The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-12-14

Another rnstallness Il ssPrsp's PM
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] was sorry I could not write some
last week but / was 80 busy closing
up the examinations and beginning
the new terms work, that / just
couldn't; and then ! was not in the
best of spirits for l came mighty
near not passing in two of my stu
dies. l guess l could have made
higher marks if ] had done like l
saw q few O'Clock on some little pa
pers they had brought with them in
their pockets. And here / want to
say q word or two about the way ex-
aminations are carried on by some of
the professors. Some of the things
! am going to say, / have seen my
self and others l have heard from
some Of the boys who are in other
classes Some ofthe Professors seem
to think the examination will go on
all right even If they are not in the
room, and so take their hats, leave
the room, and stay out anywhere
from fifteen minutes to an hour; and
then do not even ask a pledge at the
close of the examination. They tell
me that one Professor who has re-
putation for long examinations even
went to his dinner and left some
there working at the questions Now
it seems to me that this way might
do if all the boys and girls were hon
est. But my informer tells me that
no sooner is the Professor gone than,
some in the class try to get help
from some one near; and we hardly
expected any of the girls would do
such things as these. But they tell
me they do; and even in some of the
class Rotations sit with an open
book behind back of seat, and
the Professor don't appear to see
them, but believe he does, and just
don't want to see them. Some of the
boys are as bad when they they get
a chance.
But more about the Professors
leaving the room. can see l be-
lieye how this way of doing causes
wrong. 1t puts temptation in the
way of the boy or girl which they
would not have if the teacher staid
in the room, you don't think about
trying to do anything unfair while
the teacher is in his chair where he
ought to be, but as soon as he is
gone, then the mischief begins to
work; and ! find that the temptation
almost had some power even over
me, when saw how easy | could get
help on the 4th part of that 29th
question. ! couldn't answer it at all
and it would have been just as easy
to ask somebody, or even look in a
book but then my mother had al
ways taught me that stealing was
wrong, and this looked much like
stealing to me. l know could have
raised my mark one higher if l had
done this. Now / don't want to APP
pear better than others, but there
really we're some in that very exami-
nation who did that thing, and it
was all because the Professor was
out of the room.
Now it seems to me, and l don I
think I'm wrong that such a way OF
doing will make boy or even girl
dishonest. 1t encourages something
very much like lying. and there are
no two thing that ought to be hated
like dishonesty and lying.
1t may be that this Professor OF
as many as it applies to, don't know
what the students do when they are
out. May be there was no such con-
duct when they were boys in school.
And this is part of the reason l write
as l am doing, so they may know
just how things are going, and see il
they can't make them go little bet
ter. I'm sure they don't want to do
anything that will hurt the students
and make their parents sorry they
sent them here, and cause bad re-
port to go out to the state.
There was one other thing spoken
of that / want to say word about
here; and it is those long eyamina-
tions. Now what sense 10 there in
having 25 to 30 leading questions
with 8 to under each one, making
in all about 125 questions. Now If
you add to this the questions he
asks you orally, you will have the
whole number 1t does seem to me
that this is a new way, but quite a
good ways off from the right way.
If a person knew every question there
he could not write them down in any
reasonable time. Some of the best
students in the class wrote till
they got tired and quit. They said
they thought they had enough to
make them pass and that was all
they cared for.
Now it seems to me that ten ques
tions would be enough; and you may
put two others under each of these
if you want to. Why wouldn't this
many fairly test what he has stud
led in one term. don't see why the
examination should be made as long
as review, when the review is had
before.
And then when person has to
sit for the larger part of day and
think and write, he comes out almost
sick. He feels that he will not be
able to do anything for day or two
after. Such work as this is hard on
the health, and it is plain for every
one to see this If there were nc
other reason why the examinations
should be short, why would not this
be reason enough? We don't come
here to be made weak in body, and
such as this is specially hard on
those who are not strong when they
come. Some Of the Professors who
go over many pages in term, think
ten questions are enough, and per-
son can get through these in an hour
and half to three hours.
There is another point comes to
mind, and it is about collecting those
skeletons. / believe / would be will.
ing to do most anything that there
is any use in. Now expect the
Faculty intended all right by saying
the students should get certain
number of skeleton. They thought
they would do it with care and learn
much about the muscles and the
other parts of the animal, but they
may not know that the quickest way
to tear the meat off the bones is used,
it don't matter how; and even some
times a boys cousin away out in the
country is persuaded to do the work
for his cousin in town, and gets for