The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-29

subjects to be pursued as extras" in addition to the regular college course. a The consequence has been the develop nlent in all of our colleges of a class of special students" who, because they cannot devote the necessary time to music. art or. oratory in connection. with the regular college course. drop the regular course This has been one of the most demoralixing and hurtful influences in our colleges for women. When students are really serious and devote their time conscientiously to the study of any one of these special subjects, there Is necessarily one sided development. But, worse than this. the special course has most fre- quentiy given opportunity to the care- less and indifferent student to fritter away her time, vainiy imagining the while that she is receiving an educa- tion.
 It is now argued that these sub jects, music, art, oratory, have as ! genuine educational value as physics or history. for example, If so. why should they be sacrifed for physics or 1 history by a student who has special l talent and inclination for them and | none perhaps for physics or history? Hence in some institutions these sub l jects have been included among the electives of the regular college course. | | first of all, adapt the college course more nearly to the needs and the in- terests of women. But, perhaps best l of all. it will also gradually Co away l with the class of special students by reason of the fact that now a student may still work for a degree and devote a reasonable amount of time to her | favorite art.
 It will be seen that there Is nothing i np m l program of the woman's college of the | twentieth century. It still recognizes I the fact that there are many charac- teristics, mental as well as bodily, which women possess in common with men and to large extent the courses of study still coincide with those of the colleges for men.
 are being gradually made and in few colleges at time. Indeed, many of .he leading colleges for women still refuse I to see any necessity for changes at alt recently heard the Dean of perhaps | the oldest college for women in the world. declare, at teachers conven- tion, that a course of study in 8 college for women should be the same as ths Il course in a college for men.
 Personally. I am in strong sympathy
 with what I have above described al
 the modern tendency, and Brenau Col. iege has been among the first to modi' fy the college program in accordance with such ideals.
 | do not believe that the movement
 will have been completed. however, un. til nearly, if not quite. all of the sub jects taught in colleges for womer
 have been reeast or rewritten for wo-
 men.
 As an extreme case, let us take
 Mathematics. All of the problems
 nearly, which are now used to Illus.
 trate mathematical principles in oui
 text books are such as are developed
 out of the life and experience of mer is there any wonder, therefore, thai
 women nave such dificulties witt
 mathematics and that one hears it as
 serted so frequently that women have
 no head for mathematical" When {
 text book is written which will relate
 itself to the life and experience of wo- men this opinion may be altered. And
 go with all of the instruction provided
 for women. If 1t shall attain its high.
 est value and efficiency 1t must be rs
 lated in some definite way to the llst
 and experience of the student.
 The recognition of this principle
 both in colleges for men and in col.
 leges for women gives promise, of {
 more rational and practical system O
 education than the world has ys
 known.