Again, we are compelled to assume that this
aim, whatever it is, is the same for all.
Now what will the average man, picked up at random, say to our
question: What is the chief end in the education of your son? A farmer
wishes his boy to read, write, and cipher, so as to meet successfully
the needs of a farmer's life. The merchant desires that his boy get a
wider reach of knowledge and experience so as to succeed in a livelier
sort of business competition. A university professor would lay out a
liberal course of training for his son so as to prepare him for
intellectual pursuits among scholars and people of culture. This
utilitarian view, which points to success in life in the ordinary
sense, is the prevailing one. We could probably sum up the wishes of a
great majority of the common people by saying, "They desire to give
their children, through education, a better chance in life than they
themselves have had." Yet even these people, if pressed to give
reasons, would admit that the purely utilitarian view is a low one and
that there is something better for every boy and girl than the mere
ability to make a successful living.
Turn for a moment to the great _systems_ of education which have held
their own for centuries and examine their aims.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25