The Sun.
London, England, 1822-10-22 00:00:00

SUN.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1822.

as to end just before the long Vacation. The whole time em-
ployed in the classical examination should be two weeks ; in
the mathematical, one immediately following. There should
be five Examiners for Classics and three for Mathematics; all
necessarily Members of the General Board for degrees. The
Examinations should be conducted by Classes, principally on
paper."
The great objections to which the system.of
viva voce questioning, on difficult subjects, is
liable, are ably and judiciously stated by Mr.
SHORT. He describes them first in reference to
the Examiners, next in reference to the persons
examined, and' we do not think that he has in
either case by any means overstated them : he
says—
" In order to shew how much I conceive that some of
these are founded on the system, and do not result from
th;,! individual, I shall describe what I felt myself on first go-
ing into the Schools in my
.present capacity. The circum-
stance of the two parties being 'placed on opposite sides of
the table, together with the manner of qUeStioning before a nu-
merous body of spectators, naturally le4Re to consider the
person examined as an opponent, rather dran'otte on whom we
were about to pass our judgment, and made it difficult to sup-
press the vanity of displaying superiority. The object of all
questioning should be to ascertain to what point the candidate
can go; some questions therefore should be such as lie is able
to answer, while it would always be wise to propose others
which he would find above his capacity-and knowledge. As
long as he answers, the scale of difficulty should ascend ; but
the instant it has risen beyond his attainments, it should be
brought back again to his comprehension. It may however
happen, that the apparent difficulty arises from his not under-
standing the form of the question in common justice then we
shall try, before we pass on, to place the thing in the clearest
light. If, however, he be confused, lie will probably only sibk
lower, and every future question will serve but to augment the
evil till he loses all recollection. At this moment his fate de-
pends entirely on the examiner; his answers are perhaps such
as would render it impossible for bins to be put in the Class at
which he is aiming, unless a change is made in the line of ques-
tions. Now, if the Examiner be but of humour, and there are
many things to make him so ; if he be nervous, and the situa-
tion is a nervous one ; what is to become of the Candidate who
stands before him ? The answer is, that he must-depend on the
fairness of the Examiner and his Colleagues ; and as far as my
experience has gone, he cannot rest on surer grounds; but
would it not be better if the parties were not exposed to such a
chance ? It is so much easier to ask difficult questions than
good easy ones, that there is every temptation to induce the
Examiner to err on the side of difficulty, his vanity, peevish-
ness, or want of exertion. Why then expose us to all this ? A
set Of questions proposed to a class of men, all standing for the
same honours, may be injudiciously chosen, but being the
same they must be equally fair for all. They must also be
equally fresh and new; whereas, the chief line of each Exa-
miner's questions is more or less known to every Candidate
whose name occurs late in the list, and who has attended the
examinations. We have occasionally observed persons trying
to take advantage of this, and have been forced to guard
against it ?"
All these observations on the effects of the pre-
sent system of questioning, as far as the Exa-
miner is concerned, are. stated with perfect fair-
ness, and display no small knowledge of human
nature ; while therefore human nature is consti-
tuted as it is, that system seems to afford the best
prospect of general success which is most calcu-
lated to obviate the consequences of its improper.
bias and propensity. Mr. SHORT has successfully
shewn, as we think, that, in this respect, the
system now acted upon is far from perfect.

Mr. SHORT then proceeds to point out the effects
on the person examined :

" In order to 'attain the highest honours, he is obliged to
prepare himself for public exhibition in a large portion of the
classics melioris nevi ; so as to be able at once to render any
passage into English, and to answer such questions as may be
be proposed to him, without any further assistance than what
he may derive from having read it aloud before he begins to
construe. Now, in order to prepare himself in such a quan-
tity of books at all, he must undoubtedly possess considerable
knowledge; but his success will depend very materially on his
powers of memory; and it will be of the highest importance to
him to remember every line which contains any ditlicid:y ; and
this not in the moment of tranquil recollection, but before a
crowd of persons whose eyes are all fixed on him. The conse-
queuce is, that he must employ himself to a considerable de-
gree in reading over the books wnich he has selected, not for
the purpose of critical examination, but merely to remember
them ; and though the chief object be to satisfy his judges, yet
no young man can divest his mind entirely of anxiety as to the
opinion which the audience and his friends will form of him,
who can all tell whether he perform his task fluently, while
perhaps there is hardly one person present who can judge whe-
ther he is a scholar. Even an examining master, if he be not
personally engaged in the business, has often much difficulty
in forming an opinion, and is obliged to make many allow-
ances.
" Our system of teaching must necessarily follow the course
of what is required for the public examinations, and here, in
my opinion, is the great evil of our present plan. About two
years, or two years and a half, of an academical life are spent
in a course of study which, as far as 1 can judge, is nearly as
good as it can be. It generally commences with the Greek his-
torians and Latin poets, and ends with the historians of Rome,
and poets of Greece, while mathematics, logic, rhetoric and
moral philosophy, are pursued according to the abilities anti
wishes of the pupil ; divinity forms a necessary part of every
examination for the degree as well as of the course of instruc-
tion. When this period has elapsed, the young man finds it
necessary to begin his preparation for• the schools, which con-
sists of reading over again the same books, in precisely the
same manner as he did before. He cannot be much encouraged
to analyze what he has read, or to compare it with the opinions
of those who have written on the same subjects : because so
much time is necessary for things absolutely required, that lie
dares not diverge from the beaten track. Let me not be
mis-
taken. I pretend not to assert that none enter into the paths
towards which I would direct them • all I maintain is, that the
tendency of our system, as far as die schools are concerned, is
against their doing so. Now were our examinations more
analytical, the studies of the third year would be material-
ly changed ; and doubtless, if they were conducted on paper,
they would gradually become more analytical ; for where-
ever the question was general, the candidate would have
an opportunity of displaying his stock of knowledge on
a given subject, for whatever source it might be derived,
without confining himself to the .Author about whom he
was immediately engaged. It is true, he would then
read over the same books again, but he would do so with
a very different view. His first object would then be, such
arrangement as would enable him, when called on, to make
his knowledge hear on a particular point. A barren ac-
quaintance with facts would be far from satisfying him;
he would study their bearings, and learn to reason upon
them ; and he would be examined in way which it would
no's be absurd to adopt, from the circumstances under which
the examination is conducted. No man could be adequate
to such an ordeal viva voce, and the noise and bustle of the
public schools are most ill-suited to a trial of this description.;
and yet, with all these difficulties, we frequently meet with
most creditable'productions.
" There are at the same time many minor inconveniences on
which it would be tiresome perhaps to dwell. The very species
of exhibition disqualifies; sonic candidates more than others
from appearing to the greatest advantage. While the neces-
sary variety in the questions- proposed makes the examination
of different candidates very far from being equal in difficulty.
The interference and corrections of the Examiner produce in
many cases very dissimilar results ; they sometimes assist, but
more frequently einbarrasS those for whose benefit. they are in-
tended; all these circumstances, when combined, make the
result depend more on chance than it would were the whole
carried on in a different manner. • • , •
" There seems no reason why the Examiners for mathoma-
tical honours should be the same with those for classical, unless
such an arrangement were occasionally convenient, when there
can be no objection to it. The University-would, by dividing
the office, gain the assistance of many of its members who would
not now choose to become ExaMiners.
" Such are the grounds which make me believe it necessary

that some new form of examination should be adopted. The
University has itself so advanced that it requires something be-
yond what was established fourteen years ago ; and I hardly
think it possible that any system can, from the nature of the
case, continue the best for above ten years ; so that whatever is
now done should, in my opinion be made binding for ten years
only, when its natural death will enable the then members of
the University to re-establish what is good, and to make such
alterations as time shall have pointed out.
" In all that I have proposed my only wish has been to
render effectual what we are now striving to do; and some of
the hints may prove useful, though, as a whole, what I have
said were rejected.
As to the details into which I have entered, I may be
quite wrong, and my opinions far from correct ; whatever
I have proposed, I propose for the purpose of discussion."