Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-02-22

As Told In Miss Eva VI. Gowlng's Pa |
per Before the BrattIeborO Professions
al club Monday Evening, Feb. Is.
For the first time in its history the Brat
| tleboro Professional club introduced q
woman as its essayst at the February |
| meeting. held at the Brooks House Mon |
day evening, and the innovation was one !
| which strongly approved itself to the COM
! pany of 80 people who listened to the pa
| per by Miss Eva NJ. Gowing, assistant /
| teacher in the High school. on "a glance
at the past, present and future Of univer- /
! sty extension" Stated in other terms
| Miss Gowing's paper told what university |
extension is, the history of the movement, |
the means and methods employed, and
what has been accomplished in England
and in this country. university extern
sion" the essayist said, "has been well de-
fined as a university education for the
whole nation by an itinerant system con
nected with established Institutions" This
statement sounds large and ideal, but it
means that any one, at any time and place,
may take up advanced work in any depart
ment of human knowledge, and that quail
fed men stand ready and willing to help
him. The fundamental purpose of the
movement is to permeate the people with
taste for culture and then provide means
for satisfying it, 1t does not attempt to
work upon men in a lump it seeks out
and helps those who really care for higher
education, and through these stimulates
others to want the same thing 1t is, in
effect, an attempt to renew the time when
the university meant universal education;
as when, i'm the middle ages, there were at
Bologna 10000 students, and at the Uni
versties of Paris and Oxford 10000 each.
The attempt to broaden and widen the
privileges of university instruction, and
make them the heritage of the common
people, had its immediate beginning in an
invitation which was sent some 30 years
ago to Professor Stuart of Trinity college,
Cambridge, Eng, by an association for the
higher education of women having sOcie
2 ties in several cities, asking him to give a
l course of lectures on the art of teaching
He declined, but engaged to give a course
E on some subject and chose astronomy. To
1 make the lectures more useful and effective
D he prepared syllabuses of them, with ques-
ton sheets to be filed out at home and
p sent to him. OF 600 who attended the
n lectures 100 sent answers to the questions.
q The second experiment was made in lSGS
i when Professor Stuart gave a course of
q lectures to the wOIkngmen of Crewe and
r the great Cooperative Society of Rochedale.
@ At this time the class, meeting for private
instruction by the lecturer, was added 10
the system In 1871, the University of
, Cambridge having become convinced of the
IT, widespread demand for higher education,
' and of the ability of the university TO sup
ply il, extended the system to several Eng
fish cities, with lecture courses on political
' economy, mechanics and literature. A
a result of the experience here gained the
final examination, accompanied by certif
L l,a TON,
If complete with the lecture, the syllabus, the
r questions and the final examination. 1t
n will thus be seen that the movement was
n in no sense preiiranged plan but was al
2, evolution, with its various features sug
e, gested by actual experience. At the pres
II ent time every university in England, Scot
/ land, Ireland and Wales is engaged in thi:
work. In 1892 10000 attended lectures.
70 In America, as in England, other move
= ments opened the way for the demand fol
- the higher education The New England
70 lyceum and the Chautauqua universit,
n were the leading factors. The idea tool
# root in Philadelphia in February, 1890
~ through the action of DR.. Pepper, provost
=. of the University of Philadelphia, in call
al ing meeting of the educational authori
n ties of the city, which resulted in the for
nation of the Philadelphia society. Thu
the next November. In May, 1891, ,:
T. centres were established and 10 courses o
lectures were being given, attended by 600,
rs people. The December previous the Phil
f. adelphia organizers had established tn
in American society for the extension of uni
e. versity teaching. This society acts as
he helpmate to the local centre and the uni
v vcrsity 1t employs a corps of practca
it business men to systematic the work ant
ar attend to the details; it publishes a month
a ly journal called University Extension, an,
$ furnishes to students syllabuses of tn
ir lectures. Through the medium of this so
er ciety even the smaller colleges can engag
lg in this work
i'll The cost of university teaching to a loca
centre includes payment of the college lee
turer and of the local expenses. The tota
for a complete course is from Sl45 TO SlGC
Brown university was the first to incorpol
~ ate the movement as branch of its regu
ne lar work. Extension departments are nov
AT part Of the universities of Colby, Col
gate, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas Indiana
h. Michigan, Missouri, and other states. Tn
Nv English universities of oxford and Cam
a bridge have formally recognized the eXten
e- sion work by accepting study of three year
IT. in local lecture courses as an equivalent o
RS one year advanced standing in the regula
resident work of the colleges.
4 Proceeding to a description of the eN
", tension work as it exists today the ESSAYS
~, said that the existence of local centre i
y, any town or city usually owes its origin t
va the activity of some one person who inte
~ ests his or her friends, calls public NEE
as ing, secures list of guarantors, and FINAL
~ makes application to one of the central o.
'7' fees for a lecturer. The date being al
ranged the lecturer gives his opening az
dress, explains the details of the NOV,
o. ment, and if sufficient interest is shown I'll
course is foated. After each lecture til
ne students remain, and the class is held. TIL
be work proceeds in due course along the line
mt already indicated. The audiences are NJ
confined to any one class of people. The
,lv are as general and miscellaneous as will
ds found in the audience of any church. I'll
it, statistics of study and examinations do N
70 tell the whole story. The real work of tt
of movement is in creating an interest in IL
So
lar PETROLsEUM