=The quest of teacher and child.=—­The vitalized teacher knows the sea as the sage knows it, and can infuse her conception into the consciousness of the child.  She feels it to be her high privilege to lead the child on in quest of the sea and to find, in this quest, pulsating life.  In this alluring quest, she is putting content into the word, and thus discovering, by experience, what life is.  This is education.  This is the inviting vista that stretches out before the eyes of the child under the spell and leadership of such a teacher.  In their quest for the meaning of the sea, these companions, the child and the teacher, will come upon the fields of grain, the orchards, the flocks and herds, the ships, the trains, and the whole intricate world of commerce.  They will find commerce to be a manifestation of the sea and moreover a big factor in life.  It will mean far more than mere cars to be counted or cargoes to be estimated in the form of problems for the class in arithmetic.  The cargoes of grain that they see leaving the port mean food for the hungry in other lands, and the joy and vigor that only food can give.

=The sea as life.=—­At every turn of their ramified journey, these learners find life and, best of all, are having a rich experience in life, throughout the journey.  They are immersed in life and so are absorbing life all the while.  Wider and wider becomes their conception of life as exemplified by the sea, and their capacity for life is ever increasing.  Day by day they ascend to higher levels and find their horizon receding farther and farther.  For them, life enlarges until it embraces all lands, the arts, the sciences, the languages, and all history.  Whether they pursue the sea into the mountains; to the steppes, plateaus, or pampas; to the palace or the hovel; to the tropics or the poles,—­they find it evermore representing life.

=The word “automobile."=—­It would seem to be quite possible to construct a twelve-year course of study based upon this sort of study of words and their content with special emphasis upon the content.  Since life is conterminous with the content of the words that constitute one’s vocabulary, it is evident that the content of words becomes of major importance in the scheme of education.  To be able to spell the word “automobile” will not carry a young man very far in his efforts to qualify as a chauffeur, important though the spelling may be.  As a mere beginning, the spelling is essential, but it is not enough.  Still the child thinks that his education, so far as this word is concerned, is complete when he can spell it correctly, and carry home a perfect grade.  No one will employ the young man as a driver until he has put content into the word, and this requires time and hard work.  He must know the mechanism of the machine, in every detail, and the articulation of all its parts.  He must be able to locate trouble on the instant and be able to apply the remedy.  He must be sensitive to every slightest sound that indicates imperfect functioning.  This, of course, carries far beyond the mere spelling of the word, but all this is essential to the safety of his passengers.