772 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tion and relationships of the flora of this ancient archipelago still 

 has in store for him who can undertake it many most interesting and 

 instructive discoveries. A complete knowledge of the present con- 

 dition and past history of the plant life of one such small part of the 

 world would be of infinite help to the comprehension of all larger 

 regions. 



THE PHILOSOPHr OF MANUAL TRAINING. 



By C. liANFOKD HENDERSON, 



DIRECTOR OF THE HIGH-SCHOOL DEPARTMENT, PRATT INSTITUTE, UROOKLYN, N. Y. 



v.— THE PLACE OF MAN'PAL TRAINING IN A RATIONAL EDUCATIONAL 



SYSTEM. 



I HAVE tried to show in previous papers the grounds upon which 

 manual training rests its educational claims, and to point out 

 some of the results of this training. It remains for me to indicate the 

 place w^hicli manual training ought to occupy in the whole scheme 

 of culture. I shall not consider formal education plus manual train- 

 ing, but rather a system of education in which manual training forms 

 an integral j)art. So considered, the question becomes a very com- 

 prehensive one, for it amounts to nothing less than an examination 

 of our whole scheme of secondary education. 



It has been insisted upon all along that education is a process, a 

 tool, a means to an end, and not in any way an end in itself, not 

 something fixed and sacred, but something quite fluid and alterable. 

 And, further, it has been suggested that education is but another 

 name for the process of evolution made conscious, and must consist 

 in such control of the environment as will bring about the desired 

 human reactions. 



The problem before us is quite definite. Given babies of three 

 and four years, what shall be done with them up to eighteen years, 

 so that they shall evolve into desirable types of men and women? 

 The present system, as you know, is somewhat elaborate. The kin- 

 dergarten, elementary school, and high school cover just the ground 

 we are considering. It is a continuous, well-co-ordinated process, and 

 some of its results are quite beautiful. But I believe that it is not the 

 best. The problem is to build up a system which shall be in accord 

 with our accepted philosophy of life, and shall satisfy the ethical and 

 social ideals of the heart. At three and four, what have we given? 

 At eighteen, what do we want? The answer to these two questions is 

 the educational data. How shall the material given grow into the 

 material wanted? The answer to this question is the educational 

 method. It is this latter answer that involves the api^lieation of 

 manual training. 



