--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Peterson, E. G. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 22 number: 1 published: 1918-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Peterson, E. G., "The Meaning of Education," *Improvement Era* 22, no. 1 (November 1918): 49–51.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2201unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2201unse start_page: 49 end_page: 51 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2201unse publication_year: 1918 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1918, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Meaning of Education The Meaning of Education By Dr. E. G. Peterson, President Utah Agricultural College XII —Democracy Is Love of Justice The world moves toward greater justice and equality of op- portunity. Thousands of years have passed during which grave injustice has been practiced, first by the biggest physical auto- crat, then by the biggest collective autocrat or tribe led by some more acute but not necessarily more righteous chief, then by the biggest national autocrat. The world has sometimes been ruled b\ forces which were not always just and decent. Higher quali- ties of intelligence or justice have often been unrecognized. The result is that very frequently truly great men and women have been crushed into the mire by other men who possessed inferior qualities but whose qualities because of the peculiarities of the time have entitled them to leadership and power. Often such quality has been only the very gross one of brute force or com- bativeness coupled with certain mental subtlety or astuteness or political adroitness. Indeed pure bluff and loudness have played their part in the world. The result of all this, coupled with the people's lack of edu- cation and lack of knowledge of means to reform conditions, and indeed often lack of morality and a clear perception of ideals and unity of purpose, has been to force to the lower strata of society much of the finest blood of the race. Under such a degree of righteousness as we in America or they in England or elsewhere have been able to make a part of our public law and government, we have seen the wonderful potency of our often so-called lower classes. Indeed from here come in large measure our religious leaders, our artists, our industrial and financial figures, our statesmen, our philosophers, our inventors, our great teachers, our organizing geniuses and our business leaders. It is now quite clearly understood that great intellectual and moral qualities such as produce true leadership are inherited. These out of the slums or elsewhere qualities do not arise spontaneously as life itself does not arise spontaneously from the slime, as it pass from parent to was once supposed to do. Such qualities Percheron was never foaled by an Indian pony child. As a great so a great quality of mind or soul never came from inferior would not parentage. Such qualities exist in the parent or they have come down through all the ages, exist in the child. They latent in many cases, because they were oppressed by a socia system which prevented their expression. To be sure, powerful 50 IMPROVEMENT ERA qualities of mind and character tend tv, become accented or weakened by fortuitous or deleterious intermarriage. But through all the haphazardness of history, wonderful qualities of mind and soul have persisted and under the measure of our modern enlightenment are coming to an expression of their power so long hid. This is the meaning of modern democracy; this is the irre- sistible force which was turned loose in the world when power was taken from the often corrupt or unwise or weak few and lodged with the partially enlightened many. To be sure, often leadership in the past has been just, wise and strong, resulting in often great strides forward in achievement. But in many cases power by accident fell to the unworthy. Such being true and abuse being so common in all the world and throughout all time, it becomes obvious that reform will never halt, except for ways and means, until justice searches out the last ragged body that lurks in the unclean alleys of our civilization. A frightful awakening awaits the man of power who thinks that the world will settle back into easy forgetfulness of those underneath who yearn for simple recognition and justice. The millions of clean mothers whose hands caress their growing young and whose eyes search heaven for an answer to their world old prayer that jus- tice may be given those whom they have brought into the world — this is one of the most powerful things in the world today, transcending the power of wealth, of position and of dynasty. It is the thing which spurs lawmakers on, it is the thing which puts power into the arm of every worker for more justice. Just sympathy for the oppressed is the moving force of the world. The world's love of justice and its determination to be fair to — every worthy man and woman this impulse is strong beyond calculation. There are men and there are associations of men who crave the breaking of law, who love anarchy and disorder. Such would use the world's love of fairness and justice to disorganize responsible government. They cry for reform but they only seek license. They abhor restraint which is a high attribute of men and governments and a quality without which justice can- not be practiced. They do not seek those careful measures of law and education which more and more restore rights to men and increase opportunities for development. These are not thankful for the great structure of righteous government which we now have. They would not husband and guard this as a blessing of God. Rather would they destroy it. Such citizens are dangerous elements in any community. It has been true that to a degree modern higher education has produced many who have become extremists in our social life. The universities and colleges, which have b^CQitie too THE MEANING OF EDUCATION 51 highly intellectualized, proportionately at least, at the expense of moral and spiritual sanity, have bred to a certain degree agnosticism, so-called higher criticism, materialism, socialistic extremes and advocates either direct or indirect of personal and social practices of doubtful wisdom. To be sure, the main out- put of the colleges has been good, consisting of hard working young men and women who loved truth and sought to live hon- orably. But the main impulse of the world toward higher justice disregards these camp followers who seek to capitalize good motives to bad ends. The world moves slowly, painstakingly toward its higher goal. Men only wait for means to go forward. Rigtheousness is the goal; but society has difficulty in finding the proper measures of righteousness. Yet it always goes for- ward; the light grows stronger. The recognition of truth and of the means of making truth a practice in the lives of indi- — viduals and in the affairs of nations this will be some day an accomplishment. Logan, Utah. © Underwood '& Underwood, New York