New-York tribune., 1902-07-02
UNIVERSITY CONvOCATION
IMPORTANT ADDRESSES MADE BY ]. G.
SCHURMAN AND BY OTHER
EDUCATORS

y,
We're present
FIlny T. Sexton, one of the Regents of the Uni
Versty OF the State presided at the morning ses-
SION OF the convocation. Mr. Sexton. in his open
ing ADDRESS, expressed his regret that the Right
heV. W. C. Doane, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of
the Diocese of Albany. and vice-chancenor of the
university, was unable to be present. Mr. Sexton
said in part:
Educators whose experience makes them keenly
| awake TO the educational needs and aspirations of
growing children, and all thoughtful people. gen
most LARGELY 1ustifes itself a means to an end
zehsnp-naVe long been anxious that public educa-
uonal oppor lnities should not be crcumscribed by
| any local barriers.
| James Russell Parsons jr the secretary of the
| Board OF Regents. read letter from Bishop Doane
expressing his sorrow the death of Chancellor
| Upson. Bishop Doane at the close of this letter
| said:
Greatly Teyered and greatly beloved the uni
stand together to-day grateful and glad for the
ddttstnngushed dt example and the devoted service of
| the word that must be spoken. that here on earth
| I'VE shall his face no more To YOU and me-
as teachers his life as a preacher of the Everlast-
ing Gospel and teacher of truth. which. however
| human is always also divine combines and COM
mends men st the & saeredness and dignity the religious
Ihere followed an address by President ]. G.
schurman of Cornell University on THE Elective
| System and Its Limits" He said in part:
| In the presence OF such an inexhaustible pro-
gramme of studies what is the average student TO
Latin. Latin. Greek. mathemattGs; METAPHYSICS. ethics
subjects of the old-fashoned college curriculum; and
thorough training in them has potency 10 enlarge
of analysis and deduction. and in some measure TO
develop and ehasten the aesthetic emotions But
other knowledge, to the English language and
literature, history economics. politics. modern Ian
guages and literatures and to all the wealth Of the
physical, chemical and biological sciences, while
9iS ch9ice quite as arbitrary as that Of his more
Frencb nsrboioe G Som, f an
sciences of nature inorganic organic. There has
that student who walked in the old ways was not
choosing his studies, while student who departed
knowledge was making such a choice; but in either
among many possible discipnes and IL the boS
himself does not make the selection, his teacher
The student may ignore the traditions OF the
schools and elect such studies as tend to qualify
him for his subsequent profession-chemistry, math
ematics and physics, if he is to be an engineer.
and bacteroiogy il Re is to 6 physicsn hstoTy
political science and constitutional law # he is
ethics II he is to be clergyman, and whateyer
is prudent arrangement at any rate and 1 will
not criticse II as liberal or phiistne 1t is what
open to at least one objection Its eritera is not
is not SO much a false conception of education
an inadequate one Every boy needs a deeper
ana practice of bis professon @ o And this he o1gh at
ali hazard tO have sought though not nerbsns to
have left the other undone Culture. knowledge for
the race should be the primary Ina concern Of the
ong secondary
Even II we assume marked talent with the liking
Us that it is the business of education to develop
the more enc SneT%gets % and to neglect the feebler
harmony and poise? And unless the student is 10
be teacher or investigator. do not see any par
tcular benefit TO him TO the world in such one
sided intellectual development :.
gether without discrimination English; Hebrew.
history. economies, politics and philosophy. These
are the humanities. Without them there Is
is restricted unless the souls session has been
opened to the natures and laws Of the material
world by the study OF some physical science. And
OF the sciences OF nature, mathematics IS the uni
versal key, without which advance is impos-
The Indispensable materials of a liberal education
are first OF an and most important Of all. the hu-
manties and secondly, the sciences Of nature. in
CIudlIS ma atnetatcs as tnelr Key, 10 Whlch mus
be added philosophy. the fundamental doctrine OF
and MIGRATORY work S NJ course 1
familiarize him with the scientists method and
point OF view! and open up TO his imagination at
mos. After arithmetic algebra and geometry the
student needs no more mathematics for mental dis
may be necessary for the study Of the physical SCI
course in logic nswchoioey an1 1TaSI h Ge
ogy is essential. and it should not be forgotten by
%o ri t4e 6e4e that at least
AS AS to to the humanities. ! am unwilling to dogma
lures. history and political science offered at
our universities. I put first, however the English
country. And next TO these, with due regard both
10 the rights OF ancient civilization and the de-
mands Of modern. would put one ancient language
ana one mooeFh' ana thlnk there Is at once
scholarly and practical wisdom In the popular In
stnct which all over the country in our high
schools is selecting Latin and German for the place
of pre-eminence. Such a compromise, l am sure Is
safe for parents whose sons are not destined to be
either theooSlans or literary men, but VIII find their
into the other professions and into business
all but the small minority certain TO do. Few
boys go rar enough with Greek to derive much
culture from Greek literature English literature
would yield them with the same efforts; and the
linguistic discipline yielded by Latin Is good l
take il. that yielded by Greek. For the boy OF
marked literary talent, who devote many years
to It, Greek is the most excellent and ennobing of
colleges and universities believe that Latin and
German would be q better combination than Latin !
with the lesson Of old Athenan culture that think
liberal education quite possible without either |
which is as have already shown, the first essen
tial of liberal education.
The Rev. Timothy Brosnahan of Woodstock |
Nd. then said in part
think we should have a clear definition of the
elective system. We know its main habitat in this
that well taught study is truly educative as
other. 1t also says that the individual student
elective system from other systems Unless we are
prepared TO say that untried Optimst, prodigal
OF his hours and days, who thinks life long when
studies then admit that his methods OF training
should be selected by others. 1t IS the negation of
system 10 permit a boy TO select his own studies
It is educational anarchy. II Is impossible give |
student accurate knowledge OF all subjects OF
human interest. but We can give mental discipline
and impart habits OF industry. General training
should be given. The studies should be graded to
the growth OF the student think that profession
al educators grade studies. The leading
factors of an education apparent. Mathematics |
and the sciences will not give education His
DlilOSOnhV. unfold character 10