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ger a nd better job. It wi ll accustom
you to using your brain ins tead of
jus t the fragment of it that directs
your fingers.
Sho uld you be going o n to unive r–
sity, you need to know that the func–
tio n of hi gher educatio n is two- fold:
to disseminate knowledge a lready
stored up. and to spur you to ac–
qui re new knowledge. Wha t train–
ing there is in a uni ve rsi ly is
directed toward conditioning the
mind lo lhink, pushing back the
barrie rs of the past and extending
the boundar ies of what is known,
and discovering problems to be
sol ved.
Seek Broad Horizons
You need to cultiva te your imagina–
tion. You must know the mechani–
cal fac ts of what you are dealing
wi th , but to be a real spa rk plug you
need a lso to have imag ina tion .
Behind a ll mecha nica l trai ning
sta nds liberal educa tion.
It
tells us
wha t people have been and h ints at
what we may become. lt helps us to
formulate respo nsible judgmenls
about o ur problems.
A liberal educa tion helps us lo be
many-sided and to take la rge views.
It provides us with powerful tools to
discover and handle fac ts. Beyond
this, it ena bles us to transcend fac ts
and to dea l with the larger ques tions
o f purpose and meaning.
Wh e n we asked Dr . Sidney
Smi th, presiden! of th e Unive rsity of
Toronto, for a n expression o f his
o pinio n, he wrote this: " Peopl e have
sa id thai training for a voca li o n is
usefu l, but tha t li beral educalion is
not useful. T hal is nonsense. All
educa tion is useful.
" Huck Finn los t inte rest in Moses
when he found out tha t Moses was
dead , because 'I don ' t take no s tock
in dead people.' Today, many 'don' t
ta ke no s tock' in dead la nguages, o r
even in livi ng lang uages aparl from
the ir own . Teach English, they say.
Don't teach li terature - Sha ke–
speare a nd M ilton are use less. Don ' t
teach gramma r - gerunds and par–
ticiples are o nly for the peda nt. Jus t
teach English!
"But it is the student o f use less
languages a nd literature who can
use his own language with precision
and imagination. Useless algebra.
his to ry, phi losophy and phys ics pro-
The
PLAIN TRU fH September 1976
duce useful powers a nd resilience.
The usefulness of li beral educa tio n
is
to
deve lo p usefuL independent
ci1 izens. a nd in this progress th e
longest way round is often the short–
es t wáy home. Educatio n shou ld en–
a bl e a pe rson to earn a living a nd to
live a life."
Courage, Work, and Discipline
So rne people find it easy to memo–
rize whole pages of textboo ks. Tha t
may win prizes in a quiz con test, but
no t in the exciting adventure that is
life. Education is barren wit ho ut ac–
tion based upon it. Yo u must put
your knowledge to work.
To be fully prepared for life you
mus t learn lo work. Someone has
said tha t idleness is th e nurse o f
na ughtin ess; at any ra te it is the
dea th ofprogress. Life is no t a thing
of ease. Maybe it o ug ht to be, a nd
perhaps so rne day it will be (tho ugh
such a life has no att raction for p ro–
g ress ive-minded people). but it
neve r has been , a nd it is no t now.
W e sho uld not try too hard to
make educa tio n easy. There are dif–
ficult th ings that mus t be done,
whe ther we li ke it or not. Educa t io n
sho uld prepare us to face difficulti es
courageously , to persevere stead–
fas tly, and to work conscien tio usly
- three virtues tha t apply as much
to success in business and indus try
as to success in·science.
Also in this lis t of requirements is
discipline. We cannot imagine use–
fui thoughts or crea ti ve ideas arising
in other than a discipli ned mind .
And wha t is discipline? It incl udes
the habi t of cheerfu lly unde rtaking
imposed tasks, the obed ience to
ru les whe lher made by o th ers o r by
yo urse lf, a nd objecli v ity in ap–
proaching contentious ma tters.
Ano ther poi n t you sho uld con–
sider in seeking a n ed uca tio n is this:
Don' t scorn examina tio ns. They are
essen tia l in o ur scheme of things.
They give you a check o n how you
a re ge tting a lo ng. a nd lhey show
your teachers where you need spe–
cial attcntion to strengthen your
weak spots.
D on't be discouraged if you r bes t
cffort fai ls to win the highest ma rks.
The results of examinations may be
decepti ve . If you are ne rvous, you
may do yourself less lha n j ustice.
School examinations are not an
end-all. They a re merely indicators
a lo ng the road.
But examina tio ns a re useful as
part o f your tra ining for li ving.
Every day in adu lt life you will be
taking examina tions. Why not prac–
tice for th em as you do for a football
match, a hockey game. or a school
play? Hour by hour. sometimes
minute by minute, a business execu–
ti ve find s himse lf at h is desk passing
examin ations. The fact that he does
them may be a tt ributed 10 lhe fac t
th a t he has had pract ice.
AndAfterSchool .•.
?
Is it be tter to be educa ted to sorne
extent than not to be educated a l
a ll? You wi ll , o fcourse, agree t hat il
is. Then is it not s till better lO have a
bette r tha n ave rage education?
No one can pack enough into his
mind during school days lo las l his
life lime. None o f us a re
100
old to
acquire knowledge. Al 45 we are
still able to learn more than we
cou ld before we were
14,
and even
at 65 we ca n absorb knowledge as
fast as we could when we were
25.
Ed uca tion ends o nly wi th one's
life. Wha t you learn a t school is
somelhing to wh ich you must add.
yea r by yea r, and pass on to o lhe rs.
"Thus," said Eins te in, "do we mor–
ta ls achieve immo rtali ly in the per–
ma nent things which we crea te in
common."
It is astonishing how far even hal f
an ho ur a day , regularly given to
sorne objecti ve, will carry o ne in
mak ing himse lf master of it.
lt
is
easy to fall into the habil of daw–
dling away time, but it is easy, also,
lo acquire the habit of putt ing eve ry
moment to use.
To get lhe
gr~a tesl
va lue from
education, set fo r yourse lf a habit–
ua l vision o f excellence. Your pur–
su it o f educat ion will not be easy,
bu t it is an advantage to have some–
thing sig ni fican !
to
do at the ex–
pense of thought a nd energy.
And, fina lly . do no t be con ten t
wi th ha lf measures . A writer o f
six ty-five years ago said: "The good
is th e enemy of the best." Let's not
be conte nt wit h a second best.
though it be good.
o
Printed with permission of The Royal
Bank of Ganada, copyright 1976.
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