West Virginia Wesleyan College - Murmurmontis Yearbook (Buckhannon, WV)

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emphasis is placed upon the profession rather than the man. That the old method — the cast-iron curriculum, consisting chiefly of dry Latin, hard Greek, and harder mathematics — turned out men needs no proof. That the new system turns out specialists is also true; but is it not possible in the eagerness to specialize the man has been lost sight of? The vital test of the new system is not skill, but character; to obtain both is the ideal; so for this reason it is well to be conservative in educational reform. We may now inquire into the real meaning of education. Is it what we know, or what we are. and are becoming, that constitutes our education? in a narrow sense, education means acquired knowledge, i. e., intellectual develop- ment. In a broader sense, it includes the development of the whole person, embracing the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual natures or faculties of man. Milton ' s conception of education is not yet antiquated. The end of education, said he, is to prepare for complete living. This embraces every phase of self- development, and even ' function of life. A suggestion in addition to this classic definition is this, education is the process of self-realization. Esau, a four year old chimpanzee, was captured when very young. He was reared in the home of his captor, having for his companion the little son of his master. The chimpanzee and the boy slept together, ate together, played together, and wore the same kind of clothes. In the course of time, Esau could do many things in imitation of human actions. Alas ! they were imitations only. At the close of a performance a lady shook hands with Esau, and very enthusiastically said to the owner, How nicely you have him trained ! The owner replied with a look of scorn and a tone of wounded pride, He is not trained, madam. He is educated. The lady was correct ; Esau was trained — there was no self-development, no self-realization in his role. His training was from without, not from within. The supreme test of education is character. In revealing Himself to Moses God did not boast of His power or wisdom, but simply said, I am. T. R. Watson.