網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版
[blocks in formation]

101. Government and Education. It is not the purpose of this chapter to discuss education but to show how government gives aid to education so that you will know how to provide in the charter for this part of the city's work. We have already discussed several kinds of work which the city government does. Education is probably more important than all the rest combined. It is certainly the most expensive part. It is also a part which causes a great deal of debate and uncertainty. Many people think it is too important to be entrusted to the politicians at all. But the difficulty in the way of eliminating politics is that the city must control what it pays for; and the politicians are the people whom we expect to control our work. After you have read this chapter you must try to decide how we shall arrange the charter so that we can control the money we spend for education and at the same time make the schools efficient.

102. Self-Government and Education. One of the reasons why the city spends so much money on education is that self-government cannot be carried on unless people are well enough educated to work together wisely. One reason why self-government has not grown up in Mexico and other places is that most of the people are so ignorant and thoughtless that they do not understand what the government must do and how it must do it. Jefferson, who was

one of the greatest advocates in his time of education for all the people, said that democracy cannot be practised unless people are trained.

103. Self-Government and Culture. But if there were no other reason for education than to help self-government, we should not need it if we were not going to have a democracy. Yet we know that training and culture are important for every one, whatever kind of government is maintained. Therefore we all wish to coöperate in giving these things to as many people as we can. The purpose of education is to do two things: first, to make people more efficient; and, second, to make it possible for them to enjoy life to the full. The first of these is called training, and the second is called culture. Both are given in the schools; but both are also given in many other ways, such as through art galleries, theaters, concerts, lectures, and the like, as well as in the schools.

104. City Life and Education. It is expensive and difficult for people who live in the country to have education at a reasonable price. They live so far apart that they must either travel a long way to get to the schools and other places in which culture may be obtained, or these things must be maintained at great cost for a small number of people. Where many thousands of people live so near together that one can walk from one end of the city to the other in thirty or forty minutes, or where street cars are available, it is easy for several hundred families to be supplied by one school or art gallery or museum. Each family therefore need pay only a small sum in taxes to support the teachers and museum officers. In fact these fine things are so easily obtained in the city that many who live there do not appreciate their value.

Strangers come a long distance to the city to get what the inhabitants are often not willing to take the trouble to

use.

105. Training. The first duty of every young person is to prepare to make a living; that is, to learn a trade or a profession. We have seen in chapter five that the life we live to-day depends upon each of us knowing well how to do some one part of the work of the world. One person is a carpenter, another is a shoemaker, another is a bookkeeper, another a plasterer, and so on. Unless we learn when we are young how to do something we must expect to be parasites, for a parasite is one who takes a living without giving anything in return. Many good people have been unfortunate in their childhood and have not received any training. Such people have to do merely manual labor which requires no training, and for this they do not receive much money. There are still so many untrained people that manual labor is cheap. The more people there are who have a good training for some sort of efficient work, the more work a given number of citizens can accomplish. Since we are all dependent on the efficiency of our neighbors, the city has a right to require that every one be trained. Cities, which require all children to go to school, are said to have compulsory education. This compulsion is generally required by State law, however, because cities are dependent partly on neighboring cities for their welfare.

106. Education and Recreation. One of the most important parts of our life is our recreation, and we must prepare for it. Some one said, " Do not trust a person who never plays," but many good people are too busy to play. They are so busy because some other people neglect to do their part of the world's work, and so these busy ones have

to do more than their share. If all of us had occupations and did our part efficiently, there would be time enough for all of us to play; and then we should all be able to live better lives. Every boy and girl should learn how to play some out-of-door game, and learn to do it well. If they learn to do it while young their muscles will be trained to it while growing. Tennis, baseball, wrestling, swimming, boxing, all of these are better than marbles; but even marbles is better than no game at all. If one has sixteen waking hours, and if he spends some of the time in play he can do more work in the remaining time than if he worked steadily with no play. One must remember that sitting idle is neither work nor play.

107. Education and Culture. Culture includes the enjoyment of many things that young children may not understand or care much about. But if the children do not prepare to enjoy such things they must look forward to a sad time when they are too old to play games. Culture is the ability to enjoy music, pictures by great painters, beautiful architecture, fine scenery, great books like Shakespeare, and the work of other men who have given all of their lives to what is called art. If you take the trouble you can, while you are young, train yourself to appreciate such things. Then when you are older and can no longer play rough games, you will have something which you can enjoy. Many people become dissipated and throw away their lives because they have never learned to enjoy wholesome pleasure.

108. Schools. What is a school? It is an institution in which we are trained in the things we have been discussing in this chapter. Our civilization has become so fine that all young people have an opportunity to go to school and pre

pare for useful and happy lives. In old times many children, even very young ones, were obliged to work hard because our industry was badly organized. Every one then had to help in order to get enough food and clothes and shelter. Now it is possible for the young to have leisure to study at least until the age of fourteen years. In fact, some States will not permit children to work for wages until they have reached this age. This does not mean that children should not perform useful tasks for their parents; such tasks help them to form character and become better citizens. What is a college or university? It is merely a higher school where people go on making further preparation for getting more out of life, putting more into it, and so living fuller lives. To live is to work at some useful task for which we are prepared and in which we are interested.

109. The Department of Education. Think, then, what a responsible task the department of education in a city has. Some cities are not very carefully organized. They scatter the task of training the young through a large number of little bureaus and commissions. Because of this poor organization the citizen is likely to take but little interest in this part of the government. It is not clear to him how important this work is. The department of education must plan at least a generation ahead for training in trades, for recreation, and for culture. The head of such a department should be the best man or woman that can be found for the work and should receive a salary high enough to make it possible for him to give all of his time to the work. He should also have a sufficient number of assistants to help carry on the many divisions of his work. For example, one assistant may arrange courses of lectures, one may manage

« 上一頁繼續 »