The Reconstructed School eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 123 pages of information about The Reconstructed School.

The Reconstructed School eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 123 pages of information about The Reconstructed School.

What society is and should be in the world at large; what good citizenship is and ought to be in the whole world; and what civilization is, should be, and may be as a world enterprise—­these considerations are the foundation stones upon which we must build the temple of education now in the process of reconstruction.  Otherwise the work will be narrow, illiberal, spasmodic, and sporadic.  It must be possible to arrive at a common denominator of the concepts of society, citizenship, and civilization as pertaining to all nations; it must be possible to contrive a composite of all these concepts to which all nations will subscribe; and it must be possible to discover some fundamental principles that will constitute a focal point toward which the thinking of all nations can be directed.  Once this focal point is determined and the thinking of the world focused upon it, the work of reconstruction has been inaugurated.

But the task is not a simple one by any means; quite the contrary, for it is world-embracing in its scope.  However difficult the task, it is, none the less, altogether alluring and worthy.  It is quite within the range of possibilities for a book to be written, even a textbook, that would serve a useful purpose and meet a distinct need in the schools of all lands.  At this point the question of languages obtrudes itself.  When people think in unison a common language is reduced to the plane of a mere convenience, not a necessity.  The buyer and the seller may not speak the same language but, somehow, they contrive to effect a satisfactory adjustment because their thinking is centered upon the same objective.  When thinking becomes cosmopolitan, conduct becomes equally so.  If this be conceded, then it is quite within the range of possibilities to formulate a course of study for all the schools of the world, if only we set up as goals the qualities that will make for the well-being of people in all lands.  True, the means may differ in different lands, but, even so, the ends will remain constant.  A thousand people may set out from their homes with Rome as their destination.  They will use all means of travel and speak many languages as they journey forward, but their destination continues constant and they will use the best means at their command to attain the common goal.  Similarly, if we set up the quality of loyalty as one of our educational goals, the means may differ but the goal does not change and, therefore, the nations will be actuated by a common purpose in their educational endeavors.

The one thing needful for the execution of this ambitious program of securing concerted thinking is to have in our schools teachers who are world-minded, who think in world units.  Such teachers, and only such, can plan for world education and world affairs, and bring their plans to a successful issue.  Some teachers seem able to think only of a schoolroom; others of a building; others of a town or township; still others of a state; some of a country; and fewer

Copyrights
Project Gutenberg
The Reconstructed School from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.