[President Hoover, in his inaugural address, as quoted in the Boston Post, Massachusetts]

Although education is primarily a responsibility of the states and local communities, and rightly so, yet the nation as a whole is vitally concerned in its development everywhere to the highest standards and to complete universality. Self-government can succeed only through an instructed electorate. Our objective is not simply to overcome illiteracy. The nation has marched far beyond that. The more complex the problems of the nation become, the greater is the need for more and more advanced instruction. Moreover, as our numbers increase and as our life expands with science and invention, we must discover more and more leaders for every walk of life. We cannot hope to succeed in directing this increasingly complex civilization unless we can draw all the talent of leadership from the whole people.

One civilization after another has been wrecked upon the attempt to secure sufficient leadership from a single group or class. If we would prevent the growth of class distinction and would constantly refresh our leadership with the ideals of our people, we must draw constantly from the general mass. The full opportunity for every boy and girl to rise through the selective processes of education can alone secure to us this leadership.

[Thomas W. Lamont, as quoted in the Wellesley Alumnæ Magazine, Wellesley, Massachusetts]

Our women, too, as much as our men, need the broader outlook upon life which only education can give. Our women are the ones ... who must teach our sons and daughters that in the new world of to-day the economic, even the political, interdependence of the world is perhaps the most important fact to be realized. Only in such ways shall our coming generation learn that if this earth is to be made a more stable, a more gracious, and a happier place to live in, the coming of such an era will depend almost entirely upon the conscious cooperation of men and women throughout the world. Only in such ways can the noble youth and womanhood of our land gain the "wisdom to comprehend and the courage to endure the business of life."

[From the Southern California Educational Association Bulletin, Los Angeles, California]

"The tendency throughout education to-day is a growing desire to introduce character education into our schools," said Principal Agness Boysen of the Lyndale School, Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Educators are not satisfied with work of many of our graduates. ... The time has come, when we must ask ourselves this question: What are the necessary qualities one must possess to establish a well-ordered, successful life? What must be taught our boys and girls to make them unselfish sons and daughters, considerate husbands and wives, intelligent fathers and mothers, desirable neighbors and citizens?

"We all know that to produce such characters, emphasis must be placed on honesty, ... the knowledge of how to serve rather than the acquiring of mere information, and the desire to serve rather than a certain number of one hundred per cent averages. In order to accomplish this a radical change is needed in our curriculum. Superintendents, principals, teachers, and pupils must unite in this common interest, and sacrifice, if necessary, the old traditional standards of gaining much useless information. Academic subject matter may be the means to the end, but never the end in itself. Each day presents countless opportunities to establish correct thinking, and not one of these opportunities must ever be neglected. ... This no doubt brings to mind the problem of obtaining teachers who are capable of instilling such ideals. Only an honest teacher can teach honesty, only the teacher who has poise can teach self-control. Shall not our future teachers be chosen with other qualifications in addition to the university degree; at least until the universities are ready to promote and graduate on character growth?"

[Merle N. English, in the Christian Advocate, New York, New York]

"Ye are the sons of God." These are the words carved in enduring stone above the entrance of the recently completed building on the campus of the University of Chicago. This building, standing in the midst of others devoted to science, philosophy, history, education, commerce, the fine arts, and other branches of learning, is the chapel, exquisite in its beauty, and dedicated to religion. On either side of the entrance are the figures of a young man and a young woman. This chapel is both a shrine and a symbol. ... What a sermon in stone! To realize this sonship and live up to it is to lay hold on the great reality. To help youth attain this is the task of the college and the church. Both of these institutions should stand side by side, for each fails in its task without the other. Youth is to-day in quest of reality as never before. ...

If we are to serve youth and help them in this quest, we must reinterpret religion in such a way that they will see that it is for them the way of life; that it is a great companionship with One who is Friend indeed, and who offers the adventures in living which appeal to the best that is in them and that will reward them as no other; that it has power that will make them what, in their best moments, they know they ought to be; and that will bring to pass in this day and generation the fullest expression of brotherhood, issuing in the overthrow of social injustice, racial antipathies, destructive competition, poverty, and war.

Religion which meets these demands and which comes with a ringing challenge to join hands with each other and with Christ, will not fail to lay hold with mighty grip upon the heart and life of youth to-day.

[Bishop Charles Fiske, as quoted in the Herald, Syracuse, New York]

It is curious that when we speak of enlightenment in the ordinary language of everyday speech, we do not think of an enlightened people as those whose faith is strong and undimmed. By an enlightened man, we usually mean a man of education, culture, and social poise; a man of accurate mind, whose logical purpose can be trusted, or of extraordinary intellectual gifts; a man whose knowledge of the history of civilization and government or of natural science sets him above the mass of men; but how seldom do we think of an enlightened man or woman whose keenness of spiritual vision makes him or her instinctively recognize truth and right and see the real values of life. ...

He may learn much by scientific investigation, but one thing [natural] science cannot do for him; it is powerless to give him guidance for life; it is helpless before certain obvious needs of his inner life; it cannot answer his hunger for God, or satisfy his need of redemption from sin, or give any more response to his hope of immortality. Science throws light on certain facts of life, but it gives little guidance in the problems of life. ...

Education ought to mean enlightenment in the oldest problems of human life, man's need of God, his helplessness in trouble, his weakness in temptation, his failure through sin, his need of help. Enlightenment should mean a knowledge of man's true place, ... some conviction as to the purpose of life, some knowledge of the problems of sickness, sorrow, suffering, and death, some definite belief as to whether God exists and whether He knows or cares anything about us. These problems are as old as the eternal hills. ... Savage Landor said that he who walks in the dark will be guided more safely by one large, clear light, though distant, than by many smaller lights which sparkle on both sides.

The supreme object of our study for spiritual guidance in life is Jesus Christ. I call upon you to make a real study of his life. ... Amid your search for truth seek "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." Remember that it is true of the spirit as of the intellect that "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." As a matter of fact, people grow bewildered in faith; they lose or half lose their faith; they pick up this or that curious perversion of it; they are ignorant of its real meaning, simply because they have never been at the pains to study the real Master of life.

[Rev. Dr. Selden P. Delaney, as quoted in the New York Times, New York]

It cannot be insisted too strongly that wisdom does not mean simply intellectual development. Our intellectual life must be tempered and sweetened by certain moral qualities. There must be that knowledge of self, of our real aims and desires and motives, which comes from a frequent and searching self-examination. There must be a genuine love of truth and the courage to face facts, whether in our own lives or in the lives of others. This love of truth should enable us to preserve a constant open-mindedness, a readiness to hear the other side of the argument and to appreciate another man's position.

We must also beware of being swayed by prejudice. A prejudice is a judgment formed before we have reasoned a thing out. Probably nine tenths of the race are controlled by their prejudices rather than by their reason. The wise man is also characterized by simplicity and humility of mind. He is always willing to learn from others and to readjust his conclusions to newly discovered facts. ...

What America needs to-day is not so much wizards of finance, brilliant inventors, clever politicians, industrial giants, or world-renowned athletes. She needs men of wisdom, men in every sphere of life who walk humbly with their God and consecrate their abilities to the work of getting His will done on earth as it is in heaven. We need God-fearing statesmen, reverent scientists, socially minded leaders in industry and business, educators with high spiritual ideals and moral enthusiasm, pastors and preachers who are more interested in the welfare of their flocks than in their own advancement.

[From the Northwestern Lutheran, Milwaukee, Wisconsin]

An American teacher was employed in Japan, under the condition not to mention the Christian faith in his lectures. He kept his word. He did not mention Christianity, but the students saw his Christian life, and that made such a deep impression on the young people that they met secretly in a grove and signed their names to a paper by which they renounced idolatry. Twenty-five of these young men entered the seminary at Kioto, and some of them are already ministers of the gospel.