Middletown transcript., 1898-03-12
DELAWARE COLLEGE PAPER.

By MEMBER OF THE FACULTY..
The series of articles closing with this
article has been issued from Delaware Col
lege with the hopes that the matter thus
conveyed may lie helpful to teachers who
are preparing students for entrance to the
College. There Has been made within the
past two years considerable advance in
the requirements for entrance to the college
especially as to the subject of English COM
position. Results show, however, that still
higher requirements must be made in this
matter, and it is hoped that these articles
will be helpful to teachers preparing stu
dents to meet such heightened requirements.
1t must be understood at the same time,
however, that the intent is to make, the re-
quirements only such as any intelligent and
industrious student, of 16 or Is may reason
ably be expected to meet after completing
the course of well managed preparatory
school public or private.
The College examinations Of recent years
have indicated very unsatisfactory results
in the teaching of English at most prepar-
atory schools. Candidates who pass credit
able examinations in mathematics, Latin.
and history are found to be extremely weak
in English composition. In fact defic-
iency in the English training of many stu
dents actually admitted to the college has
told against them throughout their whole
course, from the fact that such deficiency
has made it difficult for them to master text
books and to follow lectures.
Before the opening of the next co liege
year Delaware College will, for the first
time, require as preliminary to entrance
the passage of an examination in literature.
All colleges now have such requirement..
Many require candidates to present essays
discussing play of Shakespeare, or some
other work selected from the English clas-
sizes. The examination at Delaware College
will exact nothing so serious: In fact can
didates will be asked only to give evidence
of some acquaintance with the lives and
the most popular works of few leading
American authors.
1t should be noted that the examinations
at Delaware College embrace two classes of
subjects few in all of which student
must receive passing mark in order to be
admitted to course, Others as to which
student may be Conditioned as the phrase
is. A student admitted with conditions as
to some subjects, must, usually before the
close Of his first College term, pass
satisfactory examination on those subjects.
Again, certain number of conditions"
that is failure to pass in certain mum
Der OF topics. exclu les a candidate. En-
giish composition is one of the subjects as
TO which no condition allowed. To enter
College the candidates mnst pass the exam
ination on this subject With mark Of 65
in the hundred. American Literature is
one of the subjects in which candidate
may be conditioned.
All teachers preparing students for Coll
Iege are urged to examine this series of ar
ticles and 70 require Of students, as far as
possibly the drill and reading recommended.
Any question on this subject addressed to
the Secretary Of the faculty, Newark, Del,
will be promptly and fully answered.
Teachers are urged 10 lay specialstre- upon
that part Of English grammar which has
to do with the analysis of sentences as
training IN such portion of grammar is
absolutely essential for the student in En-
giish composition. ~