Need of Educational Reform
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were needed in Battle Creek; ample facilities were already provided
for the education of as many students as ought to congregate in one
place. It was not best that so many students should attend this school,
[138]
for there was talent and wisdom to manage only a certain number. The
ministerial institutes could have been held in buildings already erected,
and the money used in enlarging the college could have been invested
to better advantage in erecting school buildings in other localities.
New buildings in Battle Creek meant encouragement for families
to move there in order to educate their children in the college. But it
would have been a far greater blessing to all concerned had the students
been educated in some other locality and in much smaller numbers.
The flocking of the people to Battle Creek is as much the fault of
those who are in leading positions as of those who have moved to
this place. There are better fields for missionary enterprise than Battle
Creek, and yet those in responsible positions have been planning to
have everything there of the most convenient character; and the large
facilities are saying to the people: “Come to Battle Creek; move here
with your families, and educate your children here.”
If some of our large educational institutions were broken up
into smaller ones, and schools established in various places, greater
progress might be made in physical, mental, and moral culture. The
Lord has not said that there should be fewer buildings, but that these
buildings should not be centered too much in one place. The large
amount of means invested in a few localities should be used in pro-
viding facilities for a wider field so that many more students could be
accommodated.
The time has come for lifting the standard of truth in many places,
for arousing an interest and extending the missionary field until it shall
encompass the world. The time has come when many more should
have the message of truth brought to their attention. Much can be done
in this direction that is not done. While the churches are responsible
[139]
for keeping their own lamps trimmed and burning, devoted young
people must be educated in their own countries to carry forward this
work. Schools should be established, not such elaborate schools as
those at Battle Creek and College View, but more simple schools with
more humble buildings, and with teachers who will adopt the same
plans that were followed in the schools of the prophets. Instead of
concentrating the light in one place, where many do not appreciate or