Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-12-31

| quirements: but what school in tho
! State will undertake to complete well In
class work eighteen or twenty French
| reading books of the size that the pub
fishers usually produce?
| What shall be said of the present col
lcge requirements in English?
| Teachers are unit. as far as | can
learn. in thinking the list of works too
| long, the works themselves not well
| chosen. and the questions usually asked
| at entrance examinations not such as
will bring out the candidates knowledge
of English The colleges do not seem to
know exactly what they want in way of
| preparat ton in this subject.
The educator who looked over the Eng
| fish requirements for admission. fur
| nished by the various universities and
| colleges in response to the circular letters
| sent out by the regents of the university
| of the city of New York about d year
| ago. has made his report. which contains
| the following:
There is wide diversity of opinion
among college and university men as to
| the nature and extent of the preparation
on these uniform texts in English which
may be required of candidates for col
| lege. Indeed. 1t would appear impossible.
at present. for any secondary school to
get into consOnancc simultaneously with
the college systems of the country. Thus
at Harvard candidates. at the latest eX-
ANNA ton for admission. were required
chiefly to demonstrate their ability to
write English; at Cornell. to give the ac-
ton of Comus in about one hundred-ffty
words arranged in two paragraphs of
Seyenty-tiVe words each. Ga requirement
that would make Andrew Lang gasp and
stare:t in the University of Pennsylvania.
to give the lesson of COmus and tell in
what act and scene the chief characters
of the Merchant of Venice appear togeth-
er. and why they do not appear together
in any other scene. "a question which no
one but William Shakespeare could ans
wer. and he would say that he had for
gotten.) AT Trinity. candidates were
asked to indicate the correct and the in
correct pronunciation of list of words;
at Rochester University. to define and
give the etymology of many words. and
to show definitely why the following
statement is true: civilization adj
vances poetry almost necessarily de-
clines (which Isl rather hard on the boys
because it is not true.) At the University
of Indiana candidates were asked to eX-
plain 'fore-shadowing local COLOR. and
dramatic suspense. and to discuss the
fifth act of the Merchant of Venice. Al
Wesleyan. in addition to minute ques-a
tons on the prescribed texts. candidates
were asked whether they thought Rosa
lind over-bold and unwomanly in her talk
with Orlando. and whether Portia gives
BasSanio any clue to the right casket
when he makes his choice.-a question set
by Johns Hopkins also land one which
answered yes or noswith equal correct
nesS.)
The answer given by Prof. Beers of
Yale to the New York University circu-
lar Is useful in this connection as show
ing that here as elsewhere. the doctors
disagree. Prof. Beers .among other things.
says: Il am opposed to any entrance re-
qurements in English. | have nothing To
do with the examination. which l con-
slider useless"
Yale, be ii remembered is the home of
wise conservatism in educational mat
tiers. and of Il spirit of generous SYM
pathy and encouragement for teachers
everywhere. She succeeds in impldntins
in her students the manliness and self
reliance that distinguish all her grad
yates And you are not to forget that
her boys know how TO play foot ball.
AT the next examination for admission
to Bowdoin 4 new plan goes into effect.
In connection with the statement of this
plan. III the BowGoin catalogue for the
college year 1861. teachers are assured
that IL materially larger amount OF work
than OF Old will not be expected in meeting
the new requirements. but that a better
quality of work must be forth coming. A
study of the explanatory notes given
with the statement however. Will lead.
possibly. to another view OF the case. In
these notes one finds mention of five or
six books of thc Had. seven or eight
books of the Aeneid. five or six books of
the Anabasis- &c. as indicating the prob
BILE amount of ground necessary 10 COY
Bbr in preparation for the examination.
ffere then is about an additional years
work in the classics quite clearly called
for. 1t is true that a candidate who Is
lucky and who is moreover. past mas
ter of the science of bluffins. might pass
without the added year; but for the
classes as IA whole zwes must provide the
preparation Indicated essential Now
the public secondary schools cannot ar
range for Il preparatory course OF hVc
years: neither can the academies and en-
dowed schools of this state provide such
a course. Something more than modi-
tication of certain requirements Is needci
here. A general reduction is clearly de
manded in the case of Bowdoin.
From a general survey of the field. 1t
would certainly seem that the situation
loudly calls for notifications in college
entrance requirements. 1T these modiiica-
lions should be made, and If they should
lead to horizontal reduction. | believe
that the school teachers stimulated by
renewed courage and hopefuness. would
send up boys and girls better prepared
for college work. and that our whole edu-
cational system would bevastly improved.
Prof Houghton replied to some of the
points made by Mr. Cole. He did NOT
think the colleges were getting out %
touch with the secondary schools. II
his department the college didn't re-
quire a stipulated amount of reading in
Latin but did require proficiency
There had been-considerable exagger
alton Of the requirements and of mat
tiers relating to the examinations.
In response to query by Mr..
Marsh. principal of thesWaterville high
school. Mr.. Cole said he thought the
college should provide some course for
the student that had passed the high
school.
Mr. Snow of Yarmouth. thought any
course in the high school should fit the
student for any course in college.
Principal Sampson *of Thorntoa
Academy, said no teacher could in-
troduce course without classics ami
require the same amount of work on
the part of the pupil as to d so would
be considered excessive. The teacher
that insisted on 1t would be hooted out
of town.
|