Franklin Roosevelt
A True Education
Temple University/February 22, 1936
I have just had bestowed upon me a twofold honor. I am honored in having been made an Alumnus of Temple University; and I am honored in having had conferred upon me for the first time the Degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence.
It is a happy coincidence that we should meet together to pay our respects to the cause of education not only on the birthday of the Father of this Nation, but also in the halls of a very great institution that is bringing true education into thousands of homes throughout the country. In Washington’s wise and kindly way, I have always felt certain that he deeply appreciated the importance of education in a Republic—I might say throughout a Republic, and also the responsibility of that thing known as Government to promote education. Let this simple statement stand by itself without the proof of quotation. I say this last, in this year of 1936, if I quoted excerpts from the somewhat voluminous writings and messages of the first President of the United States, some captious critic might search the Library of Congress to prove by other quotations that George Washington was in favor of just the opposite! Therefore, on this anniversary of his birth I propose to break a century-old precedent. I shall not quote from George Washington on his birthday.
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I am very happy to think back of the days when I was in college and heard him deliver that famous lecture of his which almost every man, woman and child knew. Doctor Conwell believed that every young person should be given a chance to obtain a good education and he founded Temple University to meet the needs of those who might not be able to afford a college education in other halls. He believed that education should respond to community needs and fit itself into the many-sided and complex life that modem conditions have imposed upon us.
And so I shall watch with the keenest interest the working out of the plan recently adopted by Temple for carrying even further the practical application of this practical guiding ideal. I refer to the plan for forming an organization to be known as the “Associates of Temple University”, and to be composed of representatives of the various commercial, industrial, financial and professional interests of the community outside the University’s walls. As I understand it, this organization will be far more than a mere advisory body, set up to meet on special and infrequent occasions and to draft recommendations of a general character. The “associates of Temple University” will be an integral and organic part of the University’s structure; the individual Associates will have clearly defined duties and responsibilities, which they will carry out according to a definite plan and their purpose will be to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the University throughout the community, constantly alert to the changing social and economic needs, and continuously interpreting these needs to the University itself.
I am proud to be the head of government which tries to think along similar lines, a government that has sought and is seeking to make a substantial contribution to the cause of education, even in a period of economic distress. Through the various agencies of the National Government, we have been helping educational institutions not only to maintain their existence but helping them to add to their equipment and to their offerings to the youth of the country...
Educational progress in the past generation has given to this country a population more literate, more cultured, in the best sense of the word, more aware of the complexities of modern civilized life than ever before in our history. And while the methods of spreading education are new, the lessons of education are eternally old. The books may be new but the truth is old.
The qualities of a true education, I take it, remain what they were when Washington insisted upon its importance.
First among the qualities is a sense of fair play among men.
As education grows men come to recognize their essential dependence one upon the other. There is revealed to them the true nature of society and of government which, in a large measure, culminates in the art of human cooperation.
The second great attribute of education is peculiarly appropriate to a great democracy. It is a sense of equality among men when they are dealing with the things of the mind. Inequality may linger in the world of material things but great music, great literature, great art and the wonders of science are and should be open to all.
Finally, a true education depends upon freedom in the pursuit of truth. No group, no government can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned. The truth is found when men are free to pursue it. Genuine education is present only when the springs from which knowledge comes are pure. It is this belief in the freedom of the mind, written into our fundamental law, observed in our everyday dealings with the problems of life, that distinguishes the United States of America, I think, above every Nation in the world.
In our ability to keep pure the sources of knowledge—in our mind’s freedom to winnow the chaff from the good grain—in the even temper, in the calmness of our everyday relationships—in our willingness to face the details of fact and the needs of temporary emergencies—in all of these lie our future and our children’s future.
“On your own heads, in your own hands, the sin and the saving lies！”
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