Mental Culture 115 



to accustom themselves to thought. The 

 thoughtlessness that starts early, too often 

 lasts through life. 



Wliile true education must be a life undertak- 

 ing, it is in the proper training of the young 

 that this question assumes its greatest impor- 

 tance. Health and growth must both be con- 

 sidered at this time, but, as the period is a short 

 one, the tendency is toward over-pressure and 

 a hurried undertaking of many things. This 

 is a great evil, but much of it might be avoided 

 if teachers and parents had a truer conception 

 of the real function of education. 



The tendency is to confuse education 

 with mere instruction. The object of the 

 former is training, that of the latter 

 information. The object of education is not 

 primarily or solely to impart knowledge ; it is, 

 rather, so to train the mind that it will 

 have the capacity for selection and development 

 and can thus put itself in proper adjustment 

 with the larger and higher life of the race. 



The object of instruction, on the other hand, 

 is to store the mind with useful and interesting 



