Plymouth State University - Conning Tower Yearbook (Plymouth, NH)

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Ernest Leroy Silver

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 he Tower

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The Conning Tower of 1933 “With all thy wisdom get understanding. In man’s distressful world today, who can point out with certainty the place of wisdom and the fruits of its possession? What is wise, and what is vain? There is no consensus of opinion to-day whether much of the long accepted learning is wisdom or fatuity. The thinkers and the actors of your generation, moved by the shocks of our economic times, will be responsible for the next step upward in social living, economic stability, and national safety. Wisdom of the past has been insufficient for our present. Perhaps we have lacked understanding to make full use of our wisdom. It is obvious that you must know your times better than times have been understood in the past: that you must use your wisdom to interpret your times to your pupils; that Americans of the twentieth century must be taught to know life here and now; that ideals of democracy be understood by children who are soon to be voters. Learning is not enough. We must have the understanding mind with the heart of gold. Ernest L. Silver (151