RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES.
Being convinced that the controlling aim of education should be moral,
we shall now inquire into the relative value of different studies and
their fitness to reach and satisfy this aim. As measured upon this
cardinal purpose, what is the intrinsic value of each school study?
The branches of knowledge furnish the materials upon which a child's
mind works. Before entering upon such a long and up-hill task as
education, with its weighty results, it is prudent to estimate not only
the end in view, but the best means of reaching it. Many means are
offered, some trivial, others valuable. A careful measurement, with
some reliable standard, of the materials furnished by the common
school, is our first task. To what extent does history contribute to
our purpose? What importance have geography and arithmetic? How do
reading and natural science aid a child to grow into the full stature
of a man or woman?
These questions are not new, but the answer to them has been long
delayed. Since the time of Comenius, to say the least, they have
seriously disturbed educators. But few have had the courage, industry,
and breadth of mind of a Comenius, to sound the educational waters and
to lay out a profitable chart.
Pages:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28