Eastern Michigan University - Aurora Yearbook (Ypsilanti, MI)

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and to enter with renewed vigor and enthusiasm upon a second five years of service. And now. finally, what are the personal qualities of mind and heart that have reenforced academic preparation and practical experience in the case of President Jones? Let your discretion be your tutor, Hamlet says to the Player. Ah, yes, but what if one have not discretion? It can scarcely be acquired in academic halls, and practical experience may develop but cannot furnish it. President Jones has, doubtless, to thank his ancestors for the native gift of common setise, — a rare gift, and needed by no man more than by him who aspires to leadership in public edu- cation. Soundness of judgment, then, saving him from being swept off his feet by every new educational fad, has been an intellectual asset of no mean value with President Jones. Thus gifted by nature, two ideas seem to me to have contributed in no small degree to our President ' s unusual success. First, he has had a large faith in humanity, and along with it a firm belief in public school education as possibly the supreme power in the national life for the uplift of the race. Secondly, holding his own convictions strongly, he has been wise enough, within proper bounds, and consistent with a unified ideal of progress, to allow his corps of assistants the largest possible freedom of action. He has reposed with confidence upon their ability and their loyalty ; he has trusted to no small dictatorship on his own part, but rather to the enthusiastic devotion to public school service which might be aroused under his leader- ship. One or two sentences from his farewell address to the teachers of Cleveland express these thoughts in such fitting phrase that they may be aptly quoted here. It is not i if ii?nvorlhy artiial, he says, but tin; tioble fiosssihle . iaX has inspiration in it. And again, It is this power to idealize life and to see forces and agencies at work transforming the world, that marks the difference between the great teacher and the one who is satisfied with the actual, and settles down to go through the routine form of preserving the present order of things. The latter is a mechanical teacher, while the former projects into his teaching a tonic effect that strengthens and ennobles every act of his school work. Possessed of such sane idealism himself and imparting it to others, he goes on to say; I have never tried to impose my ideal upon you, but rather to show you the elements of truth out of which you, guided by your own experience, and from your own point of view may con - struct your own ideal, which will in its turn become a perennial force within you enabling you to press forward toward its realization So I have tried never to say, ' Go and do this or that, ' but rather, ' Come, let us do this together in joyous companionship. ' Such a man speaks naturally of the passion for teach- ing, and inspires like passion in others. Surely we but echo the sentiment of the student-body, the Faculty, and the commonwealth, when we assure President Jones of our respect and affection and express the hope that he may be spared yet many years to bless the state with his generous and efficient public service. F. A. Barbour.

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rrsiltfut Snnra ■Sj Si RECEDING numbers of The Aurora have T ■ J) ' . given the educational career of President L. H. Ks p Jones somewhat in detail. It may be of interest, therefore, in the present number, after a brief resume of the main facts of his life, to offer a simple analysis of the qualities of mind and heart which have contributed to his eminent success as an educator. He was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, and acquired his early education in the common schools and an acadeni} ' of that state. Graduat- ing later from the Oswego Normal School, New York, he went to Harvard University to study science with the famous Agassiz. With this preparation he began teaching science in the Terre Haute Normal School. After four years here, he went to the citj ' of Indianapolis, where, from a position in the high school, he was pro- moted, first to the directorship of the Training School, and finally to the Superintendency of the city schools. Ten years of distinguished service in this important position led to a call to the city of Cleveland to work out an educational experiment. Can a system of city schools be taken out of politics? May their administration be safely and wisely entrusted to a Superintendent with practically life tenure of office, and with power to engage, promote, and even dismiss his assistants? The successful working out of that experiment, in the face of ceaseless opposition and intrigue on the part of politicians, has become a part of the educational history of the country. In addition to such rich and varied experience in test- ing educational theories by their practical application. President Jones has always kept himself in touch and con- ference with the leading educators of the country. An hour ' s conversation is worth a day of reading, says Bacon, and President Jones has always sought to clarify his own experience and to correct or to confirm his own opin- ions bv face to face discussion with eminent educators. For many years, therefore, he has been a member ot the National Educational Association and always a welcome and able contributor to its deliberations. In 1890 he was made a member of the National Council of Education, was later a member of the famous Committee of Fifteen, and in 1896 was President of the Department of Superintendence. It should seem, then, that President Jones ' s whole life has been in rare degree a professional preparation for the position which he now holds at the head of the -Michi- gan State Normal College. The healthy growth of the institution under his five 5 ' ears of administration, and the hearty and loyal support of his entire Facultj- in carrying out his policies, furnish but new evidence of his rare administrative ability. It was a fitting tribute, therefore, to his service in Michigan that the State Board of Educa- tion granted him a six months ' leave of absence during the present college year. The time was given to extensive travel in Europe, and the President returned in January to receive a rojal welcome from both students and Faculty,

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President Jones ' Residence