The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-03-31
r
THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF COLLEGE
STUDIES

derived from mathematics, language,
physics, chemistry and economics, and
inquire which of these studies, as a
whole, gives the most culture to the
student. This is the way it is usually
presented in essays on education. 1t
is said by those who represent culture,
that it is better for the student to be-
come a mathematician or a linguist,
even if he does not intend to use the
knowledge in his profession, because
the power gained will make him a
better engineer or chemist. l do not
wish to underestimate the Importance
of this point of view; yet there Is an
other conception of education that l
regard as of more importance. 1t may
be stated thus: Shall a subject be
taught with the view of making the
student a master of it, and thus to en-
able him to obtain a utility from 1t, or
shall it be taught with the purpose of
producing the greatest effect upon the
mind andsculture of the pupil?
All u sciences are complex whOles,
some parts of which help the student
in his mental growth, while others are
detrimental, and even make the student
a narrower man instead of a broader
one. A long course in a study may be
necessary to a person who intends to
be a specialist in that study, or in a
kindred me-. He must do a certain
amount of work, not for culture, but
for the indispensable knowledge which
he needs for the best use of his w
science. The educational value, how
ever, lies not in the knowledge inn
parted, but in the effect upon the
student. 1t gives him a better capacity
for work, a faculty to do other work
of n lilo OhoT1n0+nn 11T1O IHnoC of I1fO
greater confidence in his intellect, and
a keener appreciation of his moral
obligations. The utility of a study,
therefore, and it's educational value,
cannot be too sharply cOntrasted. Yet
this difference is too much overlooked
in forming the college courses. All
I'll practical courses are long and
valued for their utility. These courses
are split up into parallel sections, each
having ONE one science o. group OF
sciences, prominent in them. This
tendency has been dominant in the
history of recent education, and, as a
result, the student usually chooses,
early in his college life, between several
parallel courses, and takes n for its
utility to the exclusion of all others.
If the college course is to be arranged
for it's educational value, very differ
0lU pldIl I1UCU D6 duODUGu. EtCl1 SUuuN
must be examined, to see what it can
do for the mental development of the
student, and only that part of it in
which this feature is prominent can be
admitted in the college course. The
plan would require that each study be
divided into two parts; the under
graduate or college course, where that
part is studied which has the greatest
influence in developing mental power,
and the postgraduate course, where
further study is made for utility of the
content. It should not be the aim of
the first to make the student a mathe-
matician, a linguist, a scientist, or an
economist. A senior may be without
distinction in these or other studies
and yet leave colleges mu n strength
ened in character, and with a greater
intellectual power, than if he had won
the favor of some n profess II by be-
coming an expert in his line.
l agree heartily with the thinkers of
the old school in desiring to keep the
college course a culture course. The
main defect of college courses is,
not that we are studying the wrong
subjects-utility studies instead of cul-
ture studies. All studies. are utility
studies or culture studies, according to
the manner in which they are taught.
The defect lies in the fact that we teach
each part or problem in the science for
it's utility, and not for it's educational
value.
The educational value of any subject,
however, cannot be determined from
it's content alone. 1t depends largely
upon inherited qualities of the students
and the classes in society from which
they come, and also upon the society
- - -Isol H. -LJ l. ::
a part. That study gives the greatest
culture that trains the mind for the
class of judgments which must be made
most frequently by the average citizen.
GeOmetrical reasoning, when applied to
the affairs of men and society, is a kind
of fallacy. The errors that flow from
it are sc numerous. that any n who
gets into the habit of reasoning mathe-
maticaly is sure to make error when
he reasons upon the affairs of every
day life.
The educational value of a science
depends upon the stage of it's progress.
A science is complete when it has
reached the deductive stage. Then all
the various parts are closely Joined to-
gether and form one body of truth. 1t
begins with an inductive stage when
the opposite is true. The sciences that
are in a stage, of transition from the
inductive to the deductive, like biology,
for example, have the great men and
the enthusiastic teachers. If a science
is taught for culture, it must be pre-
sented as it was when in a stage of
transition from the inductive to the de-
ductive stage. When a science is be-
yOnd this point, it should be presented.
not in it's final form, where its utility is
greatest, but in the form it had at an
earlier date. The educational value of
a science depends also upon the char
acter of its premises. The habit of
wrong premises which the student
does not question creates. a dogmatic