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The Ideal Education

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 1, 1907

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 84, No. 31.

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The Ideal Education

The human animal more than any other is a creature of education. Instinct in the lower orders determines to a great extent the habits and capabilities of any class. This endowment enables each to select for himself such food and environments as are best adapted to his needs, and in the possession of these he finds the highest enjoyment of which he is capable.
Not so with man. His physical helplessness at birth is but a type of the mental and moral blank of his mind, on which must be written everything that goes to develop character and constitute true manhood.
Education in the broadest sense must include everything learned, from the cradle to the grave. Upon the quality of this education depends the decision of the question whether the man shall become a savage cannibal or one of the noblest specimens of the workmanship of God. Under this view, education becomes more than a system for storing the mind with facts, or of qualifying the individual for a given line of work. In addition to doing this, it seeks to develop and quicken the latent energies of the mind; to call out its hidden powers, and so discipline them that, like trained soldiers in battle, they will wait the word of command, and render full service when most needed. It aims to lift its possessor out of the little world of self into a knowledge of his true relation to the rest of creation, and make him willing to regard the rights of others as sacred as his own. It raises his mind to the source of all power, teaches him dependence on God, and enables him to link up with the only plan which promises true success.
It stops not short of teaching the obligations due to the Giver of this wonderful faculty which we call mind. Any shorter curriculum must result in defective education, and consequent loss, because it fails to secure the highest results. One may be qualified for business, and reach a point where his dictum moves and sways the entire commercial world, and yet be narrow and selfish, or blind to the happiness which unselfish devotion to the good of others might bring. The astronomer may live among the stars, call them by name, describe their orbits, and measure their bounds, and yet discover only the glory of his own achievements. Such knowledge may serve to puff up its possessor. It may secure the admiration of the world, and after all be a most dismal failure when measured by the plan which seeks to develop the highest and noblest capabilities of the mind.
The ideal education will be practical in dealing with existing events. Nothing can be gained by ignoring or denying facts. Attempts to live in an ideal world, or to enjoy the bliss sometimes pictured in fiction, may succeed for a time; but sooner or later the delusion vanishes, the cold, relentless creditor demands payment with usury, while the victim is left to reflect on what might have been had more true and reasonable views of life been taken. Youthful minds need to be disabused of the idea that excellence can be attained without labor, that fortune has favors to bestow on them which are withheld from others, or that a man's happiness can be measured by what the world calls success.
The ideal education will aim to qualify one for life's duties. That training which unfits rather than prepares for usefulness is a failure. Too many look upon an education as a means of escaping the practical, every-day duties of life. Too many schools foster and encourage this idea. No provision is made for exercising the pupils in the homely but most essential routine of every-day life; no effort to impress the mind with the true dignity of labor. A degree of profession is placed before them as the goal of ambition, and all else is lost sight of that this may be reached. Often one thus trained regards labor outside of his profession as degrading, even preferring to commit crime rather than stoop to common duties when pressed by overwhelming competition. Our prisons are by no means filled with the ignorant. Men and women of the brightest minds are buried from the world behind these walls; they might have been honored members of society if the hidden harp of their natures could have been touched by a more skilful player.
The ideal education will teach the true relation between the material universe and God. Without this all knowledge is incomplete. The man of science who describes the motions of the heavenly bodies, or he who would unlock the secrets of earth, understands but half the truth if he fails to recognize the power that placed them there; and he who teaches the rudiments of arithmetic has also a chance to see the evidence of a divine law according to which the same results always follow the same operations. Truly, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Only the one who studies the works of nature with humble faith in God and his Word gains the full, complete knowledge of his mysteries.
The ideal education with all its completeness will not assume to provide salvation through intellectual attainments. That vital truth spoken to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again,” is still of force, and must be recognized by those who would secure eternal life. Correct theories are important. The broadest possible view of truth should be sought for, but above all these stands the need of that personal union with God which his Spirit alone can give. This endowment, added to our attainments, provides the ideal education. Our youth should grow as tender plants are trained, prepared for usefulness and honor in the Master's vineyard. If mistakes have occurred in trying to reach this ideal, it can not affect the principle involved. Human weakness will always appear prominent in contrast with divine perfection, but for all this we may continue to strive after the ideal education.