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The World Changes; Anchor Principles Do Not

 Educational Principles of President McKay

President David O. McKay was both a revelator and an educator. The combination resulted in a remarkable library of statements and articles on education that guide the McKay School of Education today.

This page provides access to many of President McKay's writings. We think you'll find President McKay's pronouncements, invitations and admonitions inspiring and applicable to your life and work today.

Education and Character

A man may possess a profound knowledge of history and mathematics; he may be an authority in psychology, biology, or astronomy; he may know all the discovered truths pertaining to geology and natural science; but if he has not with this knowledge that nobility of soul which prompts him to deal justly with his fellow men, to practice virtue and holiness in his personal life, he is not truly an educated man.

Character is the aim of true education; and science, history, and literature are but means used to accomplish the desired end. Character is not the result of chance work but of continuous right thinking and right acting.
— David O. McKay (Gospel Ideals)

The Meaning of an Education and the Role of the University

An excerpt from the talk linked on the sidebar:

George E. Stoddard says that the aim of education is to develop a structure of thought and to improve human relations. A university is not a dictionary, a dispensary, nor is it a department store. It is more than a storehouse of knowledge, and more than a community of scholars. University life is essentially an exercise in thinking, preparing and living. Without further comment, I give you this definition: The aim of education is to develop resources in the child that will contribute to his well-being as long as long as life endures; to develop power of self-mastery that he may never be a slave to indulgence or other weaknesses, to develop virile manhood, beautiful womanhood that in every child and every youth may be found at least the promise of a friend, a companion, one who later may be fit for husband or wife, an exemplary father or a loving intelligent mother, one who can face life with courage, meet disaster with fortitude, and face death without fear.