Adventure Magazine Cover — page 197: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Looking Ahead for Democracy the mindy not for the sake of money, place or power, but in order to develop our boys and girls to their highest mental and moral excellence, to make them masters in thought and in expression, and thus to send them out equipped for lives of the highest usefulness.”’ “Highest mental and moral excellence,” taken in its broadest sense and given fullest application, is a sufficiently high and comprehensive aim. But when stated as justification for an organized move- ment to maintain the study of Latin and Greek in our schools and colleges it crumbles into dry scholas- tic dust, proclaiming a vision of man’s place and usefulness in the social order that is academic in the worst sense of the word, narrow, hopelessly be- hind the march of real civilization. LATIN and Greek. I had five years of one and four of the other and to my own testimony I I can add that of ninety-odd per cent. of all other “classically educated”? men and women whom I have questioned that such expenditure of time and train- ing on these subjects is misguided waste. Except for the extremely small proportion of students who fit themselves for the clergy, professorships or cer- tain scientific lines. | Mind training? Why not get the same kind of training by learning modern languages that will be of infinitely more, and more practical, use? These do not demand the same stiff mental labor? Wherein is Greek stiffer than real study of academic Spanish? And is Russian such child’s play? And is it definitely established that the study of any language js necessary to proper training of the mind? The excuse of ‘‘training” is a childish one. Is it, then, that we should have some knowledge and understanding of the customs, history and genius of the two peoples who so greatly shaped civilization? That is worth having—unless it crowds from the boards more vital things. But which gives more of it—time given to conjugations and struggling translation, or a direct, intensive study of the thing itself instead of its medium of expression? ULTURE? What ¢s culture? Our own con- ception of it is as narrow and as selfish as the Hun’s conception which he calls Kultur. He frankly tramples on the,rights and welfare of others; ours is more dainty and anemic and merely turns its back upon these things. With us culture is a matter of learning, not of wisdom or understanding or even of common sense. To most Americans “culture” connotates litera- ture, painting, sculpture, music, history, the niceties of social attitude and behavior. I grew up in that atmosphere and yet there always arises to me one smashing question—what right has any one to “culture” while a stone’s throw from him people are being starved or maimed in body, mind or soul who need not be thus starved and maimed if their 183 brothers and sisters would think less of this artificial | culture and vastly more of their obligations in mak- ing human beings happier and more comfortable? How do you answer that question? Some day our whole selfish, cold conception of culture will crumple up and vanish before the de- mands of the facts of life. Just as our whole stupid, selfish, inherited conception of education has al- ready begun to crumple under the blows of life itself. 2 [LATIN and Greek. Yes, they have their VaNUES: But with preventable human misery every: where staring us in the face, with our politics filthy in corruption, our economic fabric black thy selfishness and cruelty, and the very pillars of our whole social structure shaking, then the culture and training from Latin and Greek become small things in the scheme of life. Present culture and education have but one excuse to offer and either too little or too much brains to offer it, the excuse of Cain, the first murderer—“Am I my brother’s keeper?”’ Some day they will realize that they can have but one sound excuse, one pos- sible purpose—making the Golden Rule more and more a practical part of real living. A fantastic dream? Not if you understand the Golden Rule to be not a vague text from a book in which you may not believe but the one and only practical, work-a-day principle that can bring the greatest good to the greatest number. LATIN and Greek! What good to teach a boy Latin and Greek when you fail to teach him to be a good citizen? Is the purpose of public schools — merely to teach each individual how best he can ad- vance his own selfish interest? Or is it to teach each one how each profits from all and all from each and that the “public welfare” is not an empty phrase Dut a direct and practical obligation laid upon P And until we Americans learn that truth and begin to practise it neither Labor nor Capital, Republicans nor Democrats, Socialism, Bolshevism nor democ- racy, nor any other class, party or theory can get for us what every one of these claims it will get for us. You can not build a sound house out of rotten bricks, nor a sound government out of bad citizens. There is no magic remedy. There can be no real democracy except in the minds of the people. You can put it there only by education. The only way to get that education working is by systematic, or- ganized effort. Latin and Greek! Leave them in the schools if there is room, but let them have no place whatever until you’re sure the schools are making it their first task to make good citizens by direct teaching. Can’t be done? It can be taught as easily as the classics, economics, history and all the rest. Do ou not teach your own children moral standards? f you can teach your child individual morals can you not teach him social moralsPp—A. S. H. (EQOA Mel evevoy <S (eo)