Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 62.djvu/454

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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

with it, and which may be incorporated with advantage to the former course, also. There are many subjects, outside the liberal courses as usually prescribed, which, nevertheless, will be found quite as valuable, as cultural and as educational, as are some subjects which are the usual elements of that older scheme. The wise man will look for opportunities to secure a good hold upon these, in substitution, if needs be, for more usual electives. .

It will also be sometimes found that, to the earnest, competent and ambitious man, the commonly prescribed courses of instruction are by no means sufficient to provide a good day's work, each day, and that he may, with great advantage and without the slightest difficulty or sacrifice, increase the prescribed time and number of subjects by perhaps a third. He can not afford, in fact, to forego the opportunities which present themselves in such numbers and such wealth, up to the natural limit of his powers of safe and healthful exertion. He has but one such opportunity in his lifetime and only the man lacking in intelligence or in moral fiber will waste one hour of such precious time. In the large universities and the leading colleges of our time, the student is perplexed and embarrassed by the wealth of opportunity which is presented him. He will usually find that it will require very great care and deliberate thought to make a wise choice of subjects, to adjust himself to a wise limitation of time, so to adjust and schedule his work and his play as to make each day and each college-year in maximum degree profitable. This he should do, having in view the coming life, private as well as professional, and contemplating the utilization of that life most perfectly in the promotion of the highest interests of self, family, friends, country.

Thus, in summary, the ideal preparation of the aspirant, professionally, involves even a supervision of the child in its earliest efforts to obtain a knowledge of the outside world into which it has been introduced, a guidance of kindergartner and of the pupil in the elementary schools in the acquirement of those fundamental knowledges which furnish the means of acquirement of all knowledge, a discreet steering of the course of the older student in the preparatory schools and the finishing school or the college, and deliberate, earnest and careful choice of subjects of study and investigation in higher learning; all to the purpose of insuring that no hour of work shall be wasted by misappropriation to studies which have a less value for the ultimate purpose of the individual life than others equally available.

The preparation of the aspirant to professional standing and distinction, or even to the most modest success, thus involves wise counsel from older and more experienced minds, from the earliest to the latest years of this long apprenticeship.