Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, June 9, 1909, Page 9

You. XVI.—No. 51. SUPPLEMENT TO Grand Rapids Gerald-Review be ae eh Soto @eoces pooooeosororegy | noble Rev. Dr. Briggs’ Class Setmon to the Graduates of the Grand Rapids High School at the Auditorium, Sunday, June 6, 1909. SostosoctoctoetontocteatoatecsetoateatontnetoctoctnatontonSeetoctou@ eleetenteeSeasoateatoeoateetoatoatoetonteetoatoateatoateetetoatoetosledtocton The differences which devide us in the mere capacity of learning are very great. Some can suck in knowledge as a sponge takes water; others throw it aside like the imperviousness of igneous rock. What wonderfnl differences there are in our children in just this quality of receptivity, the power to appropriate knowledge! You give one child a hint and he has got the entire lesson! To other child- ren you have to spell it out slowly, a syllable at a time. A great. student and scholar speaking about roads and realms of knowledge, recently gave some very helpful counsel. He said, ‘“‘The secret of learning is to ask much, to remember much, and to teach much,” Asking is a great sign of a fine learner. We cannot rub up against a man who is finely receptive in any department of knowledge without discovering this fierce inquisitiveness in his own _ particular realm. Non long ago a learned geolo- gist walking in company with a friend passed a common gravel pit and at once became all alert and full of inquiry. He immediately began to question the little heaps of pebbles which he took in his hand. His asking led him to the se- crets of the neighborhood. You go for a stroll with some renowned botanist and you will be amazed at the eager spirit of inquiry which possesses him in every dale, cross-road or country lane. Yes, and he will remember much. But there is the difficulty for many of us: We can take but we cannot keep. We can receive an impression but we cannot re- tain it. We have a vision in the night but it fades in the glare of the next day. We have a glimpse of glory or of duty but common affairs obliterate it again and the experience seems to be wasted This leaky memory is very obtrusive in many realms. How we hav: to jog our remembrance in the little things of daily life! We knot our hand- kerchiefs or we put a ring on another finger we call to our aid some sys- tem of mnemonics and all this that we might be able to retain something we al- ready have. You can keep what you have and be constantly adding to it if you are ‘‘apt to teach.’’ Every teacher knows this; a friend of Watt’s said in the Tate gallery in England not long ago, when he was taking a little party through the famous chamber: ‘Every time I try to explain these pictures, I see more to explain.” In the act of stating a principle, the light brightens for ourselves. While we are in the world the race for knowledge should never cease. The field is so broad and the expanse so great in so many alti- tudes, we are apt to become bewildered and grow dizzy, as we try to make our way into the length and breadth and heighth of the possibilities there are within reach of the seeker after know- ledge. . The term ‘‘Education’” is neariy synonymous with knowledge in the thought and speach of the world. The fact that I know a thing or many things éarries with it the supposition that I am educated, and, vice-versa. We should esteem education for its utility; we seek after it because it prepares us to earn a livelihood, to act our part among men; to fill a position or adorn a station. This seems to be the great drawing card of some institutions of learning and they announce in flaming letters a practical education for life. It is not at all surprising that such Fe AEST Mite Meh | ASN RMS Io 52 gai eh Re RE eS SOL ETI MIB? a Ne BMPS BE ae A's hr AEA Se t= SAA A Sy Be AS BRR IN RP th See PO a iy BM ae ideas should gain currency in a country like ours and at the present time. When competition is so sharp in every pursuit, when the bread -and_ butter question is so urgent, when many fall out of the organized activities for want of suitable preparation. When mater- ial comforts are so numerous and in- viting, it is but natural for men to re- gard their immediate necessities and obligations and make’ ready to meet them promptly and well. Indeed this should be their plain duty. To live this present life in the civilized society of our time we may well put forth our best endeavor. However, this view is liable to be carried to an extreme, and, if so, it would work mischief in many ways. It is just possible for us to so emphasize the present and the visible, that the future and the unseen may be totally eclipsed. If knowledge is edu- cation, it does not matter how we get it, or when, or where, If we seek for knowledge, for utilitarian reasons only, the amount and scope of our knowledge will be greatly limited. He who thirks he is qualified for some chosen vote- tion may think his education complete and may cease his efforts or confine them to his specialty. We believe the cause of education has encountered no more serious obstacles than are present- ed by this popular misconception. Let not that young man think because he has gone through the high school, busi- ness college or university, that his ed- ucation is completed. It is a common ex pression, ‘the has finished his educa- tion.’’ Surely not because he has grad- uated—rather should he understand that a foundation has been laid upon which he is to rear a superstructure that will be limited only by his ability, opportun- ity and capacity. We must seek the larger meaning with which the word was originally charged; a meaning which it still conveys to all who consider it etymelogically. As a derivative from the Latin E, Out, and duco, to lead, education signifies primarily to lead out or develop. It has reference to the pro- cess more than the result of the pro- cess. It assumes that the faculties are not at their best—that they are folded up, as it were, inactive and dormant— that they will not awake and unfold of themselves, but that by rightly direct- ed efforts they may be aroused, brought out, led out, educated. Our fathers laid well the foundations for the educa- tion of future generations in our school system. Broad was the system at its inception and broader and still more broad has it become as the years have come and gone until,while it is not yet perfect, the evolution commends itself to the best minds of our time. The familiar incident in the life of Michael Angelo often quoted is not an imperfect i} lustration. Discovering a block of mar- ble at the roadside, he lifted it from the slime and bore it to his studio, saying ‘‘There is an angel in the stone and I must get it out.’” With patient application by mallet and chisel he transformed the unsightly mass into a thing of beauty. So the educator takes the student in the rough and his ex- cellencies are brought out, developed. The sculptor deals with stone and fash- ions it by external force, while the educator touches the secret spring of the soul, causing it to awake and live and in the end we have not a cold and motionless statute, beautiful to look up- on, but a human organism, capable of | | nn tt ttt ttt -» GRAND ee Itasca COUNTY, MINN., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1909. Two Dollars a Year noble deeds, constructed after its own and not another’s model. Education has another meaning closely related to the last which is very commonly over- looked. The mind is weak, impoverish- ed,destitute of these elements that origi- nate and nurture thought, like certain soils which cannot support vegetation because they do not possess the neces- sary properties. Minds differ greatly. Some are like the desert on which no blade of grass can be found while others are like the plains that have only here and there a few clumps of worthless weeds; yet all minds need to be enrich- ed, some more than others, and the process by which this is done forms part of the work of education. Again the development and nourishment of the faculties must be accomplished by means cf the truth. To a limited extent, other agencies may be and ought to be employed in the largest meaning of the term, but any such effort is not education. Truth is the one force which the mind needs, without which it cannot have the tone and vigor required to perform its appropriate functions. What the fertilizer does for the soil, truth does for the mind—it imparts the quality of productiveness and when us- ed rightly, it provides that healthful condition that renders the unfolding and discipline possible. Education then, we claim, is the process by which know- ledge is acquired in such a manner, quality and quanity as to develop the mind and render it fruitful. The end to be obtained should not be so much objective as subjective. Considered even in this sense, education is eminently practical and is the surest, if not the shortest way to the good desired by the utilitarian. A man’s work and success depend not alone upon what he knows, but much more upon what he is. The world has an ample place and a liberal compensation for every rightly educated man. He knows where he ought to be and what he ought to do and others gladly recognize his abilities and make a place for him. But the undeveloped man is out of place everywhere and al- ways, a servant or victim of other men —a plaything of fortune, an impedi- ment to the race. “If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.’’ For the past two or three years, we have heard a great deal about the man with the muck-rake. This undoubtedly arises from the fact that the minds of men are largely preoccupied with the epidemic of vice. A very important subject for serious evils have infect- ed our social, commercial and political life and unless they are discovered and laid bare and extirpated, there can be little hope of soundness and vigor in the body politic. However, no man was ever made strong and well by merely studying his imfirmities and taking medicine for his diseases. What the na- tion needs most of all is to fix the atten tion and the heart on things that are true and honorable and just and clean and lovely and of good report. The soul of a man and the soul of a people can be invigorated only by the contagion of virtue and the inspiration of praise. The air of our country is today and has been ‘for some time, heavily charged with electricity. The lightening of ex- posure has been striking into dark places and playing havoc with houses that were founded upon lies. The thunder of de- nounciation rolls all around the horizon, many hearts are troubled, some are dis- mayed. Voices of dispair are heard, crying that ‘‘all is»rotten—society, busi- ness, politics—all must go down.” Voi- ces of anger and malice are heard exult- ing in the ruin of reputations and the shaking of public confidence. Frivolous voices are heard, laughing and mocking at the disasters that have befellen the prosperous and hysterical voices shreik- ing for more excitement, more expos- ure, more. calamity. On the other side, conservative and soothing voices are PRs See ESE SRE EEE SESE ete bt t+ repare For Your ee) "S = cy Us} © = ed =} ge a nice Valice or Suit Case may be sufficient to hold your neces- sary clothing; but if your wife is to accompany you a good sized, solid trunk will be the thing. 7’ YOU contemplate a trip alone them in all sizes and shapes and at rices that you can afford to pay. Think the matter over before you pack your luggage. ..... 7 also carry a complete line of Dry Goods, Ladies’ and Gent’s Furnishing Goods, Men’s and Boys’ Clothing, Hats and Caps, Boots and Shoes, Rubbers, Unbrellas, Rain Coats for Ladies’ and Gent’s at prices to meet everybody’s purse. C.H.MAR SEDER RES Ree We have GRAND RAPIDS, MINNESOTA ee tt tt ttt te t+