University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1910-12-21

slty OF Missouri spoke yesterday i'll
Chicago at the closing of the second
quarter of the school year at the Uni
versity of Chicago on the subject:
Some Successes and Failures OF the
American College" He dealt with
many of the problems of the modern
college, and the position it is in today
from the viewpoint OF many critics.
The address III full follows:
Such occas 'ons as these furnish
natural opportunities fer taking stock
of our educational efforts. and besides
my excuse for speaking on this theme
is thai others are doing so and fee!
the impulse TO express my views. Be
sides, | have expressed them infor-
mally TO smaller groups and now take
advantage OF this opportunity to pre-
sent them to 4 larger audience No
educational institat.on in America to-
day j. receiving so much attention as
the college Against none are do
many attacks made by critics; at the
same time none IS apparently so popu-
lar with the general public and the
college was never so well patrOnized
by the youth OF the country. The high
school teachers want their schools af-
filiated with the college, and the fel-
low who is not concerned IN the afiil-
iation charges the college with domi-
nation of the high schools. The stu
dent for whose education the college
IS supposed primarily 20 exist. seems
reasonably well satisfied with the in
stitution, indeed he shows his loyalty
to it on occasion in forms Of expires
sion that indicate great enthusiasm
yet some observers and some college
teachers and administrative officers
find in this very enthusiasm evidence
of false ideals. and the failure of the
college to render the sort OF service
demanded by its purposes.
Perhaps il will be well as a basJ
for the views am about 10 express to
state how | conceive the functions, of
the college and the purposes ii might
be eNpecte to serve. Preliminary to
that. however, wish to state that We
in the Middle West are not likely to
consider the college as confined in its
work to instruction in literature, h.-
tory and the fundamental sciences. TO
academic subjects as we sometimes
call them; for we have colleges OF ag-
riculture, of commerce, OF education.
etc. offering some grade OF instruc-
t!on that is offered in the college O..
letters and science, Il. we'll as special
groups of courses or subjects organ
lied within the latter. By the college
/ mean an educational institution of
a certain grade intended for the in
struction Of students in the latter
years OF youth, contrasting thus with
the high schools that serve the inter
ests Of youth in the early teens on the
one hand. and the graduate and strict
ly professional or technical schools
on the other which are intended for
mature students.
The Functions CT the College.
What then are the functions of
such an institution? Ii would seem
that the college ought to bring youth
to an appreciation OF the great values
OF life. give basis for sound criticism
of life-in short TO develop sobriety of
judgment as contrastcd with the ine-
briefly of judgment which seems char
acteristic Of the average man. Fur
thcrmore. take it that the college
ought to stimulate the social imagi-
nation OF youth and to train him to
social responsiveness. The college
graduate should be able to perceive
and discriminate the modern forms of
sin and Of righteousness; to condemn
some thing that might net have been
condemned under different conditions
OF society and to see the paths of duty.
that lie aside from the beaten track.
The college may also be expected
to discover TO the youth himself and
to his advisers his fundamental and
permanent interests, if. as in many in
stances, that has not been already
done, and to do something toward es-
those intellectual interests
and habits OF thinking that mark the
truly educated man. And it does
not seem unreasonable to also expect
of college that it shall give some
training that will fit its graduates for
their future occupations or at least
prepare them for ready adaptation to
the callings selected. Aside from it's
influence upon the students in attend
ance, the college may also be expected
to contributeNto the welfare of people