that the preparation of teachers for their work is a task of large import and goes deeper than facts1 and statistics1 and theories1 and knowledge4 ,if they furnish a teacher who has the quality of serenity1 we shall all be fully alive to the fact that that quality is the luscious and nutritious fruitage of scholarship1 of wide knowledge1 of much reading1 of deep meditation1 and keen observation4 ,but these elements1 either singly or in combination1 are but veneer unless they strike their roots into the spiritual nature and are thus nourished into spiritual qualities4 ,excavating into serenity1 we shall discover the pure gold of scholarship2 we shall find knowledge in great abundance2 we shall find the spirit of the greatest and best books2 and we shall come upon the cloister in which meditation has done its perfect work4 ,the machine that is run to the extreme limit of its capacity splutters1 sizzles1 hisses1 and quivers1 and finally shakes itself into a condition of ineffectiveness4 ,but the machine that is run well within the limits of its capacity is steady1 noiseless1 serene1 effective1 and durable4 ,so with people4 ,the person who essays a task that is beyond his capacity is certain to come to grief and to create no end of disturbance to himself and others before the final catastrophe4 ,if the steam-chest or boiler is not equal to the task1 wisdom and safety would counsel the installation of a larger one4 ,here is one of the tragedies of our scheme of education4 ,the spirit is the power-plant of all life's operations and in this plant are many boilers4 ,instead of calling more and more of these into action1 we seem intent upon repressing them and thus we reduce the capacity of the plant as a whole4 ,when we should be lighting or replenishing the fires under the boilers of imagination1 initiative1 aspiration1 and reverence1 we spend our time striving to bank or quench these fires and in playing and dawdling with the torches of arithmetic1 grammar1 and history with which we should be kindling the fires4 ,thus we diminish the power of the plant while life's activities are calling for extension and enlargement4 ,we seem to be trying to train our pupils to work with one or but few boilers when there are scores of them available if only we knew how to utilize them4 ,hence1 it must appear that reserve-power and serenity are virtually synonymous4 ,the teacher who has achieved serenity never uses all the power at her command and1 in consequence1 all her actions are easy1 quiet1 and even4 ,she is always stable and never mercurial or spasmodic4 ,she encounters steep grades1 to be sure1 but with ease and grace she applies a bit more power from her abundant supply and so compasses the difficulty without disturbing the calm4 ,she is fully conscious of her reservoir of power and can concentrate all her attention upon the work in hand4 ,the ballast in the hold keeps the mast perpendicular and the sails in position to catch the favoring breeze4 ,we admire and applaud the graceful ship as it speeds along its course1 giving little heed to the ballast in the hold that gives it poise and balance4 ,but the ballast is there1 else the ship would not be moving with such majestic mien4 ,nor was this ballast provided in a day4 ,rather it has been accumulating through the years1 and bears the mark of college halls1 of libraries1 of laboratories1 of the auditorium1 of the mountain1 the ocean1 the starry night1 of the deep forest1 of the landscape1 and of communion with all that is big and fine4 ,socrates drinking the hemlock is a fitting and inspiring illustration of serenity4 ,in the presence of certain and imminent death he was far less perturbed than many another man in the presence of a pin-prick4 ,and his imperturbability betokened bigness and not stolidity4 ,while his disciples wept about him1 he could counsel them to calmness and discourse to them upon immortality4 ,he wept not1 nor did he shudder back from the ordeal1 but calm and masterful he raised the cup to his lips and smiled as he drank4 ,his serenity won immortality for his name2 for wherever language may be spoken or written1 the story of ,socrates will be told4 ,history will not permit his name to be swallowed up in oblivion1 not alone because he was the victim of ignorance and prejudice but also because his serenity1 which was the offspring and proof of his wisdom1 did not fail him and his friends in the supreme test4 ,it is not a slight matter1 then1 to set up serenity as one of the goals in our school work4 ,nor is it a slight matter for the teacher to show forth this quality in all her work and so inspire her pupils to follow in her footsteps4 ,we hope1 of course1 that the boys and girls of our schools may attain serenity so that1 even in their days of youth1 urged on as they are by youthful exuberance1 they may be orderly1 decorous1 and kindly-disposed4 ,we would have them polite1 as a matter of course1 but we would hope that their politeness may be a part of themselves and not a mere accretion4 ,they will have joy of life1 but so does their teacher who is possessed of serenity4 ,joy is not necessarily boisterous4 ,the strains of music are no less music because they are mellow4 ,we would have our young people think soberly but not solemnly4 ,and when all our people1 young and old1 reach the goal of serenity they will extol the teachers and the schools that showed them the way4 ,,chapter ,,fourteen ,,life ,finally1 we come to the chief among the goals1 which is life itself4 ,in fact1 life is the super-goal4 ,we study manual arts1 science1 and language that we may achieve the goals of integrity1 imagination1 aspiration1 and serenity1 and these qualities we weave into the fabric of life4 ,upon the spiritual qualities we weave into it1 depend the texture and pattern of this fabric and the generating and developing of these qualities and the weaving of them into this fabric--this we call life4 ,when we look upon a person who is well-conditioned and whose life is well-ordered1 in body1 in mind1 and in spirit1 we know1 at once1 that he possesses integrity1 initiative1 a sense of responsibility1 reverence1 and other high qualities that compose the person as we see him4 ,we do not reflect upon what he knows of history1 of geography1 or of music1 for we are taking note of an exemplification of life4 ,indeed1 the presence or absence of these qualities determines the character of the person's life4 ,hence it is that life is the supreme goal of endeavor4 ,life is a composite and the crown-piece of all the qualities toward which we strive by means of arithmetic and grammar--in short1 of all our activities both in school and out4 ,one of our mistakes is that we confuse life and lifetime1 and construe life to mean the span of life4 ,in this conception the unit of measurement is so large that our concept of life evaporates into a vague generalization4 ,life is too specific1 too definite for that4 ,the quality of life may better be measured and tested in one-hour periods of duration4 ,when the clock strikes nine1 we know that in just sixty minutes it will strike ten4 ,in the space of those sixty minutes we may find a cross-section of life4 ,in a single hour we may experience a thousand sensations1 arrive at a thousand judgments1 and make a thousand responses to things about us4 ,in that hour we may experience joy1 sorrow1 love1 hate1 envy1 malice1 sympathy1 kindliness1 courage1 cowardice1 pettiness1 magnanimity1 egoism1 altruism1 cruelty1 mercy--a list1 in fact1 that reaches on almost interminably4 ,if we only had a spiritual cyclometer attached to us1 when the clock strikes ten we should have an interesting moment in noting the record4 ,only in some such way may each one of us gain a true notion of what his own life is4 ,the one-hour period is quite long enough for a determination of the spiritual attitude and disposition of the individual4 ,it is no small matter to achieve life1 big1 full1 round1 abounding1 pulsating life2 but it is certainly well worth striving for4 ,some one has defined sin as the distance between what one is and what he might have been2 and this distance measures his decline from the sphere of life to which he had right and title4 ,for life is a sphere1 seeing that it extends in all directions4 ,its limits are conterminous with the boundaries of time and space4 ,the feeble-minded person has life1 but only in a very restricted sphere4 ,he eats2 he drinks2 he sleeps2 he wanders in narrow areas2 and that is all4 ,his thinking is weak1 meager1 and fitful4 ,to him darkness means a time for sleeping1 and light a time for eating and waiting4 ,he produces nothing either of thought or substance1 but is a pensioner upon the thinking and substance of others4 ,his eyesight is strong and his hearing unimpaired2 but he neither sees nor hears as normal persons do1 because his spirit is incapable of positive reactions1 and his mind too weak to give commands to his bodily organs at the behest of the spirit4 ,in the language of psychology1 he lacks a sensory foundation by which to react to external stimuli4 ,in striking contrast is the man whose sphere of life is large1 whose spirit is capable of reacting to the orient and the occident1 to height and depth1 and whose mind flashes across the space from the dawn to the sunset1 and from nadir to zenith4 ,space is his playground1 and his companions are the stars4 ,such a man feels and knows more life in an hour than his antithesis could feel and know in a century4 ,to his spirit there are no metes and bounds2 it has freedom and strength to make excursions to the far limits of space and time4 ,life comes to him from a thousand sources and in a thousand ways because he is able to go out to meet it4 ,there has been developed in him a sensory foundation by which he can react to every influence the universe affords1 to light and shadow1 to joy and sorrow1 to the near and the far1 to the then and the now1 to the lowly and the sublime1 and to the finite and the ,infinite4 ,he has a big spirit1 which is first in command2 he has a strong1 active mind1 which is second in command2 and he has a loyal company of bodily organs that are able and willing to obey and execute commands4 ,to such a man we apply all the epithets of compliment and commendation which the language yields and cite him as an exemplification of life at high tide1 of life in its supreme fullness and splendor4 ,the knowledge of the world comes to his doors to do his bidding2 before him the arts and sciences make their obeisance2 and wisdom is his pillar of cloud by day and his pillar of fire by night4 ,therefore we call him educated2 we call him a man of culture2 we call him a gentleman2 and all because he has achieved life in abundant measure4 ,having imagination1 he is able to peer into the future1 anticipate world movements1 and visualize the paths on which progress will travel4 ,having initiative as his badge of leadership1 he is able to rally hosts of men to his standard to execute his behests for civic1 national1 and world betterment4 ,having aspiration1 he obeys the divine urge within him and moves onward and upward1 eager to plant the flag of progress upon the summit that others may see and be stimulated to renewed hope and courage4 ,and he has integrity1 for he is a real man4 ,he has wholeness1 completeness1 soundness1 and roundness4 ,he is an integer and never counts for less than one in any relation of life4 ,he cannot be a mere cipher1 for he is dynamic4 ,he rings true at every impact of life1 is free from dross and veneer1 and is genuine through and through4 ,there was arithmetic1 back along the line somewhere1 but it has been absorbed in the big quality which it helped to generate and develop4 ,and it is better so4 ,for if he were now solving decimals and square root he would be but a cog and not the great wheel itself4 ,he has grown beyond his arithmetic as he has grown beyond his boyhood warts and freckles1 for the larger life has absorbed them4 ,yet he feels no disdain either for freckles or arithmetic1 but regards them as gracious incidents of youth and growth4 ,he cannot read his ,latin as he once could1 but he does not grieve2 for he knows it has not been lost but1 in changed form1 is enshrined in the heart of integrity4 ,again1 he has the qualities of thoroughness1 concentration1 a sense of responsibility1 loyalty1 and serenity4 ,he is big enough1 and true enough both to himself and others1 to pursue a straight and steady course4 ,to him1 life is a boon1 a privilege1 an investment1 an opportunity1 a responsibility1 and1 therefore1 a gift too precious to be squandered or frivoled away4 ,to him1 hours are of fine gold and should be seized that they may be fused and fashioned into a statue of beauty4 ,being loyal to this conception1 he moves on from achievement to achievement nor stops to note that fragrant flowers of blessing and benediction are springing forth luxuriantly in his path4 ,his spirit is big with rightness1 his brain is clear1 his conscience is clean1 his eyes look upward1 his words are sincere1 his thoughts are lofty1 his purposes are true1 and his acts distill blessings4 ,he is no mere figment of fancy1 but rather a noble reality whose prototype may be found on the bench1 in the forum1 in the study1 in the sanctum1 in the school and the college1 in the factory1 on the farm1 and in the busy mart4 ,and1 withal1 he is a success as a human being4 ,his sincerity is proverbial in all things1 both great and small4 ,in him there is nothing of the mystic1 the hermit1 or the sybarite4 ,he has great joy of life1 and this joy is true1 honest1 and real1 and never simulated4 ,he drinks in life at every pore1 and gives forth life that invigorates and inspires whomsoever it touches4 ,his laugh is the expression of his wholesome nature2 his words are jewels of discrimination2 his every sentence bears a helpful message2 his fine sense of humor mellows and illumines every situation2 and his face always shows forth the light within4 ,children find delight in his society1 and the exuberant vitality of his nature wins for him the friendship of all living creatures4 ,birds seem to sing for him1 and flowers to exhale their odors for his delight4 ,for the influences of birds1 flowers1 streams1 trees1 meadows1 and mountains are enmeshed in his life4 ,nature reveals her secrets to him and gives to him of her treasures because he goes out to meet her4 ,because he smiles at nature she smiles back at him1 and the union of their smiles gives joy to those who see4 ,moreover1 he is a product of the reconstructed school1 for this school does already exist1 though in conspicuous isolation4 ,but the oasis is accentuated by its isolation in the desert which spreads about it and is the more inviting by contrast4 ,when1 as a child1 he entered school1 the teacher1 who was in advance of her time in her conception of the true function of the school1 made a close and sympathetic appraisement of his aptitudes1 his native dispositions1 his daily environment1 and the bent of his inherent spiritual qualities4 ,first of all1 she won his confidence4 ,thus he found freedom1 ease1 and pleasure in her presence4 ,thus1 too1 there ensued unconscious self-revelation and nothing in his life evaded her kindly scrutiny4 ,he opened his mind to her frankly and fully1 and never after did she permit the closing of the door4 ,only so could she become his teacher4 ,she regarded him as an opportunity for the testing of all her knowledge1 all her skill1 and the full measure of her altruism4 ,nor was he the proverbial mass of plastic clay to be molded into some preconceived form4 ,her wisdom and modernity interdicted such a conception of childhood as that4 ,rather1 he was a growing plant1 waiting for her skill to nurture him into blossom and fruitage4 ,some of his qualities she found good2 others not4 ,the good ones she made the objects of her special care2 the others she allowed to perish from neglect4 ,her experience in gardening had taught her that1 if we cultivate the potatoes assiduously1 the weeds will disappear and need not concern us4 ,she discerned in him a tender shoot of imagination and this she nurtured as a priceless thing4 ,she fertilized it with legend1 story1 song1 and myth1 and enveloped it in an atmosphere of warmth and joyousness4 ,she led him into nature's realm1 that his imagination might plume its wings for greater flights by its efforts to interpret the heart of things that live4 ,thus his imagination learned to traverse space1 to explore sights and sounds his senses could not reach1 and to construct for him another world of beauty and delight4 ,so1 too1 with the other spiritual qualities4 ,upon these goals her gaze was fixed and she gently led him toward them4 ,she taught the arithmetic with zest1 with large understanding1 and in a masterly way1 for she was causing it to serve a high purpose4 ,whatever study she found helpful1 this she used as a means with gratitude and gladness4 ,if she found the book ill adapted to her purpose1 she sought or wrote another4 ,if pictures proved more potent than books1 the galleries obeyed the magic of her skill and yielded forth their treasures4 ,she yearned to have her pupil win the goals before him2 everything was grist that came to her mill if only it would serve her purpose4 ,she disdained nothing that could afford nourishment to the spirit of the child and give him zeal1 courage1 and strength for the upward journey4 ,if more arithmetic was needful1 she found it2 if more history1 she gave it2 and if the book on geography was inadequate1 she supplemented from libraries or from her own abundant storehouse of knowledge4 ,she dared to deviate from the course of study1 if thereby the child might more certainly win the goals toward which she ever looked and worked4 ,in the boy1 she saw a poet1 a philosopher1 a prophet1 an artist1 a musician1 a statesman1 or a philanthropist1 and she worked and prayed that the artist in the child might not die but that he might grow to stalwart manhood to glorify the work of her school4 ,in each girl she saw another ,ruth1 or ,esther1 or ,cordelia1 or ,clara ,barton1 or ,frances ,willard1 or ,florence ,nightingale1 or ,rosa ,bonheur1 or ,mrs4 ,stowe1 or ,mrs4 ,browning4 ,and her heart yearned over each one of these and strove with power to nourish them into vigorous life that they might become jewels in her crown of rejoicing4 ,she must not allow one to perish through her ignorance or malpractice1 for she would keep her soul free from the charge of murder4 ,and in the fullness of manhood and womanhood her pupils achieved the full symphony of life4 ,they had won the goals toward which their teacher had been leading4 ,their spiritual qualities had converged and become life1 and they had attained the super-goal4 ,in the joy of their achievement their teacher repeated the words of her own ,teacher1 ,i am come that they might have life1 and that they might have it more abundantly4 ,,index ,transcriber's ,note3 ,page numbers converted to ,chapter numbers4 ,altruism1 #ab ,american civilization1 #b ,apple tree1 #i ,arithmetic1 #c as means1 never as end1 #c ,aspiration1 #e1 #g ,bible1 #aa ,body1 mind1 spirit1 #aa ,bogtrup1 #f ,browning1 #f ,cant1 #g ,children1 let alone when1 #g ,citizenship1 concept of1 #a ,civilization1 #a ,clean living1 #b ,columbus1 #f ,concept of life1 #ad ,cooley1 #f ,course of study1 #c ,culture1 #h ,david1 #aa ,democracy1 #a1 #ab spiritual attitude1 #ab ,democratic ideal1 #ab ,destination1 #c ,dickens1 #h ,draft board1 #b ,dynamic teacher1 #d ,edison1 #f ,education1 newer import of1 #a definition of1 #e a spiritual process1 #ac ,esther1 #aa ,excelsior1 #f ,farmers1 #h ,field1 #f ,froebel1 #f ,future as related to present1 #c ,galileo1 #h ,geography1 #e ,grandchildren1 #b ,great ,stone ,face1 #a ,hand1 #i ,harvey's ,grammar1 #aj ,henderson1 ,c4 ,hanford1 #h ,hercules1 #aj ,history1 #f ,hodge1 #i ,hugo1 ,victor1 #i ,hungry pupils1 #f ,ideals1 #h ,imagination1 #h ,impart instruction1 #ci #e ,incompleteness1 #d ,incorrigibility1 #d ,initiative1 #g ,integrity1 #d meaning of1 #d ,inventions1 #h ,job1 #i ,jove1 #c ,keats1 #e ,kipling1 #ab ,knowledge and wisdom1 #c ,life1 #ad ,lincoln1 #d ,loyalty1 #aa ,madonna of the ,chair1 #aa ,major ends1 #c ,man-made course of study1 #d ,manual training1 #g ,minerva1 #c ,minor ends1 #c ,model man1 #aj ,model woman1 #aj ,mother1 #aa ,napoleon1 #e ,north ,star1 #i ,objects of teaching1 #c ,old age1 #e ,old ,glory1 #aa ,olympus1 #b ,parker1 #f ,past as related to the present1 #b ,paternalism1 #g ,pestalozzi1 #f ,physical training1 #d ,physician1 #aj ,preliminary survey of task before reconstructed school1 #a ,present1 as related to the past1 #b as related to the future1 #c ,process of reconstruction1 #b ,question and answer method1 #e ,reactions1 #aa ,reconstructed school1 survey of1 #a ,relation of past to present1 #b ,reserve-power1 #ac ,respect1 #i ,responsibility1 #aj ,revelation1 #aa ,reverence1 #i ,ruth1 #aa ,samson1 #aj ,sandow1 #aj ,school is cross-section of life1 #g ,serenity1 #ac defined1 #ac ,shakespeare1 #e ,sin1 #ad ,sluggard1 #e ,socrates1 #ac ,spiritual attitude1 #aj ,spiritual coward1 #aj ,spiritual hysteria1 #ac ,standardized children1 #d ,statistics1 #ac ,stimuli1 #aa ,stuart1 ,ruth ,mc,enery1 #f ,survey of task before reconstructed school1 #a ,swift1 ,edgar ,james1 #g1 #h ,teachers1 kinds of1 #a test of1 #ac ,teaching1 objects of1 #c ,thoroughness1 #c ,tractor1 #g ,tradition1 #c ,traditional teacher1 #d ,truth1 #i ,unity1 dawn of1 #a ,van ,dyke1 ,henry1 #g1 #ab ,wall ,street1 #b ,war gardens1 #ab ,wells1 ,h4,g41 #ab ,words1 #i ,world-minded superintendents and teachers1 #a ,world war1 #b 99 99 99 99 99 ,world ,book ,company ,the ,house of ,applied ,knowledge ,established1 #aije1 by ,caspar ,w4 ,hodgson ,yonkers-on-,hudson1 ,new ,york #babf ,prairie ,avenue1 ,chicago ,publishers of the following professional works3 ,school ,efficiency ,series1 edited by ,paul ,h4 ,hanus1 complete in thirteen volumes2 ,educational ,survey ,series1 seven volumes already issued and others projected2 ,school ,efficiency ,monographs1 eleven numbers now ready1 others in active preparation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,school ,,efficiency ,,monographs ,anderson ,education of ,defectives in the ,public ,schools ,arp ,rural ,education and the ,consolidated ,school ,butterworth ,problems in ,state ,high ,school ,finance ,cody ,commercial ,tests and ,how to ,use ,them ,baton ,record ,forms for ,vocational ,schools ,mc,andrew ,the ,public and ,its ,school ,mahoney ,standards in ,english ,mead ,an ,experiment in the ,fundamentals ,pearson ,the ,reconstructed ,school ,reed ,newsboy ,service ,richardson ,making a ,high ,school ,program ,tidyman ,the ,teaching of ,spelling