Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 4 (of 7)Roosevelt, Theodore
History
Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 4 (of 7)
Roosevelt, Theodore
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919; United States -- Politics and government -- 1901-1909
But there is an even more urgent
demand for the right sort of student. No first-class science, no
first-class literature or art, can ever be built up with second-class
men. The scholarly career, the career of the man of letters, the man of
arts, the man of science, must be made such as to attract those strong
and virile youths who now feel that they can only turn to business,
law, or politics. There is no one thing which will bring about this
desired change, but there is one thing which will materially help in
bringing it about, and that is to secure to scholars the chance of
getting one of a few brilliant positions as prizes if they rise to the
first rank in their chosen career. Every such brilliant position should
have as an accompaniment an added salary, which shall help indicate how
high the position really is; and it must be the efforts of the alumni
which can alone secure such salaries for such positions.
As a people I think we are waking up to the fact that there must be
better pay for the average man and average woman engaged in the work
of education. But I am not speaking of this now; I am not speaking of
the desirability, great though that is, of giving better payment to
the average educator, I am speaking of the desirability of giving to
the exceptional man the chance of winning an exceptional prize, just
as he has the chance to do in law and business. In business at the
present day nothing could be more healthy than an immense reduction
in the money value of the exceptional prizes thus to be won; but in
scholarship what is needed is the reverse. In this country we rightly
go upon the theory that it is more important to care for the welfare
of the average man than to put a premium upon the exertions of the
exceptional. But we must not forget that the establishment of such a
premium for the exceptional, though of less importance, is nevertheless
of very great importance. It is important even to the development of
the average man, for the average of all of us is raised by the work of
the great masters.
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