Three Underlying Principles

This educational institution should not attempt to give the same detailed information courses as are given in colleges. The ambitious man can be depended upon to have been to college or to have secured its equivalent otherwise, while the man without ambition is hopeless, whether he goes to college or not. The purpose of this educational system should be to emphasize and impress upon the students the few fundamental principles involved in production, distribution, finance, and personal efficiency. Men who are inoculated with these principles will by themselves in later years gather what further information is required; but men without these few principles will never permanently succeed.

The second thing which such an educational institution should attempt is to have men actuated by proper motives. There is no use in giving men information if they use this information to destroy instead of construct. In addition to having knowledge, men, to be of use, must be controlled by right motives, and this applies alike to all three groups, - stockholders, executives, and wage workers. Hence, the importance of a religious background. Such a background is possible only when the teachers are filled with the spirit of Jesus.

But to be real factors in the business world, men must have something besides information and right motives. They must have the spirit of cooperation. They must be neither wealthy snobs nor labor snobs. All three groups must understand and respect the others. Hence, all graduates of such an educational institution should receive diplomas. Although these diplomas would be marked, "Fundamental Course," "Advanced Course" or "Residence Course," nevertheless all who successfully complete the work given to them should be recognized as alumni of the school with equal privileges. Only in this way can there be developed a true comradeship among the young men who are to come into control of the businesses, the executives with whom they are to work, and the wage workers who are to be in their employ.

It therefore will be seen that more than an educational institution is needed. A great educational brotherhood is required to make our investments endure. The greatest problems facing America to-day are problems of production, distribution and personal growth. These can never be solved by building up walls between the different classes and depending on manufacturers' associations, labor unions, bankers' clubs, and the like. The solution will come only as all groups are bound together in a practical way by common ties. My dream is that the higher educational institution of the future will be one of these ties.

Costs And Teachers

Of course, all of this means that we must pay more for the education of our children. Teachers are already paid too little; classes are already too large and these two facts explain much of the present inefficiency. Each teacher should have several assistants so as to give individual help and guidance; moving pictures should be used fully as much as text-books; while high school students should dictate to dictating machines and have their work edited by secretaries trained in English. Only in this way can English be properly taught.

There is nothing new in these suggestions. These and many others have been desired for years by leading educators. The whole truth is that they lack the funds. It costs money to create a good system of education the same as it costs money to make good roads and erect good buildings. Yet we spent on war in one year what it would cost to operate a 100 per cent. educational system for a period of twenty years. How foolish we all are! Is it not a wonder that our investments endure as well as they do?