The economy of education

Introduction

"God created man in his own image." This agrees with the cognate fact of birth, and no person can dispute the knowledge of his own existence because he cannot prove how God could create him. It is enough to know the fact of one's own discovery, that existence was not revealed in any literal form. That is, man discovered the facts without being informed by any method of philology. He had no reason to doubt that his image was that of God, and after learning words and being told by others of similar likeness that they also had the same impression, which really did not change the fact of its being previously known. It was merely confirmatory of mutual satisfaction.

Now to be informed by the same literal vision, it is more, it is the truth and well known by educators who lack the courage to admit it in such simple terms that the poor and illiterate might readily understand that knowledge is truth or not worth knowing. The most important feature that the poor and illiterate are anxious to obtain from a teacher, is the fact withheld, that spiritual knowledge is free, but literal knowledge is extremely expensive and can only be obtained by excessive labor or an extravagant outlay of money. It is either political or commercial, and frequently both, when viewed in a general sense. It does not exclude the possibility that philanthropists are sincerely striving to float a rotten institution that can only be purified by sinking.

INTRODUCTION.

What reform ever took place that did not depend upon the principle of empiricism? Every scientific discovery and mechanical invention have always been empirical and doubtless room enough for it to continue. Passive harmony has great attraction and however much it is taught or preached it can only lead to destruction, for progress and civilization are as dependent upon activity as vegetable life is upon sunshine. It is idle to maintain that reforms can only occur from organization, for organizations are as combative as individuals, and when the purpose is commercial or political an organization can be as tyrannical as ancient slave hunting. Hence reform is empirical from necessity, for when the individual is diligently seeking the luxuries of life by being persuaded by a teacher that literal knowledge will enable him to obtain such with the least physical exertion, his very knowledge of letters and ability to read should convince him it was an imposition upon others. He could always commence reform at once by experimenting upon himself. Preachers, teachers, and leaders of every character will not teach economy in whatever they offer for sale, any more than a storekeeper will fill his store with goods and then try to teach a customer that the goods would be an injury to him. A leader also seeking to live luxuriously with the greatest economy of exertion will always patronize profitable followers.

When wickedness is increasing in proportion to the additional cost of literal education it should begin to dawn upon the prospective victims that the economy of education would have the effect to equalize the product of labor and also relieve the distress of the educated who are suffering from disappointment, a disease that the illiterate are not troubled with. To call the attention of

INTRODUCTION.

educators to what they must know to be a fact would simply betray an antithesis of words. That educators know it is proved by their effort to make literal education as expensive and complex as possible, for history is proof that the educating of slaves was never profitable. The educator that is sincere in trying to improve society, could not consistently object to the simplicity of methods that would all the more assist in the improvement. Surely no one could claim that assistance was being rendered by attraction that was continually being elevated out of reach. The fact that credulity is taken advantage of and cupidity encouraged is glaring proof that the present educational system is not philanthropic or what it pretends to be.

If schools are being conducted for the benefit of teachers and politicians, the public should know it. On the other hand, if literal education is a necessity for the protection of a "free government" the simpler the method the more it would conform to the declaration of purpose. When a truth depends upon political corruption for protection it presents a problem that every human being on earth has an interest in. In a concise form it could be asked whether man made letters or letters made man? If God is the creator of all things it would be interesting to learn how the mere knowledge of letters entitled a man or any group of men to monopolize a common privilege for their personal profit. If it is divine authority or by man's own fiat, defence is equally in order, and there is no reason why it will not be as effective in the future as it has been in the past.

This is a discussion of words and their relations to institutional systems and schemes ; besides, it would be difficult to find any active principle that was not con-

INTRODUCTION,

cerned with education in some form. Personality does not enter into this subject beyond the willingness of any person to make it such. It is therefore not a personal conflict, but the reverse, for the attempt is being made to show the sacredness of persons, as against the ambiguity of words and institutions that are especially devoted to teaching and training a personal dependence, to the extent even of compulsion being used to deprive people of their personality. This feature will be treated in detail.

It will give reasons for considering the very essence of knowledge as presented by cognition when words and education are not concerned at all, suggesting the possibility that knowledge in its strict sense is not eflfected by education. Besides, if it were recognized publicly that it was impossible to express the truth by any word that was ever coined, it would simplify education to such an extent that it would release an army of educators so they might seek other employment.

Because people become broken to an habitual life and taught to silently bear whatever burden circumstances places upon them, it will never justify the oppressive character of the strong in preaching and teaching contentment to the weak, when they know they are being imposed upon by the very teachers who are offering reform for sale which continues to make greater reforms necessary. The enmity shown toward anyone who dares to interfere with another's commercial traffic in education proves that such business thrives upon the innocent credulity of the illiterate masses.

The multitudes of synonyms that are derived from a number of written languages are for the same purpose as that for which they are first established, to disguise

INTRODUCTION.

the duplicity of teachers and philosophers who could employ esoteric words, while the same subjects could be discussed in exoteric words ; the former method being employed to prevent the common people from aspiring to ever know as much as their teachers. If ancient conditions have become obsolete why should the implements be retained and laboriously taught to youth when a child even knows that an object is not improved by having half a dozen words attached to it? It not only confounds a language but enables a skilful linguist to stifle the simple argument of an inquirer by defeating the very object of words — simply that we may portray our thoughts understandingly. That synonyms continue to be employed suggests an object detrimental to the common people who are persuaded to believe that the mere learning of words is knowledge. The fact that no thought was ever expressed in words according to the strict sense of a thought, makes it absolutely necessary to employ whatever words will appear to portray the thought, entirely regardless of either technical words or their classification. Any method of mutual understanding is just as sacred to-day as when the desire was first breathed into the body of man by the Supreme Spirit, and in order to show how simple education could be it will be a privilege to exemplify it by practice.

If it could be proved that knowledge cannot be literally taught or the truth expressed in words, it would be a reform as shocking as when machinery was suddenly introduced to replace hand labor, yet a careful observer could not deny that machine tools have advanced more rapidly than literal tools. It certainly means something when pagan literature is taught to the plastic mind of youth and endorsed by modern educators as knowledge,

INTRODUCTION.

when ancient machine tools have long since been discarded.

Hence if the convenient implements of common use can be so simply made it would appear reasonable that a speculation at least could be considered when it might be possible to improve education and brush away the old junk of the past or permit it to rest in peace on the pages of history. The fundamental principle of idolatry was the deification of man's work, including literal knowledge; it was thus made to appear that knowledge depended upon inspired teachers who had the exclusive control of letters. The motive for maintaining pagan methods under different names is the same now as it was then, simply to keep the producing man subordinate to the non-producer. That education is a two-edged sword is no secret. David demonstrated that defence was more dependent upon faith and courage than the bluster of noise to prevent the common people from becoming too common. The economy of education, would benefit the teacher as much as the taught, for conditions are self-adjusting, and a strict orthodox in whatever opinion he holds to is- more a subject of pity than charity, too often the result of cultivating mistakes rather than employing his mental faculties in the investigation of facts.

A lexicon that is biased in the interest of specific organization is not fit for a public school, when it is pretended that such a school teaches patriotism and moral obligation in accord with the Bible. It is the purpose of this writing to demonstrate the present evils of the educational system of America and show the need of an American literature based upon American principles of progress, for the introduction of economy in education.

Index To Chapters

CHAPTER PAGE

I. BIRTH 13

II. LANGUAGE 21

III. WORDS 28

IV. NATURAL EDUCATION 36

V. LITERAL EDUCATION 44

VI. PEDAGOGY 51

VIL SCIENCE 58

VIIL TEMPTATION 65

IX. DEMONOLOGY 72

X. "TRANSCENDENTALISM" 80

XL FREEDOM 88

XII. SLAVERY 96

XIIL HABIT 103

XIV. ASSOCIATION in

XV. INDEPENDENCE .' 119

XVL OBLIGATION 127

XVIL TESTIMONY 132

XVIIL AUTHORITY 140

XIX. RESPONSIBILITY 148

XX. COMPULSION 155

XXL OSTENTATION 164

XXIL INFINITE FORCE 174

XXIIL THE BALANCE OF FORCE 183

XXIV. VAGUE TERMS 192

XXV. CLASSICAL SOCIETY 200

CHAPTER PAGE

XXVI. THE PETITION OF THE BABE 211

XXVII. LAW AND ORDER 220

XXVIII. NATURAL INTELLIGENCE 228

XXIX. PERSONAL LIBERTY 235

XXX. DIRECT REVELATION 24S

XXXL THEORY VERSUS TRUTH 257

XXXIL PERSONAL CONSISTENCY 264

XXXm. CHRISTIANITY 273

XXXIV. CHURCH GOVERNMENT 283

XXXV. MORAL RECTITUDE 293

XXXVL IDEAL SYSTEMS 302

XXXVIL PUBLIC SCHOOLS 310

XXXVIIL PURE REASON 320

XXXIX. OBSERVATION 328

XL. THE ECONOMY OF GROWTH 338

XLL THE SAGACITY OF EDUCATION 347

XLIL REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 356

XLIIL PROGRSSIVE INTELLIGENCE 366

XLIV. WHAT IT MEANS 375