Show UNIVERSITY EDUCATION t Is It Practical The Course of Instruction In-struction The True Ideal To the Editor of The Herald In the discussion concerning the Agricultural college and the University of Utah the proper F work of the college has without jpeeption so far as I have noti ed been referred to with fairness and respect and its importance import-ance and value acknowledged while that of the Uniy rsjty has often been sneered at and fatsely styled merely classical and literary ornamental rather than useful and therefore easily dispensed with The following enumeration of the jmber of hours of instruction given per week by instructors in various branches will I trust prevent any such statements from ignorance and will expose the character of thpse orininating in malice Languages and literature English 24 German 9 French 9 Latin 11 Greek 10 Natural science i Chemistry 10 assaying 2 metallurgy 2 physics 9 mineralogy 6 geology 10 zoology 3 physiology 2 botany 2 physical geography 4 Other subjects Mathematics Mathe-matics 46 history 12 psychology 7 pedagogy 4 elementary methods of teaching 3 training in teaching 4 I drawing 15 physical culture 3 vocal j music 2 Besides these there are the following which extend through a part of the year and are not now In progress astronomy civil government political economy logic ethics biology and other courses in history mathematics botany mineralogy and hemistry Inmost In-most of the natural science work from two to three times as much time is required in the laboratory as in the recitation room The science taught in the University Is not paper science it is taught in the laboratory and any person can in the laboratories prepare himself for the scientific pursuit of mining manufacturing manufac-turing and agriculture though somewhat some-what imperfectly yet in some directions direc-tions because of the limited facilities Viewed from the narrowest utilitanau stand point more than ninetenths of the hours of instruction enumerated above are devoted to work of the most practical and directly useful character One cannot acquire science without I mat ematics and language one cannot I i apply science before it is acquired All I the Industrial progress of the world is based upon applied science The chief purpose of industrial or technical schools is to educate men and women to become leaders in industrial progress I pro-gress These statements are truisms tb the well informed I That the University has not yet established courses in engineering and other technical lines Is caused by lack of means not inclination It has attended at-tended first to the work which is most fundamental and important and is desirous of building upon this foundation foun-dation technical and professional courses as soon as it is possible to do so The intentions of the University in this direction are manifested by the efforts to establish a mining school Perhaps few consider the extent of i the burdens now borne by the unjver i Q f 0 > J I I sity and thereci f on this account an erroneous imj es ion concerning the cost of its wo k The university is charged with the support of the school for the deaf which costs about 8000 per year It conducts the Territorial Normal school which as a separate institution would cost about 20000 per year It has begun the development of a mining school which even in its present state would cost not less than 10000 per year and perhaps much I more if separate Through the economy econ-omy which results from concentration of work the university is able to provide pro-vide for the normal and mining schools in connection with the general collegiate colle-giate courses f about onefourth of what their separate cost would be Will anyone who isdisposed to speak slightingly of luniversitys work name any educational work more directly di-rectly useful tnari jthat of the normal school Good teachers for the public schools are indispensable Without such teachers miich of the large expenditures ex-penditures for the schools is wasted Let us turn now to inquire as to what is really the most practical and serviceable ser-viceable education It is one which renders a man most useful to himself and his fellows and this depends upon his and their na ture condition and needs For the savage it is one thing for the civilized man it is or ought to be quite another thing The savage man needs to learn little more than to hunt fish fight and build his wigwam Expert in these accomplishments ac-complishments he is well educated a master of arts and an ornament to his society But in this savage are dor ment potentialities of mind and soul whose values infinUoitr en H u uu o1 u l uv I of his animal nature To develop and satisfy the needs of these greater faculties fac-ulties is the higher and more impor tant educational work No one will deny that a man should learn to provide for his bodily wants but to make this the sum total and sole end of education is to revert to barbarism It matters not how great the achievements how splendid the civilization which ministers solely or chiefly to the physical life it is but a splendid barbarism and perishes from I the earth leaving scarcely a trace of its existence On the sterile soil of Attica of scarcely so many square miles as there is of low land in view from Ensign peak there arose a civilization whose achievements and influence in art lit rature science and philosophy are as imperishable as the land itself The education out of which that civiliza tion grew would be sneered at as im practical and of the most useless char acter by the present day devotee of a merely trade education On thl nth 4L L n iicuiu me spienam I material civiliaation of Egypt and Chaldea were based upon the trade educational idea The son was taught the fathers handicraft and the tolling masses looked no higher than to be fed clothed and sheltered while ministering to the pleasures of their masters These barbaric civili I zations have passed away leaving lit tie but the ruins of palace and temple to tell Of their < vlefo I i nn II In a community where a mans occu pation is fixed by birth and the son of a carpenter becomes a carpenter and can become nothing else it is possible to educate a child for his future occu pation and for that alone There we i can have the ideal education of that sort But the greater the freedom of the individual to choose his occupation L I and to make of himself and achieve i for himself what he will the more dif ficult and impossible does it become Ito wisely give him such a narrow ed ucation I Few boys and girls have such mark ed peculiarities of talents and tastes I I j that they or their friends can make I durinzr thA vo Tcr rof L 4 tion an u unerring j wj or SIUVLU even ana probably eauca best choice of future occupation But all these boys and girls have bodies minds and souls and whatever their future calling they will need to use all these and whatever educational material and processes best develop these will be the most practical and useful Education from the primary school to > the university can do little more than raise the child step by step to greater heights of vision over the king doms of the earth and develop his power to enter into and lake possess ion ofthe field of his final choice The wider and more varied the outlook giv en the youth while getting his educa tion the greater his chance of choos ing wisely his future course Scarcely any man in active life whether business or professional re members the details of any of the stud ies of his school days except those he has occasion to use in his work The lawyer the doctor the merchant remember no more of their algebra and geometry than they do of their Latin and Greek But was the time devoted to them wasted By no means no more than the time devoted to the play and games of youth was wasted The powers of though and expression gained by one kind of exer cise are quite as valuable as the de velopment and strength of body gained by the other sort Some persons seem to think nothing of much value or really useful in ed ucation exteepfc the natural sciences and their applications in the arts A little reflection shows the fallacy of this opinion Does the average man have occasion to use his school or col lege chemistry physics and the like or mathematics beyond arithmetic half i so much as he does his history lan guage and literature Well then which class of subjects is for him the I most practical and serviceable in sub sequent life Those who estimate all educational values by the bread and butter standard stand-ard alone make avast mistake Today there are in this city some hundreds who are destitute of food clothing and shelter for the body This is a sad thing so sad that is awakens the sympathy i sym-pathy of every good man in the city but are there not more hundreds whose mind and souls are destitute of that cultivation which would make life ten fold more worth living If one could see the barrenness of mind and soul that exists in many a one whose body is well fed clothed and housed it would be a sight sadder than suffer ing bodies person who cannot enjoy a good book or a fine picture as keenly as he enjoys a good dinner a fine garment gar-ment or a sharp bargain is not to be envied though he has the wealth of irooCn What v tlen should be the ideal for the University of Utah the peoples university I an authorized to speak for no one else but I believe my col leagues would unite with me in say ing that it should aim first to offer a sound training for body and mind by physical culture and by general courses of study in language litera ture history science mathematics etc next ifpon this foundation develop as soon possible technical and agricultural agri-cultural law medicine etc and finally trade schools But concerning the last there may be differences of opinion I believe that the son of the millionaire and the pauper alike need the experience of manual and mental training and that there is no better remedy than such training for the evils both of Wealth and poverty A foundation for such a university hasbeen laid through years of toil and expenditure In its halls many of the sons and daughters of Utah have in the past found their best opportunity for an education If well sustained and developed it will become for the future one of the most potent influences influ-ences in the material prosperity and more important than this in the intellectual intel-lectual social and moral life of the people of the territory WILLIAM M ABER |