152 THE COLLEGE 



recognize and justify the secondary school, and unhesitatingly include it as 

 practically indispensable to the state, if not to all its citizens, in our first group 

 of schools, to form the unified public school system. 



But it needs to be borne clearly in mind that if the true justification of ele- 

 mentary and secondary education is the preparation of useful members of society, 

 it cannot be regarded as merely intellectual. The moral side of the matter is, if 

 there is any difference, even more important the learning of order, of obedience, 

 of integrity in one's work, of steadfastness in spite of moods, of the democratic 

 spirit, of a real sense of justice, and of the rightful demand of the whole upon the 

 individual. If these are not given hi some good measure, then, whatever the 

 intellectual results, hi just so far, from the point of view of the state, public 

 school education is a failure. And yet no doubt it must be said that since in 

 America the school children are all in homes, the American public school teacher 

 has, quite naturally, not regarded himself as primarily charged with anything but 

 the intellectual training of the child. Other training has been largely incidental 

 taken up only so far as the order of the school demanded, or as it was in- 

 evitably involved in the situation. Even so, the moral training has been by no 

 means unimportant. But it may be doubted if there is any change in public 

 school education so important to-day as that the teacher should plainly recognize 

 that his real responsibility is to train his charges to be useful members of society, 

 with all that that implies. Let the child and the parent and the teacher all alike 

 understand that the state undertakes the free education of all its children just 

 because it hopes thus to prepare them to be valuable members of a free people, 

 and that whatever is necessary to that end, provided it does not violate individual 

 consciences, is within the function of the public school. This means, of course, 

 that it is the business of the public school to teach living as well as studies. 



But with this recognition of the broader function of the public schools, with 

 the necessary acknowledgment of a real broadening even on the intellectual side 

 of technical and professional courses, and with the present common admission of 

 the danger of a specialism not broadly based, is the distinct function of the 

 college clearer, or has it rather been taken on by the other members of the educa- 

 tional system? To a certain extent, no doubt, the latter is true and ought to be true. 



But we might well argue for college education, in line with the more practical 

 argument already made for secondary education, that the highest success in the 

 great occupations of the world's work, including scientific specialism, requires an 

 education preliminary to the technical training, more extended not only, but of a 

 broader type than secondary education can furnish. This seems commonly 

 granted now by the technical schools themselves. And this position is no doubt 

 correct. But is this the chief reason for college education? It is not merely for 

 the purpose of carrying on the world's work hi this external sense that college 

 education exists, nor does this sufficiently define its function. The college does 

 not look beyond to the technical or professional school, or to the university proper 

 for its justification; but rather is itself the culmination of the work that at least 

 ought to be undertaken by the public schools. 



We might, therefore, argue again and more truly, probably, for college education, 

 in line with the other argument for secondary education, that the world needs 

 preeminently the leadership of a few of greater social efficiency than any of the 

 other types of education by their necessary limitations are able to offer. For 

 when all is said that can possibly be said for elementary, secondary, technical, 

 professional, and specialized training, what still do the world's life and work 

 need? All these are necessary, but obviously, for the highest life of society, 

 much more, and much that is greater, is demanded. Here are instruction and 

 discipline, technical skill and professional training, and heights of specialized 

 knowledge. " But where shah 1 wisdom be found, and where is the place of under- 



